Office of Primary Care and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

(DECEMBER 4, 2024) Researchers from Saint Michael’s College and the Larner College of Medicine have made a groundbreaking new discovery—guided by previous research of spider brains—that provides a better understanding of how Alzheimer’s disease develops in the human brain, according to Verve Times.

(NOVEMBER 30, 2024) In his regular child health column in the Adirondack Daily Messenger, Lewis First, M.D., M.S., professor and chair of pediatrics, recently shared his gratitude for “children who have parents that have set great examples for them” by following his First with Kids weekly tips over the years.

(NOVEMBER 28, 2024) Jeremiah Dickerson, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, shared tips for handling holiday stress with WCAX-TV.

(NOVEMBER 27, 2024) Dhruv Shah, D.O., assistant professor of psychiatry at the Larner College of Medicine, discusses seasonal affective disorder in a WVNY-TV story.

(NOVEMBER 27, 2024) Andrew Rosenfeld, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, spoke with the Saint Albans Messenger about mental health and self-care while weathering a New England winter.

The Larner College of Medicine joined communities across the U.S. in celebration of National Rural Health Day on November 21, 2024. This annual event celebrates the “Power of Rural” and honors individuals and organizations dedicated to addressing the unique health care needs of nearly 61 million people currently living in rural America.

Class of 2025 medical students Liz Kelley and Jessie Lucas are recipients of the Ignat Scholars Incentive Scholarship/Loan Forgiveness Program, which will forgive their medical school loans if they return to Vermont within one year of completing their medical training.

(November 21, 2024) Erika Ziller, Ph.D., director of Larner’s Health Services Research Center, will use a $2.8 million grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to establish a new research center to study the effect of federal policy on rural health care, WCAX-TV reports.

(NOVEMBER 20, 2024) NBC5 featured Lindsay Smith, M.D., M.A., director of the UVM Medical Center’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, and John Ahern, Pharm.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, discussing the importance of using antibiotics and antifungal medications correctly.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2024) Members of a working group studying the use of psychedelics to improve mental health—including Vermont Health Commissioner and Larner Professor of Medicine Mark Levine, M.D.—are not ready to endorse a state program at the moment but have their sights set on the future, the Brattleboro Reformer reported.

(NOVEMBER 19, 2024) UVM Medical Center President and COO Stephen Leffler, M.D., was featured on WAMC Northeast Public Radio’s Roundtable in a discussion about recently announced cuts to patient services by the University of Vermont Health Network.

(NOVEMBER 14) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, commented to Seven Days on the University of Vermont Health Network’s recent announcement of sweeping service cuts—which the network blames on recent regulatory decisions.

(NOVEMBER 12, 2024) Infectious disease specialist W. Kemper Alston, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine, was quoted in a Public News Service article on so-called superbugs.

Many people note that a silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it forced people to collaborate remotely, accelerating innovations in teamwork and problem-solving. This is evident within the UVM Children’s Hospital and the pediatrics department at the Larner College of Medicine.

During their first year of medical school, Class of 2025 medical students Lindsay Aldrich and Richard Vuong won a competitive fellowship from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to develop an idea: They envisioned bringing the doctor’s office to new mothers and infants in rural regions of Vermont via a mobile health clinic.

Since the Global Health Program’s inception, more than 120 medical students from the Larner College of Medicine have participated—most recently: Uganda (Sarah Chiavacci ’27, Annie Lindholm ’27, and Ben Sebuufu ’27); Vietnam (Martin Briche ’27, Max Pendleton ’27, Curtis Plante ’27, and Eunice Suberu ’27); and the Dominican Republic (Arya Kale ’27 and Estefania “Stefa” Obando ’27).

(NOVEMBER 7, 2024) A North Country man says lung cancer screening saved his life, WVNY-TV reported. Beth Zigmund, M.D., associate professor of radiology, a diagnostic radiologist with the UVM Cancer Center said only 10 percent of Vermonters at high risk of cancer are being screened.

Pre-med students visited the University of Vermont October 25–26, 2024, for the fourth annual “Look at Larner,” a two-day event for aspiring medical students from populations underrepresented in the profession of medicine.

(NOVEMBER 3, 2024) In a VT Digger article on helping kids navigate election stress, Steven Schlozman, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, shared advice for parents.

(NOVEMBER 1, 2024) UVM Health Network Chief Medical Officer David Clauss, M.D., commented in a Saint Albans Messenger article on how the IV fluid shortage is impacting Franklin County medical services.