Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Department of Medicine

The University of Vermont received $181.7 million in research funding during the 2020 fiscal year - the largest in UVM history by a wide margin. The Larner College of Medicine had the largest number of grants.

(JULY 15, 2020) Bonita Libman, M.D., professor of medicine and fellowship program director for the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, is quoted in a July 15 article in The Rheumatologist, titled "COVID-19 Poses Training Challenges for Rheumatology Fellows."

Professor of Medicine Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., has been named the recipient of the American Heart Association's 2020 Award of Meritorious Achievement. She will be honored with the award, which recognizes individuals who have rendered an important service to the AHA, during the association's live stream event in October.

(JULY 10 & 14, 2020) A study preprint published on the Social Science Research Network and coauthored by Assistant Professor of Radiology Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, Ph.D., and Professor of Medicine Adam Atherly, Ph.D., was mentioned in a Wall St. Journal and Daily Kos article.

(JULY 9, 2020) A joint statement regarding venous thromboembolism research priorities issued by the International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis and American Heart Association was picked up by several online media outlets and includes quoted from Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor of medicine and statement chair.

A new, three-year $500,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will allow members of the UVM Center for Health Services Research (CHSR) at the Larner College of Medicine, led by center director and Professor of Medicine Adam Atherly, Ph.D., to explore the effectiveness of community health teams in improving the quality and efficiency of health care delivery.

More than 250 University of Vermont Medical Center staff members, Larner College of Medicine students and leaders gathered June 5 at 1 p.m. for a silent demonstration of support for racial justice in honor of George Floyd and others who have died due to racism and police brutality.

(JUNE 11, 2020) Adam Atherly, Ph.D., professor of medicine and director of the Center for Health Services Research, is quoted extensively in a Healthcare Innovation article, titled “Are Vermont’s Global Budgets, Community Health Teams Improving Outcomes?”

On May 29, 2020, Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., announced the names of the recipients of the inaugural Dean’s Awards for Professionalism. Jennifer Gilwee, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and chief of of the Division of Internal Medicine, received the Faculty Award for Professionalism. Eric Gagnon, director of facilities administration and projects, received the Staff Award for Professionalism. Isaac de la Bruere, medical student in the Class of 2022, received the Student Award for Professionalism.

On May 11, awardees from the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2020, faculty and staff were recognized through an online Honors Celebration featuring remarks from Dean Page and videotaped presentations of each award.

UVM Professor Harold Dauerman, M.D., and other representatives of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Emergency Physicians and Society of Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions, issued guidlines to help clinicians make decisions about treatment alternatives for heart attack patients in the environment of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Often-deadly blood clots are a common complication of cancer care, yet less than five percent of patients receive education on how to prevent them. A team of clinician-researchers at the UVM Cancer Center have published an evidence-based prevention “roadmap” found to reduce blood clots by 38 percent in the highest-risk patients.

(APRIL 12, 2020) Jason Bates, Ph.D., Sc.D., professor of medicine, discussed a low-cost ventilator option for treating COVID-19 patients called the Vermontilator during "You Can Quote Me" on local CBS affiliate WCAX-TV Channel 3. Bates described the potential uses, how the Vermontilator works, and why it is different from other ventilators.

Over the last three weeks, a team of scientists, engineers and doctors at the University of Vermont, including Professor of Medicine Jason Bates, have developed a new design—and built a working model—for a simple, inexpensive ventilator.

The phrase “keep your distance” has taken on a whole new and deeply important meaning in the era of COVID-19 and even Match Day, the annual senior medical student rite of passage, was not “immune” to honoring this behavior. On March 20, 2020, members of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont’s Class of 2020 went virtual to ensure social distancing while celebrating the news of where they will be spending the next three to seven years training as residents following graduation.

The Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held its first-ever event to celebrate and recognize achievements in gender equity on March 4, 2020. Governor Madeleine Kunin provided a keynote address, followed by an awards ceremony at which Ramsey Herrington, M.D., Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., Debra Leonard, M.D., Ph.D., and Lauren Elizabeth Faricy, M.D., were recognized.

(MARCH 10, 2020) Tim Lahey, M.D., professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease at the UVM Larner College of Medicine and director of clinical ethics at the UVM Medical Center, is featured in a WCAX news story about UVM Medical Center actions and preparations for dealing with the coronavirus.

​Charles Irvin, Ph.D., received the inaugural W. Fred Taylor PhD Award in recognition of his significant contributions to enhance the impact of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program at the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)/Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Coalition and Foundation Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on February 24, 2020.

From the tiniest ticks of genetic expression to the sweep of organ systems, medical students gain a deep understanding of human body function. They spend hundreds of hours learning how to use tools and technologies, from stethoscopes to point of care ultrasound, to deliver the best patient care they can. However, when it comes to thorny societal issues like the intersection of race and class in medicine, unequal access to health care, and the outsized toll chronic disease can take on marginalized populations, medical students have historically had little opportunity to engage.

With new funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, UVM Associate Professor of Medicine Halle Sobel, M.D., and Elly Riser, M.D., UVM clinical instructor in medicine, are working to bring training on treating opioid use disorder as a chronic condition to physicians at the beginning of their careers – during medical school.