Vito Imbasciani, Ph.D., M.D.’85

Adam Ross ’22 keeps a piece of paper tacked to the wall above his desk. It’s a brief note from Vito Imbasciani, Ph.D., M.D.’85, that Ross discovered tucked in the pocket of the white coat he received as a first-year Larner College of Medicine student in September of 2018.

Dear Adam, 

Everything important I have done in my life came out of what was given to me at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, and you stand a pretty good chance of being able to say the same thing, 33 years after your graduation. Whether it’s helping individual patients or entire communities, you will have learned how to do that and much more during the next four years. My MD degree allowed me to care for patients in hospitals, soldiers on battlefields, and now all of the 1.7 million veterans in California. I can only wonder where your degree will allow you to do it.

Best of luck, Vito Imbasciani

For the last few years, Imbasciani and other Larner alumni have delighted in writing notes to the College’s newest medical students, to be discovered during the white coat ceremony. But for Ross, who took a five-year break between earning his undergraduate degree from the University of San Francisco and starting coursework at Larner, the note felt like more than a pat on the back from a stranger.

“I appreciated that someone was willing to reach out as an alum— someone who might be able to help guide me,” he says. As it turned out, the two had much to bond over, starting with the fact that Imbasciani lives in Los Angeles; Ross is a native of the city. In addition, Ross, who hopes to engage in policy work, has been interested to learn about that aspect of Imbasciani’s current position as secretary for the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Even more significantly, Imbasciani’s long-time support of underserved populations resonated with Ross.

“I’m one of the few men of color in my class, and his work to increase diversity in classes has been inspirational,” says Ross, adding that he hopes to incorporate community outreach in his own practice. He says having “Uncle Vito” as mentor has been “eye-opening and frame-shifting.”

Imbasciani’s munificence grew in part out of his experience as a 28-year officer in the U.S. Army medical corps; he completed four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and was forced to keep his sexuality hidden. In 2014 at Larner, Imbasciani and his husband, George DiSalvo, founded their eponymous endowed LGBTQ lecture series to address disparities in healthcare delivery within that community; it was the first of its kind in the nation. More recently, Imbasciani and DiSalvo established an endowment to increase diversity at the Larner College of Medicine. Those funds are currently providing a four-year scholarship for Francis Mtuke ’22. The timing of the gifts was inspired in part by a conversation Imbasciani had with then-Dean Frederick Morin, M.D. 

“We talked about the fact that a lot of people leave bequests in their wills for various philanthropic entities, including their alma maters,” Imbasciani says, but that such donors don’t get to witness their impact. “This already given me at least five years of the pleasure of seeing the good that it does, and it’s gratifying. It’s something I’ve taken as the class agent to recommending whenever it’s possible: Do it while you’re alive and get some enjoyment out of it.”

Today, in addition to his position with Veterans Affairs, Imbasciani practices urology with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. It’s a career that has given this grandson of Italian immigrants the opportunity to repay what he sees as his family’s debt, “partly out of a sense of obligation, but it also gives me the opportunity to treat communities and not just individual patients.” He says all of his work was made possible by UVM “putting two letters” after his name—something he labels “transformative.”

Of his philanthropy, Imbasciani says, “I do it out of a sense of gratitude, to pay back. The best way of doing that is to give opportunities to people just starting their career in medicine. I do it by mentoring, and by trying to reduce their financial burden, so they can become more effective more quickly when they graduate.”

And now that generosity is being returned in kind. Ross, a member of the Medical Ethics Student Interest Group, invited Imbasciani to speak to the group in April and present a couple of his own cases. 

“I know he likes to work with students from a teaching perspective,” says Ross. “Since he’s not necessarily able to do that at the institution as a faculty member, I thought this would be a good opportunity for him to discuss some of the ethical dilemmas he’s encountered, as well as some solutions.”

For Ross, this generosity of spirit is reflected in one of the prominent traditions of the profession.

“The white coat symbolizes the responsibility you have to those who came before you,” he says.

Inspired by this alum and Larner College of Medicine student story? You can create your own mentor - student relationship and help welcome the next class of aspiring physicians by making a gift to the College and submitting a White Coat Note today! Your gift to the College of Medicine Fund, along with an accompanying white coat note, is a demonstration of alumni support. Gifts to this Fund have historically provided support for scholarships, wellness initiatives, research grants, and technology needs. In this challenging time it can also provide the dean with funds he can rely on for immediate needs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, the need is great. Make a gift and share a note of encouragement today!