Departmental News

SPACE MISSION 2020: Celebrating Match Day in the Era of Social Distancing

March 20, 2020 by Jennifer Nachbur

The phrase “keep your distance” has taken on a whole new and deeply important meaning in the era of COVID-19 and even Match Day, the annual senior medical student rite of passage, was not “immune” to honoring this behavior. On March 20, 2020, members of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont’s Class of 2020 went virtual to ensure social distancing while celebrating the news of where they will be spending the next three to seven years training as residents following graduation.

SPACE MISSION 2020 Virtual Match Day opening screen

The phrase “keep your distance” has taken on a whole new and deeply important meaning in the era of COVID-19 and even Match Day, the annual senior medical student rite of passage, was not “immune” to honoring this behavior. On March 20, 2020, members of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont’s Class of 2020 – and medical schools across the country – went virtual to ensure social distancing while celebrating the news of where they will be spending the next three to seven years training as residents following graduation.

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) reported that the 2020 Main Residency Match was its largest in history, with a record 40,084 U.S. and international applicants participating. (View the Larner College of Medicine 2020 Residency Appointment list.)

The UVM Larner College of Medicine “SPACE MISSION 2020” themed event was livestreamed on YouTube for friends, family, faculty, staff, and students to view as nearly 50 “space stations,” populated with nine or less people each, connected with “Mission Control” where Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Christa Zehle, M.D., and Interim Assistant Dean for Students Shaden Eldakar-Hein, M.D., M.S., hosted the event made possible via Zoom webinar technology. 

Instead of envelopes filled with letters on NRMP letterhead, Class of 2020 medical students received emails containing the news of the location of their residency. After remarks from Dean Page, Dean Zehle, and Class President Ava Baktyari, a fun skit featuring Deans Zehle and Eldakar-Hein, participating medical student “Space Stations” dialed in to announce their news virtually. (Link to our Match photo gallery.)

Read Class President Ava Baktyari's Remarks to the Class of 2020 here

Among the Class of 2020 medical students who matched are:

Eli Goldberg, a Shelburne, Vt. native who majored in archeology and ancient Greek as an undergrad, then worked doing health outreach for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and at Planned Parenthood before medical school. Eli says “I think it’s critical for doctors to be socially engaged – to be able to see the bigger social picture behind each individual patient, and to act as advocates where the system needs to change. Through my lens as a trans person, it’s important to me to use the training and opportunities that I have to lift up other trans folks. At the same time, my experiences working within the trans community have broadened my understanding of how other communities are marginalized in healthcare, pushed me to expand my sense of who I’m here to serve, and challenged me to become a more self-aware and effective ally. More and more, I find myself thinking about alternative ways of providing healthcare that are patient-centered, nonjudgmental, trauma-informed, and can really lift up everyone.” Eli matched into family medicine at UVM Medical Center.

Jasmine Robinson, from Westchester County, N.Y., matched into obstetrics/gynecology at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health Southside Hospital in Bayshore, N.Y. Having experienced homelessness as a child, she established the Here to Help Clinic for Burlington's homeless population through a Schweitzer Fellowship several years ago, which has grown and is supported by a Larner Student Interest Group. She says the project’s “biggest personal impact was my experiences with those among the homeless population and observing how the clinic impacted them. I gained the greatest fulfillment in seeing the community come together for a great cause . . . the success of this . . . inspires me to create more community programs addressing social determinants of health.”

Cole Shapiro of Charlotte, Vt., who couples matched with her boyfriend and Larner College of Medicine classmate Ben Lin to a pediatrics residency at Duke University School of Medicine (Ben matched in internal medicine at UNC Chapel Hill). She says “I discovered a strength in caregiving while helping a sick loved one, and this led me to study medicine. I've since focused my clinical interests in serving vulnerable populations, including identifying barriers to care. These experiences ultimately led me to apply into pediatrics - a population often lacking a voice in their medical care.” Cole has been working with a UVM pediatrician to develop a clinical curriculum for training in Burlington’s New American pediatric clinic.

A total of 120 students from the Larner College of Medicine’s Class of 2020 have matched into residencies at 72 different institutions across the U.S. and Canada, 48 in primary care specialties. Several students learned of their residency locations prior to Match Day through the Military Match and early specialty matches. Students in the Class of 2020 will earn their medical degrees at Commencement in May 2020 and will begin their residencies in June.  See the interactive map of residencies. 

Check out the Larner College of Medicine’s Match Day Instagram Story highlights >>

Announcements

 

We are excited to welcome to our department two new faculty: 
-Karen George, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology).  Dr. George is also Associate Dean for Students at Larner College of Medicine

-Amanda Kallen, MD,  Associate Professor of of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility)

Anne Dougherty, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences has now accepted the enhanced role of ODEI Director for Gender Equity.

