Research News

Inaugural Dean’s Excellence in Research Awards Recognize Trainees, Faculty

November 14, 2016 by Jennifer Nachbur

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.

Dean's Excellence in Research Awards recipients (from left) Stephen Higgins, Ph.D., holding colleague Sarah Heil's award; Charles Irvin, Ph.D.; Ralph Budd, M.D.; and Jason Stumpff, Ph.D. (Photo: David Seaver)

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.

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: E. Ross Colgate, M.P.H., Researcher/Analyst, Vaccine Testing Center and Clinical and Translational Science Ph.D. student

Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication/Medical Student: Matthew LeComte, M.D.'16, Ph.D.'15

Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication/Postdoctoral Fellows: Nicholas Farina, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate in Biochemistry; and Vicki Hart, Ph.D., Principal, Heart DataWorks

Trainee Award for Outstanding Research Publication/Residents: William Tharp, M.D.'14, Ph.D.'13, Clinical Instructor in Anesthesiology; and Anjali Varigonda, M.D., Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry

Faculty Awards
Research Mentorship: Charles Irvin, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Faculty

Rising Star New Investigator: Jason Stumpff, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics

Mid-Career Investigator:  Sarah Heil, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry (award accepted by Stephen Higgins, Ph.D.)

Research Laureate: Ralph Budd, M.D., University Distinguished Professor and Director, Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Lita M. Proctor, Ph.D., program director for the Human Microbiome Project in the Division of Genome Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), delivered a keynote address, titled “NIH’s Human Microbiome Project and Future Directions in Microbiome Research" following the awards presentations.

A reception and poster session took place following the event in the Hoehl Gallery in the Health Science Research Facility.