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September 22, 2021 | Volume III, Issue 18
Med Student-Designed "Look at Larner" Program Holds First Event
On September 10 and 11, the Larner College of Medicine welcomed 27 aspiring medical students—from rising college juniors to postgraduates and career changers—from across the country as participants in the first-ever “Look at Larner” program.
Created by Class of 2024 medical students Mialovena Exume and Warrick Sahene and supported by the Offices of Admissions, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Medical Communications, the program is intended to serve as a pipeline program—providing an opportunity for students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URiM) who have a strong interest in pursuing a medical degree to gain first-hand experience about what it’s like to be a medical student, specifically at Larner. Although participants had to fund their own travel costs, once they arrived, food and housing were provided for them.
As students of color at Larner, Exume and Sahene felt a program like this was particularly important for the College. “Larner has the capacity to really diversify the student population and attract more students of color to apply and matriculate,” says Exume, adding, “Obviously, with a more diverse group of people, you have the opportunity to learn in even greater ways.”
Program participants were paired with Larner medical student hosts who housed them for the weekend and gave them a tour of Burlington and the surrounding area. The participants also accompanied their medical student hosts to active learning classes and PCR sessions, took tours of the College and University facilities, attended an admissions forum, and participated in a medical student Q&A panel.
They were also able to get hands-on experience through rotations in the UVM Simulation Laboratory—completing a “colonoscopy,” practicing ultrasound techniques, listening to heart and breath sounds, working with Standardized Patients on interview and patient history skills, and even learning how to intubate.
Learn more about the Look at Larner program and read feedback from program participants.
Pictured above: A collage of photos showing current Larner medical students, faculty, and program participants posing while attending the “Med School Mixer” on September 10. (Upper-right corner of collage) Exume (left) and Sahene (right) introducing Dean Page during a lunch address on the same day.
The Vito Imbasciani, Ph.D., M.D.'85 and George DiSalvo LGBTQ Health Equity Lecture series presents
“Evolving Treatment Paradigms for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth"
Jack Turban, M.D., Medical Fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine
Tuesday, September 28, at 5:00 pm
Class of 2024 & 2025 medical students can attend in Carpenter Auditorium. Faculty, staff, and other medical and graduate students can attend in the Sullivan Classroom. A link to the lecture on Zoom will be provided in a Dean’s Office email next week.
Kolb Receives $7 Million Grand to Develop New Treatment for Chemotherapy-Induced Nerve Damage
With $7 million in support from the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Kolb, now an associate professor of neurological sciences at the Larner College of Medicine, and colleagues will be evaluating a new intervention that combines technology and science to provide a quick response and more effective treatment for CIPN patients.
Serving rural populations is a critical focus of the UVM Cancer Center under the new leadership of Director Randall Holcombe, M.D., M.B.A., who says that “Programs such as this one directed by Dr. Kolb have the potential to have a significantly positive impact on the quality of life of cancer patients. In addition, this intervention will be easily translatable to rural communities here in Vermont and elsewhere.”
Dr. Kolb will be collaborating with colleagues at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and the University of Utah on the study, which is scheduled to launch in 2022, and aims to enroll 420 patients.
Read the full article about the study.
Pictured above: Dr. Kolb (at right) with a patient in an exam room.
(Photo by: David Seaver)
Register to attend the free, virtual 24th Annual Women’s Health & Cancer Conference on Friday, October 1, 2021. Hosted by the UVM Cancer Center, the event features an intro keynote and COVID update by Vermont Commissioner of Health Mark Levine, M.D., and a keynote address on “The Financial Costs and Burden of Breast Cancer Care” by Rachel Greenup, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of surgery and chief of breast surgical oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center.
Register for the Women’s Health & Cancer Conference.
UVM Undergrad Alums Launch VT REACH for Pre-Health Career Students
A positive outcome from the pandemic, the innovative VT REACH program was created by two University of Vermont Class of 2021 undergraduate alums who saw a need for connecting high school, college, and other students interested in healthcare with UVM healthcare professionals when in-person clinical shadowing wasn’t possible.
Co-developed by Gillian Bremer and Lillian Bennett, VT REACH, which stands for Virtual Teleconference: Reach Explore Aspire to Careers in Healthcare, launched in March 2021 and has broadcast six programs so far. To date, the program has hosted six virtual sessions, with 250+ views on the VT REACH YouTube page, says faculty advisor, Bridget Marroquin, M.D., associate professor of anesthesiology.
The program’s success is not a surprise to Cara Calvelli, M.D., pre-health advisor in UVM’s Career Center and a co-leader of the undergraduate Health Professions Interest Group.
“One of the things that is different about VT REACH compared to other panels is how the participants’ personality and variations come through,” and how it “showcases the interprofessional nature of patient care,” says Dr. Calvelli.
Bremer, who recently took the MCAT for medical school application, will be working as a medical assistant at a primary care practice in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Bennett, who also recently took the MCAT, is starting a position as a mental health specialist at McLean Hospital in Boston, Mass.
“We are so excited to be able to continue VT REACH with the program being completely virtual,” Bremer says.
Read the full article about the VT REACH program.
Watch past sessions on the VT Reach YouTube channel.
