Dark green background with grid graphic under the text Dean's Celebration of Excellence in Research September 18 - 22, 2023 in white and yellow font and round image with text reading 200th anniversary, Larner College of Medicine University of Vermont

Dean's Celebration of Excellence in Research
September 18 - 22, 2023

The Dean's Celebration of Excellence in Research is an annual event highlighting the research being conducted by junior faculty, senior faculty, postdoctoral trainees, and graduate students at the University of Vermont and the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.

Schedule of Events

Monday, September 18

8:00 - 5:00 P.M.Post-Doc Research Poster Display

8:35 - 10:50 A.M. Student Research Showcase Presentations

12:15 - 1:15 P.M. - Research Laureate Lecture

A headshot of smiling blond woman, standing outside."Erroneous DNA repair, genomic instability, and cancer" presented by Sylvie Doublié, Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. 

Dr. Doublié received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying the mechanism of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases with Dr. Charlie Carter. She did postdoctoral work on proteins of the signal recognition particle with Dr. Stephen Cusack at the EMBL outstation in Grenoble, France and with Dr. Tom Ellenberger at Harvard Medical School, where she studied DNA polymerase mechanism. She joined the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in 1998 and received the 2022 Research Laureate Award from the Larner College of Medicine. 

1:35 - 2:50 P.M.  Student Research Showcase Presentations

Tuesday, September 19

8:00 - 5:00 P.M. Post-Doc Research Poster Display

10:05 - 11:00 A.M. Student Research Showcase Presentations

12:00 - 1:00 P.M. - Alumni Award Presentation and Lecture

Andra Stephenson headshot“Unlocking Success Together: Navigating Achievement Through the Power of Mentorship & Collaborative Growth” Presented by Andra Stevenson, Ph.D.'01, M.P.H., Senior Director of Global Medical Affairs for Merck & Co., Inc. After earning his bachelor’s degree in biology and sociolinguistics at the University of Vermont, he worked as a research technician in the UVM Department of Pharmacology before eventually enrolling as a Ph.D. candidate. As a researcher in Professor Mark Nelson’s lab, Dr. Stevenson focused on calcium signaling in vascular smooth muscle to gain a better understanding myogenic tone and blood vessel regulation. Read Dr. Stevenson's Full Bio

Wednesday, September 20

8:00 - 5:00 P.M.Post-Doc Research Poster Display

9:00 - 11:00 A.M. - Tours of the Cores

  • Tours depart at 9, 9:30, 10, and 10:30 A.M.
  • Meet in the break room space on the first floor of the Firestone Medical Research Building

5:00 - 7:00 P.M.Research Rally & Reception

Thursday, September 21

8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Post-Doc Research Poster Display

4:30 - 5:30 P.M. - State of Research at the College & Awards Presentation

5:30 - 6:30 P.M. - Post-Awards Reception

  • Hoehl Gallery
Friday, September 22

8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Post-Doc Research Poster Display

12:00 - 1:00 P.M.Stetson Lecture, presented by The UVM Larner College of Medicine, John Stetson, UVM’56, M.D.’60 and Roberta B. Stetson UVM’57

“From Bog to Bedside: The story behind the first dedicated Phage Therapy Program in North America”, presented by Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D., M.Sc., Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and Harold Simon Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. 

A photo of a blond woman smiling, wearing a black top, gold earrings and necklaceDr. Strathdee is an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego where she codirects the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH). In 2016, Strathdee and colleagues were credited with saving her husband’s life from a deadly superbug infection using bacteriophages –viruses that attack bacteria. Dr. Strathdee was named one of TIME magazine’s Most Influential People in Health Care in 2018.

1:10 - 1:45 P.M. - Book Signing

The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir by Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D., M.Sc.

  • MedEd Lobby, outside the Sullivan Classroom from 1:10 - 1:45 P.M.