Previous Awards
2017
At the 2017 Dean’s Excellence in Research Awards event, a State of the
College Research Address and awards from the Larner College of Medicine
and the UVM Health Network Medical Group were presented, followed by a
keynote lecture, titled "Basic Research: The Foundation on Which
Advances in Medicine are Built," by Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D., director of
the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
In addition to the awards, the celebration also included a Graduate
Student and Postdoctoral Trainee Research Showcase on November 10 and a
lecture by 2017 UVM Medical Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate
Alumni Award recipient and Chair of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
David Warshaw, Ph.D.’79 on November 13.
Research Showcase Awards
Postdoctoral Trainee Division
Awardee: Gabriela Bucini, Ph.D.
Publication: “Protecting herd health: Interactive agent-based modeling used to reduce the impact of disease in livestock industries”
Runner-Up: Kirsten Tracy, Ph.D.
Publication: “Mitotically associated long non-coding RNA MANCR affects cell cycle in breast cancer”
Senior Graduate Student Division
Awardee: Dominique Lessard
Publication: "Novel Kinesin-3 Motor Behavior is Regulated by Tau"
Runner-Up: Devin Champagne
Publication: "ABC transporter mediated chemoresistance is fueled by mitochondrial metabolism"
Junior Graduate Student Division
Awardee: Leslie Sepaniac
Publication: "Different Mechanisms of Micronucleus Formation and Impact to Genomic Stability"
Runner-up: Alex Thompson
Publication: "Post-translational Modification of the Kinesin Motor Eg5 Alters its Function in Mitosis"
Trainee Awards
Outstanding Research Publication by a Graduate Student
Awardee: Andrew Lombardo
Mentor: David Warshaw, Ph.D.’79, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Outstanding Research Publication by a Medical Student
Awardee: Katharine Runte, M.D.
Mentor: Markus Meyer, M.D., Medicine
Outstanding Research Publication by a Postdoctoral Fellow
Awardee: Matthew Albaugh, Ph.D.
Mentor: Hugh Garavan, Ph.D., Psychiatry
Outstanding Research Publication by a Resident'
Awardee: Kara Landry, M.D.'15, Clinical Instructor in Medicine
Mentor: Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., Medicine
Norman R. Alpert Research Prize
Awardee: Jamie Stern
Mentor: Christopher Berger, Ph.D., Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
UVM Health Network Medical Group Awards
Junior Researcher of the Year
Awardee: Kim Dittus, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine
Senior Researcher of the Year
Awardee: Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., professor of medicine
Research Grants
Andrew Solomon, M.D., associate professor of neurological sciences, and
Richard Watts, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology; Sarah Guth, M.D,
assistant professor of psychiatry; James Hudziak, M.D., professor of
psychiatry and Marjorie Meyer, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics,
gynecology and reproductive sciences.
Innovation Grants
Leigh-Anne Cioffredi, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, Erica
Gibson, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, Abigail Crocker, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, Andrea Villanti,
Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry; Abiy Ambaye, M.D., associate
professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, Pamela Gibson, M.D.,
associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and Douglas
Taatjes, Ph.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine.
Larner College of Medicine Faculty Awards
Research Mentorship
Awardee: Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine
Rising Star New Investigator
Awardee: Vikas Anathy, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine
Mid-Career Investigator
Awardee: Christopher Huston, M.D., associate professor of medicine
Research Laureate:
Awardee: Gary Stein, Ph.D., chair of biochemistry, Perelman Professor of Cancer Research and director, UVM Cancer Center
2016
More than 150 faculty, trainees and staff attended the inaugural Dean’s Excellence in Research Awards event, titled “Celebrating Excellence in Research,” at The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont on November 1, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. in Carpenter Auditorium in the Given Building. Lita Proctor, Ph.D., Program Director for the Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health(NIH) delivered a keynote address, and a poster session reception followed the awards ceremony.
View the photo slideshow >>
Senior Associate Dean for Research Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., announced the following trainee and faculty awards and respective recipients at the event:
Trainee Awards
Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication - Graduate Student
Awardee: E. Ross Colgate, M.P.H., Researcher/Analyst, Vaccine Testing Center and Clinical and Translational Science Ph.D. Student
Nominated by: Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D.
Publication: Colgate RE, Haque R, Dickson DM, Carmolli MP, Mychaleckyj JC, Nayak U, Qadri F, Alam M, Walsh MC, Diehl SA, Zaman K, Petri WA, Kirkpatrick BD. Delayed Dosing of Oral Rotavirus Vaccine Demonstrates Decreased Risk of Rotavirus Gastroenteritis Associated With Serum Zinc: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016; 63: 634-41.
Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication - Medical Student
Awardee: Matthew LeComte, M.D. '16, Ph.D., '15
Nominated by: Jeffrey Spees, Ph.D.
Publication: LeComte MD, Shimada IS, Sherwin C, Spees JL. Notch 1 STAT3 -ETBR signaling axis controls reactive astrocyte proliferation after brain injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2015; 172:8726-8731.
Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication - Postdoctoral Fellows
Awardee: Nicholas Farina, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate in Biochemistry
Nominated by: Jane Lian, Ph.D.
Publication: Farina NH, Wood ME, Perrapato SD, Francklyn CS, Stein GS, Stein JL, Lian JB. Standardizing analysis of circulating microRNA: Clinical and biological relevance. J Cell Biochem. 2014; 195:147-163.
Awardee: Vicki Hart, Ph.D., Principal, Heart DataWorks
Nominated by: Brain Sprague, Ph.D.
Publication: Hart V, Sprague BL, Lakoski SG, Hampton JM, Newcomb PA, Gangnon RE, Trentham-Dietz A. Trends in health related quality of life following a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2016; 34(12):1323-1329.
Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication - Residents
Awardee: William Tharp, M.D. '14, Ph.D. '13, Clinical Instructor in Anesthesiology
Nominated by: Don Matthews, M.D.
Publication: Tharp WG, Gupta D, Smith J, Jones KP, Jones AM, Pratley RE. Effects of glucose and insulin on secretion of amyloid-β by human adipose tissue cells. Obesity 2016; 24:1471-1479.
Awardee: Anjali Varigonda, M.D., Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry
Nominated by: Judith Lewis, M.D.
Publication: Varigonda AL, Jakubovski E, Block MH. Systematic review and meta-analysis: Early treatment responses to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pediatric major depressive disorder. J Acad Child Adolescent Psych 2016; 55:851-859.
Faculty Awards
Research Mentorship
Awardee: Charles Irvin, Ph.D., Professor; Vice Chair for Research Affairs, Department of Medicine; Director, Vermont Lung Center; Professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Nominated by: Polly Parsons, M.D.
Rising Star New Investigator
Awardee: Jason Stumpff, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Nominated by: David Warshaw, Ph.D.
Mid-Career Investigator
Awardee: Sarah Heil, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Nominated by: Steve Higgins, Ph.D.
Research Laureate
Awardee: Ralph Budd, M.D., University Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics; Director, Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Disease; Unit Director, Immunobiology Medicine, Department of Medicine
Nominated by: Polly Parsons, M.D.