The Film House at Burlington’s Main Street Landing was the setting for the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Class of 2023 Honors Night on May 15. Hosted by Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Christa Zehle, M.D., the event featured recognition and awards for graduating medical students, faculty, and staff.

Among the honors presented at the event were the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society faculty and house staff awards, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine faculty and student awards, the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars; department awards to students, and awards from the Class of 2023.  Read the full article and awards list.

Class of 2026 medical students Aina Rattu, Shrey Patel, and Shani Legore have been selected to lead the 2023 “Look at Larner” event in September 2023. Look at Larner is an admissions outreach program designed for students from backgrounds typically underrepresented in medicine who have a strong interest in pursuing a medical degree. Candidates in the program are aspiring medical students, from rising college juniors to postgraduates and career changers. During the two-day event, participants shadow current medical students, tour the Larner campus, and attend presentations led by faculty on various medical specialties.

Pictured (clockwise starting upper right): Rattu, Patel, and Legore

Daniel Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, received the Terry Ann Krulwich Physician-Scientist Alumni Award at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 2023 Alumni Reunion Awards Ceremony on May 10 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City. The award, which is named in honor of Terry Ann Krulwich, Ph.D., a beloved scientist, student champion, and founding director of Mount Sinai’s M.D./Ph.D. Program recognizes an outstanding Mount Sinai-trained physician scientist. 

Dana Allison ’24 presented her research on “A Survey of Virtual Reality Interventions for Autistic Spectrum Disorder Therapy: A Neuroscience Perspective” at the American Academy of Neurology 75th Annual Meeting in Boston on April 23. Allison’s research focuses on examining the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) software as an intervention augmentation for autism, using developments in affective computing to guide her investigation. Affective computing uses systems and devices, such as sensors, microphones, and video cameras, to recognize and interpret emotions. Allison’s findings highlight the significant potential of VR technology as an intervention for social-communication deficits associated with autism. The results suggest that VR software could transform the approach to delivering accessible behavioral interventions to support social-communication needs of individuals with autism. The investigation was conducted under the mentorship of Patricia A. Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, FNAP-SLP, professor of communication sciences and disorders, provost, and senior vice president at the University of Vermont.

Pictured: Dana Allison

Also in the female running category was the “UVM MedComm” team, including Janet Franz, creative content professional; Ann Howard, graphic designer; and retired PR Manager Jennifer Nachbur. Participating in the female non-profit running team category on the “Bad and Boujee” team was Mialovena Exume, Class of ’24 medical student, with teammates Noel Riby-Williams, UVM residential life program coordinator; and UVM undergraduate student DeNa Mitchell, who ran on behalf of Vermont-based Powered Magazine, an outdoor lifestyle publication by and for people of color finding joy in the outdoors.

(Pictured: Members of the UVM Corporate Cup team gather on the Vermont Statehouse steps; Exume stands on the statehouse lawn before running the Vermont Corporate Cup Challenge and State Agency Race.)

The Larner College of Medicine was one of eight medical schools selected to participate in the 2023 Millennium Conference May 2–4, hosted by the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Five Larner representatives attended the event: Melissa Davidson, M.D., professor of anesthesiology and associate dean for graduate medical education; Isaac de La Bruere, M.D., Larner medical class of 2023 alum and psychiatry resident at Boston University Medical Center; Nathalie Feldman, M.D.C.M., associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences and director of the Learning Environment, who served as the Larner team leader; Karen George, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for students; and Timothy Lahey, M.D., professor of medicine and director of medical ethics at the UVM Medical Center.

The biennial conference is a unique opportunity for multi-institutional collaboration on important topics in medical education, including the continuum of clinical education, simulation in education, critical thinking, and high-value care. The theme of this year’s event was “Professional Identity Formation: Evolving Concepts of Professionalism for Physicians in a World with Pandemics and Social and Political Upheaval.”  

Approximately 30 medical schools applied to attend the conference, and only eight were selected, said Dr. Feldman. The format included small working groups and the development of plans by school teams. According to Feldman, the conference provided opportunities for future collaboration on medical education projects, brainstorming ideas, and the likely publication of a consensus statement with participating schools as contributing authors.
 
Pictured (left to right): Davidson, de La Bruere, Feldman, George, and Lahey during the Millennium Conference at Harvard Medical School

Pictured: Krystal Ramos Barerra