In this new role Dr. Dougherty will continue her current coordination of workshops, speakers and awards related to the LCOM Gender Equity Initiative.  She will also develop new mentoring and resource programs for women and underrepresented minorities in medicine, participate in analysis and tracking, and collaborate on efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in faculty recruitment. As ODEI Director for Gender Equity, Dr. Dougherty will report directly to Margaret A. Tandoh, M.D., FACS, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.   Congratulations to Anne on her new role!

CONGRATULATIONS to the following faculty who received promotions (July 2021):
Nathalie Feldman, MD to Associate Professor and Navid Esfandiari, PhD to Professor

Navid Esfandiari, PhD, Professor, REI Division, received the "Star Award" from the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) - October 2021

Congratulations to Justin DeAngelis, MD who was appointed interim assistant dean for students in the Office of Medical Student Education at the Larner College of Medicine, effective March 1. Read more here

A champion for women's health, diversity and science, Elizabeth Bonney, MD recognized in News Spotlight from UVM Larner College of Medicine.  Read the article here.

Navid Esfandiari, PhD, received the “Star Award” from the 76th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) – October 2020

Misty Blanchette Porter, MD, Associate Professor, REI Division, was invited to present at AIUM education webinar - teaching on ORADS and IOTA on the evaluation of adnexal masses – Sept 2020

Justin DeAngelis, MD, Assistant Professor, Ob/Gyn, was selected as Class Mentor to the residency by the class of 2021 and was recently awarded the 2019 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award.

SO PROUD! Congratulations to Katherine Menezes, MD (PGY-3) who was awarded the Clinical Resident of the Year Award by the LCOM graduating Class of 2021!!!!  These are the awards that are given out on Honors Night to and from the graduating class.  Check out the video here.

Marjorie Meyer, MD, Division Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine, was recognized for her work in the treatment of women with opioid dependence during pregnancy in Governor Phil Scott's State of the State address on Jan 9.  Read announcement here

Theresa Ko, PhD (Croucher Fellowship 2006), Assistant Professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, was recently interviewed with the Croucher Foundation in December 2019 about her molecular biology quest to reduce maternal deaths.   Read the article here

Elizabeth Bonney, MD, MPH, Professor and Head of the Division of Reproductive Sciences was selected to present the lecture entitled "A Theory of Maternal Immunity" at the 25th Annual Dr. Raymond O. Berry Memorial Lecture on October 18, 2019. Read the announcement here.

Congratulations to Marti Churchill, CNM who received the award for "Excellence in Advanced Nursing" at the Nursing Awards Ceremony  on May 6, 2019.

Congratulations to Tendai Chiware, MD who won the 2019 Beth Fitzpatrick M.D. Citizen of the World Award, awarded by the Global Health Program at UVM LCOM and the Western Connecticut Health Network. 

We are pleased to share news of the appointment of Anne Dougherty, M.D., as Gender Equity Liaison in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at The UVM Larner College of Medicine.    Read the announcement here.

Cheung Wong, MD was invested in a formal ceremony on June 8, 2018 as the inaugural Berta Pi-Sunyer Williams Endowed Professor.   Read all about it.

The cover photo on the March 2018 issue of the American Journal of Ob/Gyn is from Dr. Kelley McLean's article Mechanical heart valves in pregnancy:  the necessity of appropriate and careful anticoagulation.

Congratulations to Cheung Wong, MD for his recent appointment as the VP for Clinical Affairs for the University of Vermont Health Network.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Bonney, MD and Natalia Gokina, PhD who have won the NIH RO1 funding for "Systemic Vasculature Remodeling Females:  Effects of the Immune System and Experience of Pregnancy".  The application was scored at the 1st percentile!

Our match results are in!  Announcing our newest residents 2018-2022:  Hayley Pierce (Saint Louis University); Allison Walker (Oregon Health & Science University) and Rebecca Zuckerman (University of Chicago).  We look forward to seeing them soon!

We are excited to welcome our new fellows on July 2, 2018 for their 3 year fellowship:  Maximilian Klein, MD (Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility fellow) and Ankita Kulkarni, MBBS (Maternal Fetal Medicine fellow)

Nathalie Feldman, M.D., Educator Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, was recently awarded (along with her colleague, Judy Lewis, MD in the Dept. of Psychiatry) the UVM Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy's "Educational Scholarship Award" for her work on the learning environment.  

Jenna Flanagan, MD (PGY-3) will be presenting a poster "A Needs Assessment for Somali Women:  Optimizing this Populations' Peripartum Care in a Tertiary Care Center in Vermont" at the North American Refugee Health Conference, June 16-18, 2017 in Toronto, Canada.

Erin Morris, MD, received the 2017 APGO Excellence in Teaching Award.  Dr. Morris is an active clinical member of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine.  She currently serves as our Associate Ob/Gyn Clerkship Director and the Faculty mentor for the Ob/Gyn Student Interest Group. 

May 15, 2017 - Elise Everett, MD was presented the Clinical Teacher of the Year Award from the Class of 2017 during Honors Night.

CONGRATULATIONS to our new interns starting June 2017: Johanna Kelley, Katherine Menezes & Rebecca Parad.