On Sunday, September 9, the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, in collaboration with the UVM Cancer Center, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UVM’s Prism organization, and the UVM Health Network, proudly participated in Burlington’s 41st annual Pride Parade.

In a recent paper, titled “Vasohibin Inhibition Improves Myocardial Relaxation in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction,” Matthew Caporizzo, Ph.D., assistant professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, along with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, have created a powerful small molecule vasohibin inhibitor (VASHi) to block MTN detyrosination in live animals. Detyrosination is the enzymatic removal of the tyrosine (an amino acid that is used by cells to build proteins) residue from the C-terminal end of tubulin (a protein that forms microtubules), which makes the microtubules sticky, impeding the heart cells from relaxing properly.

Health equity improves when the health sciences workforce reflects the diversity of the community and health care systems invest in marginalized communities. The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at UVM, along with the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the College of Education and Social Services, has recently been granted a substantial award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—an R25 Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA)—to sponsor a new mentorship and science enrichment cohort program, New American Youth on the Rise (NAYR), aimed at guiding girls from immigrant backgrounds into college careers in health sciences.

Larner College of Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine Sherrie Khadanga, M.D, has recently addressed ways to improve cardiac rehab (CR) methods in two different populations, addressing both age and socioeconomic status.

Shalina Nair, M.D., M.B.A., executive vice chair of clinical services and innovation at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and medical director for Population Health Outreach at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, has been appointed as the new chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at University of Vermont (UVM) and UVM Health Network.

The Center on Aging is pleased to announce that a collaborative research team has been awarded the 2024 Armin Grams Memorial Research Award. The project, Usability and Validity of In-Home Assessment of Mobility and Speech Production in Aging Rural Vermonters with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment, is co-led by investigators David Jangraw, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Denise Peters, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Movement Science. Other faculty team members include Victoria Priganc, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Movement Science, Occupational Therapy Program; Co-Directors of the Center for Biomedical Innovation Lecturer Samantha Fox, B.S., and Professor of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering Michael J. Rosen, Ph.D.