Margaret Tandoh, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Senior Advisor to the Dean. (Credit: David Seaver)

University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Associate Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Margaret Tandoh, M.D., has been named to the Senior Advisory Group of Dean Richard L. Page, M.D.

In her expanded role as senior advisor to the dean, Tandoh joins deans Gordon Jensen, Ph.D., Christa Zehle, M.D., Claude Deschamps, M.D., Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., and Brian Cote, M.B.A., in providing advice and guidance to Dean Page and the College. 

“Over the last year, I have increasingly requested that Dr. Tandoh get involved with my Senior Advisory Group as we have addressed the many challenges that have arisen,” says Dean Page. “This appointment formalizes her engagement and acknowledges the value she brings to the group.”

Tandoh’s official role as a senior advisor to the dean assures that all of the group’s discussions will include her added perspective on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. This new appointment, along with the redevelopment of the Dean's Advisory Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, are important steps in our College's continued commitment to social justice and health care equity.

Tandoh, who joined the UVM faculty in 2011, is a dedicated clinician specializing in acute care surgery and the treatment of trauma and burn patients. She has served as the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at the Larner College of Medicine since 2014 and, in 2020, was invested as the inaugural holder of the Richard L. Gamelli, M.D. ’74 Green and Gold Professorship in Surgery.

At UVM, Tandoh serves as co-chair of the Dean’s Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a member of both the Advisory Council and the Learning Environment and Professionalism Committee at Larner. She is also a member of the New England Surgical Society Task Force on Diversity in Surgical Leadership and was appointed to the Vermont Board of Medical Practice in 2019.

Her service has also had global reach. When the Ebola crisis struck West Africa in 2014, Tandoh boarded a plane to her native Liberia and headed into an area with many patients and few resources, setting up an Ebola treatment unit and caring for critically ill patients for nearly two months in the port city of Buchanan. 

A true mentor, she frequently encourages Vermont high school, college, and post-doctoral students to shadow her in an effort to convince them to consider careers in the sciences or medicine. In 2014, she was honored by UVM undergraduate students with the UVM ALANA Outstanding Club Advisor Award.