The Medical Alumni Association at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held Medical Reunion 2018 June 8 to 10, with highlights including an investiture ceremony for the Berta Pi-Sunyer Williams Professorship in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, the Class of 1968's 50^th Reunion Medallion Ceremony and a Celebration of Achievements Awards Ceremony. (View the full Reunion Schedule of Events.)

An early, pre-Reunion event honoring the late Jerry Lucey, M.D., former professor of pediatrics and editor-in-chief of Pediatrics, took place June 6 at UVM's Alumni House. Lucey, who joined the College of Medicine faculty in 1956, passed away in December 2017 at the age of 91. (Read his New York Times obituary here.)

Alumni recognized at the Celebration of Achievements on June 8 were:

• H. James Wallace, III, M.D.’88, who received the 2018 A. Bradley Soule Award. This award is presented to an alumnus/a whose loyalty and dedication to the College of Medicine most emulate those qualities as found in the award’s first recipient, A. Bradley Soule, M.D.’28. Wallace is an associate professor and chief of the Division of Radiation Oncology in the Department of Radiology at the Larner College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center. Wallace returned to Burlington and joined the faculty in 2000 and over the last 18 years, has led the Division of Radiation Oncology, helping integrate the group into the UVM Health Network Medical Group in 2011. He is a member of the UVM Cancer Center leadership team, the executive director for the Lake Champlain Cancer Research Organization and holds numerous roles on cancer-related committees. He is also currently the physician leader for the Patient and Family Centered Care initiative. Wallace served on the Alumni Executive Committee from 2003 to 2016 and as president of the Medical Alumni Association from 2014 to 2016. He is a class agent for the class of 1988. In addition to his success as a physician and alumni leadership, this award recognizes the compassionate, expert care that he provides to his patients and their families, as well as the inspiration he provides to his students. Read more about the Soule award here.
• David L. Bronson, M.D.’73, Matthew Hsieh, M.D.’98, Sumner Slavin, M.D.’73 and Sara Oakes Vargas, M.D.’93 are the 2018 recipients of the Distinguished Academic Achievement Award. This award is presented to alumni in recognition of outstanding scientific or academic achievement. Bronson is chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Joint Commission, a professor emeritus at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and a past president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals. Hsieh is a staff clinician at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and a faculty member of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Hematology Branch. Slavin is an associate clinical professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and a private practice plastic surgeon. Vargas is a pediatric and and pulmonary pathologist at Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Read more about these and past award recipients here.
• Philip Cohen, M.D.’73, Pamela Harrop, M.D.’83, and Veronica Rooks, M.D.’93, who are the 2018 recipients of the Service to Medicine and the Community Award, which is presented to alumni who have maintained a high standard of medical service and who have achieved an outstanding record of community service or assumed other significant responsibilities not directly related to medical practice. Cohen is an assistant clinical professor and voluntary faculty member at the University of South Florida School of Medicine and a retired private practice obstetrician/gynecologist. Harrop is a clinical associate professor at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and an internal medicine physician on the staff at Rhode Island Hospital. Rooks is chief of pediatric radiology at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. Read more about these and past award recipients here.
• Duc T. Do, M.D.’03, received the 2018 Early Achievement Award. This award is presented to an alumnus who has graduated within the past 15 years in recognition of their outstanding community or College service, scientific, or academic achievement. Do is an internal medicine physician at Scripps Health in La Jolla, Calif. Prior to this role, he was assistant professor of medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and held numerous clinical and administrative positions at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, including associate medical director/physician advisor for the Office of Care Management, on-call medical director for the Office of Clinical Affairs, and the director of residency research for Internal Medicine Residency Program, among others. His teaching at Geisel earned him the most nominations and awards for excellence of any faculty member, including the Chairman’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a member of the Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society. Read about past award recipients here.

The Celebration of Achievements Awards event also included the presentation of the 2018 Robert Larner, M.D., Student Award, which is given annually to a current student(s) for his or her outstanding leadership and loyalty to the College and one who embodies Dr. Larner’s dedication to not only supporting his medical alma mater but to inspiring others to do so as well. The 2018 recipient is Desiree DiBella, a Class of 2019 medical student. Read more about DiBella and past award recipients here.

David Warshaw, Ph.D.'79, UVM chair of molecular physiology and biophysics, received the Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award, which recognizes an alumnus/a from the College of Medicine's Ph.D. or M.S. program who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in basic, clinical or applied research; education; industry; public service/humanitarianism; and/or outstanding commitment to the College of Medicine community. He was recognized and delivered a lecture in conjunction with his receipt of this award during the College's Celebrating Excellence in Research events in November 2017. Read more about the award here.

Find more information about Medical Reunion 2018.