Department of Radiology

(FEBRUARY 6, 2024) UVM Health Network President and CEO Sunny Eappen, M.D., M.B.A., and UVMHN Radiation Oncology Chair H. James Wallace, M.D., associate professor of radiology at the Larner College of Medicine, commented to the Press-Republican about a new initiative to upgrade cancer care services at network hospitals.

The Larner College of Medicine medical Class of 2023 Honors Night on May 15 featured recognition and awards for graduating medical students, faculty, and staff.

An analysis by UVM medical student Benjamin Weaver and UVM Cancer Center member and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology Nataniel Lester-Coll, M.D., illustrated both health disparities and parities across a cohort of 100,000+ patients with the most common form of liver cancer. Their results were published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

(NOVEMBER 10, 2022) Nataniel Lester-Coll, M.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology, spoke about the effects of cyberattacks on radiation oncology at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s 2022 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Medscape reported.

(July 18, 2022) Despite the strong evidence for early lung cancer screening and its widespread availability, very few eligible individuals take advantage of this potentially lifesaving procedure, Beth Zigmund, M.D., associate professor of radiology, wrote in an opinion piece in VTDigger.

(JULY 11, 2022) Beth Zigmund, M.D., associate professor of radiology and director of lung cancer screening for UVMMC, explained the benefits of early detection and treatment as part of the UVM and Dartmouth cancer centers’ newly launched partnership with the state’s cancer coalition, NBC5 reported.

On May 13, the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held Honors Night for graduating medical students in the Class of 2022. Accolades presented included the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society faculty, housestaff, and community physician awards; the Arnold P. Gold Foundation's Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine faculty and student awards; Area Health Education Center Scholars; department awards to students; and awards from the Class of 2022.

In recent years, total neoadjuvant treatment—a potent new therapy for advanced colorectal cancer—has emerged as the standard of care. But the treatment can be harsh, impacting quality of life for many patients. A new study published in Clinical Colorectal Cancer by a team of researchers affiliated with the University of Vermont Cancer Center highlights a variety of new colorectal cancer treatments that take into account both a patient’s likely health outcome and quality of life factors.

The UVM Cancer Center Summer Student Fellowships in Cancer Research provide $3,000 stipends to graduate and medical students for cancer-related research projects, overseen by senior faculty members affiliated with the center.

New research from U.S. Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) members, including several University of Vermont researchers, found that from March to September 2020, breast biopsies and detected cancers at U.S. BCSC facilities dropped sharply, compared with the same span a year earlier.

An interdisciplinary team of Vermont researchers and a partner at Yale's Smilow Cancer Center, conducted an economic evaluation to establish an overall cost-effectiveness comparison of two approaches to the treatment of low-volume metastatic prostate cancer. Their findings, published in JAMA Network Open, strongly support the addition of prostate radiation therapy to standard androgen deprivation therapy.

A new study conducted by a team of health economists and public health faculty at the University of Vermont suggests that the behavior public officials are now mandating or recommending to slow the spread of COVID-19--wearing a face covering--should come with a caveat. If not accompanied by proper public education, the practice could lead to more infections.

New research, published by scientists at the University of Vermont and Caltech in the journal Cell, has pinpointed three specific mechanisms that allow SARS-CoV-2 to incapacitate human cells by disabling the cell’s alarm system to call for help or warn nearby cells of infection.

(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.

(JUNE 16, 2020) A study by Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology, and colleagues was covered in a MarketWatch article, titled "Some Americans are more likely to socially distance and wear faces masks than others -- here's why."

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.

(MAY 2, 2020) Comments from Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiology, are featured in a Wall Street Journal article, titled "Coronavirus Kills People an Average of a Decade Before Their Time, Studies Find."

Research findings, published in JAMA Network Open and led by University of Vermont Cancer Center researcher Brian Sprague, Ph.D., show that breast cancer screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (also known as 3D mammography) improves breast cancer screening performance among most radiologists.

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 Teaching Academy at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont held its annual Snow Season Education Retreat on January 15-16, 2020 in the College’s Medical Education Center and UVM Davis Center. Highlights included an Induction Ceremony for 2019 new members and advanced members, the presentation of the annual Teaching and Education Awards, and the first annual Snow Season Debate, moderated by Professor and Chair of Pediatrics Lewis First, M.D.