Division of Nephrology

Department of Medicine

(JANUARY 6, 2023) A recent study led by Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine and of pathology and laboratory medicine, found that people with blood type AB are 82 percent more likely to experience thinking and memory impairments that can lead to dementia, World Today News reported.

(JANUARY 3, 2023) Infectious disease specialist Tim Lahey, M.D., M.M.Sc., professor of medicine, was quoted in a story on WVNY-TV ABC22 about the latest COVID variant spreading in Vermont and New Hampshire.

(DECEMBER 25, 2022) Research by Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine, and colleagues found inequities in treatments and outcomes for pulmonary embolism, The ASCO Post reports.

(DECEMBER 24, 2022) The Green Mountain Mahler Festival, founded in 2002 by pulmonologist Daniel Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, continued what has become an annual New Year’s tradition with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on January 1 at the Elley-Long Music Center in Colchester, the Barre–Montpelier Times Argus reported.

Kelly McQueen, M.D., a medical alumna from the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Class of 1991, recently established the Kelly McQueen, M.D.’91, Endowment for Global Health Education to support international clinical rotations for Larner medical students and the Global Health Program curriculum.

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 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) 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 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.

(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.

(NOVEMBER 22, 2022) A study by Professor of Medicine Neil A. Zakai, M.D., Professor of Medicine Mary Cushman, M.D., and colleagues found that lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are associated with increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in White but not Black adults, and higher levels of HDL-C are not protective for either group, HealthDay News reported.

The University of Vermont Cancer Center recently announced the names of the inaugural Juckett Scholars. The award program is part of the new Clinician Investigator Development Initiative and is supported by the Juckett Foundation.

(NOVEMBER 18, 2022) WVNY-TV interviewed Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for graduate medical education, and Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, about a "triple threat" of serious viruses that could impact the upcoming holiday season, as the flu, Covid-19, and the respiratory virus RSV can spread easily in close contact. (Click on headline for more.)

Located in a rural state with a population among the oldest in the nation, the Larner College of Medicine has long been committed to finding innovative ways to provide and improve access to health care for not only the elderly, but also all residents, regardless of location or socioeconomic status. Several research initiatives at the college focus on new approaches to help patients in these regions.

(NOVEMBER 17, 2022) Infectious disease specialist Louis Polish, M.D., associate professor of medicine, and Pamela Gibson, M.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, were among the co-authors of a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine describing two human cases in Vermont of a rare parasitic disease, according to a HealthDay News story.

(NOVEMBER 16, 2022) Professor of Medicine David Kaminsky, M.D., was interviewed by WCAX-TV for a story about a Vermont family’s search for answers following the death of 27-year-old Charles Vallee, who suffered from so-called Long Covid. (Click on headline for more.)

J. Kathleen (Kate) Tracy, Ph.D., has been appointed as senior associate dean for research and professor of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine and director of research at the UVM Health Network. She will begin her new role in February 2023.

(NOVEMBER 15, 2022) In a USA Today article on a new study suggesting that smoking marijuana may do more damage to lungs than cigarettes, pulmonary and critical care physician David Kaminsky, M.D., professor of medicine (who is unaffiliated with the study), commented, “It’s no surprise to me. A burning leaf is a burning leaf ... the lung doesn’t know the difference if it’s tobacco or marijuana.”

(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 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.