Office of Medical Communications

Racial minorities and people with lower incomes or who are insured by Medicare or Medicaid are significantly less likely to receive the most advanced therapies and more likely to die after suffering a pulmonary embolism, according to a new analysis conducted by University of Vermont Professor of Medicine Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., and colleagues.

(DECEMBER 17, 2022) Neuropsychologist Sharon Leach, Ph.D., and child psychiatrist Feyza Basoglu, M.D., both clinical assistant professors of psychiatry, will challenge participants to diagnose psychiatric or neurological disorders as part of the 14th annual Vermont Brain Bee neuroscience competition to be held at the Larner College of Medicine on February 11, Seven Days reports.

(DECEMBER 16, 2022) A Pfizer RSV vaccine for pregnant women is in phase 3 trial, with the potential to help infants cope with the sometimes serious illness, according to WCAX-TV. “If infants can be born with some immunity,” says pediatric critical care physician Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, “even if it’s short-lived, even if it’s six months or one year, that can make a huge difference in terms of kids’ health.” (Click headline for more.)

(December 15, 2022) At Vascular InterVentional Advances 2022 in Las Vegas, Daniel Bertges, M.D., professor of surgery, presented promising interim data from a study of the effectiveness of the IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon in treating femoropopliteal in-stent restenosis.

(DECEMBER 11, 2023) Barre internal medicine specialist Priscilla Carr, M.D., clinical instructor of medicine, wrote a commentary in VT Digger about Vermonters’ limited access to treatment for obesity.

(DECEMBER 10, 2022) Keith Collins, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine, was interviewed by the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal about rising virus numbers locally.

(DECEMBER 10, 2022) Trial investigator Mary Cushman, M.D., professor of medicine, presented study findings on social determinants of health [SDOH] and pulmonary embolism treatment and mortality at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, Pharmacy Times reported.

(DECEMBER 8, 2022) Associate Professor of Pediatrics Rebecca Bell, M.D., M.P.H., head of the Vermont chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, spoke to the News & Citizen about the importance of getting a seasonal flu shot, and about RSV.

(DECEMBER 8, 2022) Joseph Kennedy, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine and director of toxicology education, was quoted in a WVNY-TV story on a new tool firefighters can use to save lives—the Cyanokit.

(DECEMBER 7, 2022) Maureen Leahy, M.Ed., director of psychiatry and neurology health care services for the UVM Health Network, and Sara Pawlowski, M.D., primary care mental health integration division chief and assistant professor of psychiatry, spoke with WCAX-TV about the UVM Health Network’s launch of a new collaborative care model.

Larner College of Medicine Professor of Surgery Bruce Tranmer, M.D., was invested as the inaugural Raymond M. P. Donaghy Professor of Neurosurgery in a formal ceremony held December 5, 2022.

(DECEMBER 6, 2022) In an opinion piece in VT Digger, John Dunn, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine and a doctor at the UVM Urgent Care Center, focused on the need for more primary care doctors in Vermont—and what needs to change before that can happen.

These awards, supported wholly by funds from UVM entities, provide $200,000 over 2 years to fund meritorious research from early career faculty. We are very grateful to Deans from the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Arts & Sciences, Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, and the Graduate College, as well as the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Vermont, for their support of this program. In addition, we would like to acknowledge matching fund support from the Departments of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Medicine.

A new online ranking of the top female scientists in the United States conducted by Research.com includes three members of the University of Vermont faculty. Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine, was ranked 124th nationally and 193rd in the world. Jane Lian, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, was ranked 194th nationally and 305th in the world. Janet Stein, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, was ranked 265th nationally and 430th in the world.

(DECEMBER 2, 2022) Research by Professor of Medicine Neil A. Zakai, M.D., and colleagues shows that increased coronary heart disease risk in White but not Black adults is associated with lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, according to HealthDay News.

(DECEMBER 2, 2022) Clinical Professor of Psychiatry David Fassler, M.D., commented in a Washington Post article about a study showing that the stress of pandemic lockdowns prematurely aged the brains of teenagers by at least three years, and in ways similar to changes observed in children who have faced chronic stress and adversity.

(NOVEMBER 29, 2022) Assistant Professor of Medicine Timothy Plante, M.D., is a co-author of a new study comparing the effects of three different eating patterns on cardiovascular disease, according to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) News.

Each year, Larner College of Medicine second-year medical students participate in a nurse-shadowing activity during the advocacy module in the Professionalism, Communication and Reflection (PCR) course. For future doctors, shadowing nurses at UVM Medical Center provides the opportunity to gain insight on how nurses advocate for their patients in a busy clinical environment.

(NOVEMBER 23, 2022) Pediatric critical care physician Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, has a message for people visiting infants over the holidays that is going to be difficult to hear: “Admire the baby from afar,” VTDigger reported.