Office of Medical Communications

(NOVEMBER 8, 2022) Research on autism spectrum disorder conducted by Neuroscience Graduate Program doctoral student Erin Cullen and Assistant Professor of Neurological Sciences Matthew Weston, Ph.D., in collaboration with researchers at Dartmouth’s medical school, was featured in Chip Chick. (Click on headline for more.)

(NOVEMBER 8, 2022) Medical oncologist Kim Dittus, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and director of the UVM Cancer Center’s Steps to Wellness exercise program for cancer survivors, was interviewed for a story about the Cancer Center being named Health.com’s Innovative Hospital Award Winner for 2022. Also interviewed was cancer survivor Evelyn Sikorski, manager of UVMMC’s employee health and wellness and employee assistance programs.

(NOVEMBER 7, 2022) Associate Professor of Pediatrics Rebecca Bell, M.D., answered RSV-related questions during a Facebook Live event on November 3, the (Plattsburg) Press-Republican reported.

(NOVEMBER 7, 2022) Stacey Sigmon, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Center on Rural Addiction, was quoted in VTDigger discussing the increasing use of the animal sedative xylazine as a sought-after dilutant for opioids due to its effect of prolonging the “high” from using opioids.

(NOVEMBER 4, 2022) Professor of Surgery and UVMMC vascular surgeon Daniel J. Bertges, M.D., presented a clinical trial on paclitaxel drug-coated balloons (DCBs) at the VIVA Foundation’s VIVA22 conference in Las Vegas, according to CardiovascularBusiness.com.

(NOVEMBER 3, 2022) David Kaminsky, M.D., professor of medicine, spoke to The Other Paper’s Corey McDonald about so-called long COVID, following the death in May of a childhood friend of his own son who, after four months of increasingly debilitating symptoms that forced him to obtain a medical leave from his job, took his own life.

(NOVEMBER 3, 2022) Health Commissioner and Professor of Medicine Mark Levine, M.D., was quoted in the Herald Chronicle speaking about a new partnership between the Vermont Department of Health and health care informatics company VisualDx -- whose CEO is Larner College of Medicine alumnus Art Papier, M.D.’88 -- to create a new “Clinician Support Initiative.”

(NOVEMBER 3, 2022) Professor of Medicine Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean of public health and health policy, was quoted in US Today News commenting on a recent study by a medical informatics expert at the University of Illinois and colleagues on the possibility that Smartphones could one day collect data from a person’s daily cardio activity and predict risk of death, thus potentially providing an incentive to improve fitness.

(NOVEMBER 2, 2022) Clinical Professor of Pediatrics Joseph Hagan Jr., M.D., was quoted in an article in the Courier-Tribune and its sister publication Gladstone Dispatch (both based in Liberty, Mo.) about the proper age for young children to begin volunteering.

(NOVEMBER 2022) Researchers led by pulmonologist and critical care physician Renee Stapleton, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, concluded that “informed assent” for CPR is a “feasible and reasonable” approach for some hospitalized patients, according to Medical Ethics Advisor.

(NOVEMBER 1, 2022) Pediatric critical care physician Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, commented in the Burlington Free Press on the surge in local hospitalizations due to rhinovirus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine held the 2022 Dean's Excellence in Research three-day celebration October 31 through November 2.

While oxygen is critical for the chemical reactions our cells need to survive, some oxygen reactions occur at the wrong locations or in the wrong proteins, which can cause damage leading to illness and death. The Yvonne Janssen-Heininger lab team has discovered new tools for determining oxidation targets, designing precise small molecules to treat lung fibrosis and cancer.

On October 27, 2022, the UVM Larner College of Medicine held a grand opening and dedication of the newest addition to the medical campus: the Firestone Medical Research Building.

Larner College of Medicine medical alum Philip A. Chan, M.D.'06, M.S., associate professor of medicine and behavioral and social sciences at Brown University's Alpert Medical School and School of Public Health, presented the 2022 Imbasciani-DiSalvo LGBTQ Health Equity Lecture on October 28.

A national cancer research event called Convergence brought experts from around the country and the world to the University of Vermont October 24-27 to discuss interdisciplinary techniques to advance cancer treatment. The experts, along with UVM Cancer Center faculty, presented information about their cutting-edge cancer research.

(OCTOBER 27, 2022) UVMMC pediatrician and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Michelle Shepard, M.D., Ph.D., spoke to WCAX-TV’s Hailey Morgan about ongoing baby formula supply chain woes affecting Vermont parents.

(OCTOBER 27, 2022) NBC5, WCAX, and other media covered the annual Cancer Convergence Conference, which brought experts from around the country and the world to UVM and featured a Careers in Cancer event for local high school students.

(OCTOBER 26, 2022) Professor of Neurological Sciences Gary Mawe, Ph.D., director of Larner’s Anatomical Gift Program, spoke to Seven Days about the pedagogical value of having medical students dissect real human cadavers in the College’s anatomy lab. Larner receives some 30 to 50 body donations a year.

(OCTOBER 25, 2022) Research Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., has been awarded the Lung Cancer Discovery Award by the American Lung Association in Vermont, according to Vermont Business Magazine.