Office of Medical Communications

(AUGUST 30, 2023) Lewis First, M.D., M.S., professor and chair of pediatrics, spoke to NBC5 about gearing up for a potential rise in COVID-19 cases as the school year begins.

(AUGUST 30, 2023) With a small uptick in new cases recently, epidemiologist Timothy Plante, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, spoke with Vermont Public about COVID-19 in Vermont this fall: its current state, a new vaccine expected in about six weeks, prevention tips, and information about testing.

(AUGUST 28, 2023) Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and associate dean of public health and health policy, was interviewed by The Hill for a story about “heat days” that, similar to their winter counterpart—snow days—cause school closings due to excessive weather conditions.

(AUGUST 26, 2023) In an article in Cannabis.net about the therapeutic advantages of low-THC high-CBD cannabis strains, Monique McHenry, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology and director of the Medical Cannabis Center for Research and Education, says the perception that THC is predominantly linked with the induction of psychoactive effects is a “significant misconception.”

(AUGUST 26, 2023) A promising single-dose dengue fever vaccine created by the University of Vermont Vaccine Testing Center, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Johns Hopkins University is undergoing a clinical trial in Bangladesh, VOA News reports.

(AUGUST 25, 2023) Findings from a new study conducted by the University of Vermont’s Conversation Lab and therapeutics cancer firm Sunstone Therapies show the feasibility of trained human coders to identify observable markers of therapeutic connection during psilocybin administration within Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT), Benzinga reports.

(AUGUST 18, 2023) In a study on medicinal cannabis use and reporting, Larner researchers Nicole Wershoven, Amanda Kennedy, Pharm.D., and Charles MacLean, M.D., found that just 18 percent of patients thought their provider was a “good source of information regarding cannabis” and cannabis-related health issues, according to Labroots.

(AUGUST 17, 2023) Brady Heward, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, spoke to WCAX-TV about an integrated approach by the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) to make addiction treatment more accessible.

(AUGUST 17, 2023) Epidemiologist Timothy Plante ’06, M.D.’10, M.H.S., assistant professor of medicine, spoke with Vermont Public for a story focusing on the recent uptick in the number of COVID cases and a new, updated vaccine booster that is expected to be available in the fall.

Eric A. Thrailkill, PhD, Associate Professor with the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, is the recipient of the 2023 BF Skinner Foundation New Researcher Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association (APA).

(AUGUST 16, 2023) UVM Medical Center has again earned a 5-star quality rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which announced its annual hospital ratings in late July, according to the Barre–Montpelier Times Argus.

(AUGUST 16, 2023) Hematologist Chris Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, helped write a recent study that found an anticoagulant pill was just as effective as self-administered blood thinner injections at preventing deadly blood clots in cancer patients, according to WCAX-TV.

In 2021, University of Vermont neuroscientists received a $5.5 million National Institute of Health (NIH) grant to support the Phase II segment of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study. The HBCD Study, the largest long-term study of early brain and child development in the United States, aims to comprehensively collect data on brain development from birth through early childhood, shedding light on the factors that shape a young person's life trajectory.

On August 7, 2023, the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont welcomed 124 new medical students in the Class of 2027 to campus. Students in the Class of 2027 were selected from a pool of more than 8,500 applicants. Just over a quarter of the new med students are Vermonters and 24 percent identify as LGBTQ+. In addition, 24 percent of UVM’s newest medical students are people underrepresented in medicine—referred to in higher education as “URiM”—a category that includes African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino/a, and Native American/Alaskan Native. The student body draws from 26 states, excluding Vermont, and two Canadian provinces.

(AUGUST 11, 2023) Sherrie Khadanga, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and director of cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Vermont Medical Center, commented to In Profile Daily on an article about the health benefits of walking.

(AUGUST 10, 2023) A study led by principal investigator Elias Klemperer, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and psychiatry, found that Vermont’s medication program for incarcerated people with opioid use disorder has helped reduce overdoses after release, according to VTDigger.

The Division of Dermatology welcomed Mary Maloney, M.D., to the faculty this spring, for the second time. A medical alum from the University of Vermont class of 1977, Maloney is an expert Mohs surgeon. This procedure, which was relatively new when Maloney began her career as a physician, involves removing skin cancer in layers, looking at the skin under a microscope while the patient waits, then removing more layers as necessary. Maloney was Vermont's first and only Mohs surgeon when she served on the UVM faculty from 1983-88, and the second female Mohs surgeon in the U.S.

(AUGUST 8, 2023) Research by Mark Nelson, Ph.D., chair and University Distinguished Professor of pharmacology and professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, and colleagues shines a light on the mechanism behind vascular dementia in a mouse model, which the investigators hope will lead to better treatments being developed for the neurodegenerative condition, according to Inside Precision Medicine.