Stanford University School of Medicine anesthesiologist and expert in palliative care Rebecca Aslakson, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed as the next chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, effective September 1, 2022, following a national search.

In a Journal of American Medical Association study, researchers - including UVM Professor and UVM Cancer Center member Brian Sprague, Ph.D. - found that 3D screening with digital breast tomosynthesis had certain benefits compared to breast cancer screening with conventional 2D digital mammography.

University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., and UVM Health Network Medical Group President and Larner Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Jason Sanders, M.D., M.B.A., have announced the appointment of Ramsey Herrington, M.D., as the inaugural chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, effective July 1, 2022.

In a formal ceremony held at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine on June 28, 2022, Associate Professor of Surgery William Brundage, M.D., was invested as the inaugural Green and Gold Professor in the Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

More than 100 in-person and dozens of virtual participants attended the second annual Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health (VCCBH) Symposium, held at the University of Vermont’s Davis Center June 2 to 3, 2022. The VCCBH, one of three National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence-funded programs at UVM, is co-directed by Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor and vice chair for emerging researchers in the Department of Medicine, and Mark Nelson, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology.

Rebecca Wilcox, M.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and associate dean for faculty affairs at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, has been selected as a member of the 2022-2023 class of fellows participating in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Kiana Heredia, a medical student in the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine Class of 2024, recently helped Larner Assistant Professor of Pediatrics L.E. Faricy, M.D., create the URiM Pathway to Pediatrics (UPP) program to assist others who may encounter the doubts she experienced during her undergraduate years. The UPP program originated from a grant proposal Faricy and Heredia developed with help from Nicole Obongo ’24, Annaliese Lapides ‘24 and Mialovena Exume ’24, for American Academy of Pediatrics funding to support events aimed at increasing workforce diversity and supporting students historically underrepresented in medicine (URiM). It was Heredia’s idea to target pre-medical students in the first years of their undergraduate experience based on the disillusionment she felt at that stage of her education.

In April 2022, Class of 2024 medical student Kiana Heredia was named the inaugural recipient of the Oguejiofor Scholarship, named in honor of Collins Oguejiofor, a member of the medical Class of 2022 who died unexpectedly at the end of his second year. The scholarship is supported by The Oguejiofor Fund, which was established in the fall of 2020 with gifts from family, students, faculty, staff, friends and the UVM Larner Alumni Association.

While public health concerns like teen e-cigarette use, blood donation recruitment, and ensuring quality senior care existed prior to the pandemic, many have become of greater concern over the past two years. Class of 2025 Larner College of Medicine medical students dug into these and other health and social issues as part of their Public Health Projects course, revealing important findings that will help shape policy and direction for numerous social service agencies in the region.

A new study, led by University of Vermont Center on Behavior and Health researchers and colleagues and published in JAMA Network Open, found that using a smartphone app that monitored smoking and delivered incentives to participants’ debit cards showed promise in achieving similar results to traditional best practices with financial incentives.