Division of General Internal Medicine Research

Department of Medicine

From the tiniest ticks of genetic expression to the sweep of organ systems, medical students gain a deep understanding of human body function. They spend hundreds of hours learning how to use tools and technologies, from stethoscopes to point of care ultrasound, to deliver the best patient care they can. However, when it comes to thorny societal issues like the intersection of race and class in medicine, unequal access to health care, and the outsized toll chronic disease can take on marginalized populations, medical students have historically had little opportunity to engage.

With new funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, UVM Associate Professor of Medicine Halle Sobel, M.D., and Elly Riser, M.D., UVM clinical instructor in medicine, are working to bring training on treating opioid use disorder as a chronic condition to physicians at the beginning of their careers – during medical school.

University of Vermont scientists, physicians, and students gathered at the Larner College of Medicine February 6 for the first-ever on-campus “virus slam” hosted by the Translational Global Infectious Diseases Research Center. At the event, some twenty experts, from five UVM colleges and institutes, gave five-minute mini-talks that ranged from explaining the biochemistry of the virus’ interaction with the human immune system to interpreting the latest data from the World Health Organization.

Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., UVM professor of medicine and director of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Program at the UVM Medical Center, commented on an Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology study on the potential increased risk of blood clots in people with blood types A and B in U.S. News & World Report.

Glenn Goldman, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of dermatology, was invested as the inaugural Rogers and Nancy Follansbee Professor of Dermatology during a formal ceremony held February 3, 2020 at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

​The Teaching Academy at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held its annual Snow Season Education Retreat on January 15-16, 2020 in the College’s Medical Education Center and UVM Davis Center. Highlights included an Induction Ceremony for 2019 new members and advanced members, the presentation of the annual Teaching and Education Awards, and the first annual Snow Season Debate, moderated by Professor and Chair of Pediatrics Lewis First, M.D.

(DECEMBER 4, 2019) A study published in JAMA Network Open last week and coauthored by Timothy Plante, M.D., Asst. Prof of Medicine, and Daniel Silverman, M.D., cardiology fellows, has been covered fairly widely in the media, including U.S. News & World Report, HealthDay News and Breitbart.

A new publication by UVM Clinical Instructor in Medicine Daniel Silverman, M.D., and Assistant Professor of Medicine Timothy Plante, M.D., M.H.S., in JAMA Network Open links use of beta-blockers to heart failure hospitalizations among those with this common “stiff heart” heart failure sub-type.

Two University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine faculty have been named to a list of the world’s most influential researchers, based on the number of times their published studies have been cited by other researchers over the past decade. Researchers on the list are in the top 1 percent of all scholars whose work has been cited. The prestigious Highly Cited Researchers list is compiled and published annually by Clarivate Analytics.

The UVM Health Network is partnering with Invitae and LunaPBC on a pilot project to offer Genomic DNA Testing to patients as part of their clinical care. The pilot program is the beginning of an effort to increase the integration of genetic disease risks into routine medical care, which holds promise for providing Vermonters with valuable information to guide their health decisions.

The Larner College of Medicine's fourth annual "Celebrating Excellence in Research" series featured two days of presentations and recognition designed to highlight research performed by junior faculty, senior faculty, postdoctoral trainees, and graduate students at the College.

Anne Dixon, M.A., BM BCh, professor of medicine and division chief of pulmonary disease & critical care medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, has been named the new director of the Vermont Lung Center.

(OCTOBER 15, 2019) Several news outlets recently covered a research study on flavored e-cigarettes and asthma published in Nature Scientific Reports by Larner faculty and trainees, including senior author and Professor of Medicine Charles Irvin, Ph.D. The study was funded through UVM's Tobacco Center on Regulatory Science (TCORS) grant.

(OCTOBER 7, 2019) Coverage of recommendations from an Endocrine Society-convened panel of diabetes experts published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society and led by Professor of Medicine and Director of Endocinology, Diabetes & Metabolism John Leahy, M.D., received coverage in several media outlets.

UVM’s Faculty Activity Network, or FAN, presents a unique opportunity to find collaborators in different disciplines. The program comes with a perk: a lunch in Waterman Manor after the lab session with Richard Galbraith, M.D., Ph.D., whose only cost for participants is to weather the friendly interrogation the research vice president launches at his lunch companions.

(AUGUST 7, 2019) Prema Menon, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic at the University of Vermont Medical Center, was featured in a WCAX-TV Channel 3 segment about the Medical Center's new designation from the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation as a member of their Care Center Network.

Interim Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education and Associate Dean for Students Christa Zehle, M.D., recently announced the appointments of Shaden Eldakar-Hein, M.D., M.S., associate professor of medicine, and Prema Menon, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, as interim assistant deans for students in the Office of Medical Student Education.

​Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and senior associate dean for research at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, has been appointed to a parallel role as University of Vermont Health Network Director of Research by John Brumsted, M.D., CEO of the UVM Health Network.

Associate Dean for Public Health Jan K. Carney, M.D., M.P.H., has been named associate dean for public health and health policy and senior advisor to the dean. In addition, she will serve as Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) faculty accreditation lead for the College’s 2021 site visit for reaccreditation.

(JUNE 11, 2019) Assistant Professor of Medicine and rheumatologist Narandra Bethina, M.D., is featured in an article in Creaky Joints regarding arthritis in the ankle.