Department of Medicine

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.”