Pictured above: VT REACH poster graphic – olive green background with teal and yellow decorative markings, “VT Reach” written in pink font, an icon depicting a female physician with long hair, and the words “Reach, Explore, and Aspire to Careers in Healthcare” in yellow font.
‘Can doctors be gay?’ I typed the question into the Google search bar, I held my breath, and clicked search.
It was 2009 and I was sitting at home in small-town Connecticut. I knew exactly zero queer people, had no social connections to any doctors in or out of my family, and could never conceive of the next steps to becoming a doctor, let alone a gay one.
The Google results were disheartening to say the least.”
– Patrick Clarke, Class of 2022 medical student.
On August 4, 2020, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Class of 2022 medical student Patrick Clarke posted a tweet on his Twitter profile @PatrickClarke. He wrote “ok so apparently we left fear in July? because I am wearing my @UVMLarnerMed med Pride pin for the first time ever and we’re feelin it” The tweet was accompanied by two photos of Clarke – one, a selfie he took of his reflection in a mirror – dressed in his white coat and business attire with a stethoscope around his neck, and the other, a close up of his white coat with the Pride pin he refers to clipped to his lapel. The tweet has since garnered 21 comments, 12 retweets, and 702 likes.
The Firestone Medical Research Building Ceremonial Groundbreaking
Come celebrate the progress in the construction of the latest addition to the medical campus:
Thursday, September 30, at 1:30 pm
Hoehl Gallery, Health Science Research Facility
Accolades & Appointments
Professor of Medicine Harold Dauerman, M.D., assumed three new national roles in 2021, including membership on the National Executive Committee for the Medtronic-sponsored EXPAND TAVR trial; membership on the Scientific Output Committee of the Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions; and membership on the Scientific Publications Committee Peer Review Task Force of the American College of Cardiology Scientific Publications Committee.
At the 2021 Virtual North East Regional IDeA Conference (v-NERIC 2021), held August 16-18, two early-career researchers from the Larner College of Medicine community received awards during the Lightning Talk competition. UVM Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences graduate student Cole Davidson (a mentee of Frances Carr, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology) received Third Place during the Cancer Session for his presentation, titled “Targeting Glycogen Metabolism as a Novel Therapeutic Approach in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer.” Department of Medicine postdoctoral associate Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D., (a mentee of Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine and researcher for the REGARDS study) received First Place during the Psych/Health Session for her presentation, titled “D-dimer and the Risk of Hypertension: The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS).”
Pictured at left: Dr. Kamin Mukaz (top) and Mr. Davidson.
Steven Lidofsky, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, is currently serving as vice chair for the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Public Policy Committee. His term will end in December 2021.
CITATION HIGHLIGHTS
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Mahony T, Harder VS, Ang N, McCulloch CE, Shaw JS, Thombley R, Cabana MD, Kleinman LC, Bardach NS. Weekend vs. Weekday Asthma-Related Emergency Department Utilization. Acad Pediatr. 2021 Sep 17:S1876-2859(21)00447-2. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.09.005. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34543671.
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Whitaker EE, Chao JY, Holmes GL, Legatt AD, Yozawitz EG, Purdon PL, Shinnar S, Williams RK. Electroencephalographic Assessment of Infant Spinal Anesthesia: A Pilot Prospective Observational Study. Paediatr Anaesth. 2021 Sep 12. doi: 10.1111/pan.14294. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34510633.
Boyd J, Rodriguez P, Schjerven H, Frietze S. ssvQC: an integrated CUT&RUN quality control workflow for histone modifications and transcription factors. BMC Res Notes. 2021 Sep 20;14(1):366. doi: 10.1186/s13104-021-05781-8. PMID: 34544495.
Talasaz AH, Sadeghipour P, Aghakouchakzadeh M, Kakavand H, Ariannejad H, Connors JM, Hunt BJ, Berger JS, Van Tassell BW, Middeldorp S, Piazza G, Weitz JI, Cushman M, Lip GYH, Goldhaber SZ, Bikdeli B. Use of Novel Antithrombotic Agents for COVID-19: Systemic Summary of Ongoing Randomized Controlled Trials. J Thromb Haemost. 2021 Sep 19. doi: 10.1111/jth.15533. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34538017.
Peper K, Gerges D, Sajisevi M. Cystic Neck Mass in a Middle-aged Woman. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021 Sep 16. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2021.2400. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34529052.
Alonso A, Norby FL, MacLehose RF, Zakai NA, Walker RF, Adam TJ, Lutsey PL. Claims-Based Score for the Prediction of Bleeding in a Contemporary Cohort of Patients Receiving Oral Anticoagulation for Venous Thromboembolism. J Am Heart Assoc. 2021 Sep 21;10(18):e021227. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.121.021227. Epub 2021 Sep 13. PMID: 34514806.
Bolf EL, Gillis NE, Davidson CD, Cozzens LM, Kogut S, Tomczak JA, Frietze S, Carr FE. Common tumor-suppressive signaling of thyroid hormone receptor beta in breast and thyroid cancer cells. Mol Carcinog. 2021 Sep 17. doi: 10.1002/mc.23352. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34534367.
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Published by the Office of Medical Communications
The Larner College of Medicine
at The University of Vermont
Copyright 2021