Department of Pediatrics

Tuning in to the season’s themes of thankfulness and family, a children’s picture book titled "The Family Squeeze," written by Christian Pulcini, M.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics, shows how the power of physical touch—to both celebrate good times and endure tough times—brings a family together and builds resilience.

Larner students work with real patients in the first year of medical school. In Doctoring in Vermont, a course that pairs students with physicians in the community, they provide direct patient care and practice history-taking and examination skills. First-year students also shadow nurses in the hospital, investigate social determinants of health, and do clinical work in community settings.

(AUGUST 31, 2024) In a column on injury prevention for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Lewis First, M.D., M.S., professor and chair of pediatrics, explains how to put together a family first aid kit.

(AUGUST 7, 2024) Peter Bingham, M.D., a pediatric neurologist at the UVM Children’s Hospital, spoke with Seven Days about the fundraising efforts of the parents of a 4-year-old boy with a very rare and severe neurological condition that lacks research funding.

(AUGUST 3, 2024) Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, commented to WCAX-TV about Vermont’s new child car seat safety laws that went into effect last month.

Like subspecialists across the nation, providers at UVM Children’s Hospital Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics division and the Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families (VCCYF) saw a significant increase in referrals for autism assessment during the past decade, resulting in extremely long wait times. To address this need, the pediatric and psychiatry departments collaborated to restructure the autism assessment program, and the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP) launched a statewide-level initiative to improve rates of developmental screening and remove barriers to autism assessment and diagnosis.

Undernourished children are more vulnerable to pathogens and more likely to die from vaccine-preventable infectious disease, even when vaccinated. Research by Benjamin Lee, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, points to gut health as a contributing factor.

Danielle Ehret, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics, has been selected as a member of the 2024–25 class of fellows in the Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) program. The prestigious fellowship provides funding, sponsorship, and protected time to support the fellow’s advancement and opportunities for increased responsibility to bring their full potential to health care organizations. Candidates aspire to lead at the executive level, such as a chief officer. Ehret serves chief medical officer for the Vermont Oxford Network.

(JUNE 7, 2024) In an editorial in the journal Pediatrics, Andrea Green, M.D.C.M., professor of pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine, and Elizabeth Dawson-Hahn, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Washington, commented on findings that many immigrant communities are at risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases because of low and declining vaccination coverage.

Pediatrics faculty and providers at UVM Children’s Hospital established the Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) to add a layer of support to the care of children with serious, life-limiting illness. Many families turn to PACT as a sounding board for making difficult decisions amid their child’s medical journey.

Although Vermont is a small state, Larner doctors and scientists have continued to gain national recognition. Heidi Schumacher, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, and Debora Kamin Mukaz, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, were each recently invited to two separate events at the White House in Washington, D.C.

A “food pharmacy” at UVM Children's Hospital provides food to pediatric patients and families in Vermont, where two in five people currently experience hunger, and families with children are five times more likely than others to face food insecurity. As demand continues to grow, the Children's Hospital hopes to expand the service across the health network.

(APRIL 30, 2024) Rebecca Bell, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics, commented to NBC5 for a story about Vermont’s free gun lock program.

(APRIL 27, 2024) Lewis First, M.D., chief of pediatrics at the UVM Children’s Hospital and professor and chair of pediatrics at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, wrote about Child Abuse Prevention Month (April) in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

(APRIL 3, 2024) Critical care pediatrician Rebecca Bell, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, was quoted in a Concord Monitor article about the first school district in New Hampshire to adopt a secure firearm storage resolution.

(MARCH 26, 2024) Julie Dumas, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, spoke with WCAX-TV about a new $3.3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging that will enable researchers to explore the impact that fatty acids we eat have on brain health in seniors.

(FEBRUARY 27, 2024) Newsweek recently reported on a 2020 study building on previous research conducted at the Larner College of Medicine that found that even small amounts of music education could lead to major benefits to children’s development.

(FEBRUARY 16, 2024) Heidi Schumacher, M.D.’10, assistant professor of pediatrics, commented to The Hill about finding a balance between having sick students stay home from school and the learning-loss consequences of absenteeism.

(FEBRUARY 15, 2024) Heidi Schumacher, M.D.’10, assistant professor of pediatrics, spoke to the Rutland Herald about a bill aimed at protecting children from the harmful effects of social media.