A Center of Biomedical Research Excellence

The Vermont Lung Center (VLC), has existed at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont since 1972. It has had a rich and productive past that has had a significant impact nationally in the fields of lung biology and disease. Building on this history, the VLC was enriched by a COBRE award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the NIH, which ran from 2000-2015. Our current research program focuses on asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, with a mechanistic focus on physiology, immunology and redox biology. The goals of the VLC are to investigate the mechanisms of lung biology and disease, and to train, recruit and retain outstanding scientists at UVM.

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Research Training

The VLC has been established as a regional focal point for education. A series of education programs are being offered that target a varied audience including patients, parents/guardians of patients, health care professionals, the academic community, and the general public.

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Clinical Trials

Care of patients with lung disease presents a number of unique problems for optimal healthcare delivery, particularly in the rural setting of Vermont. Our goal is to establish the Lung Center as the regional point of expertise, referral and quality patient care.

VT Lung Center in the News

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Dixon Named Director of Vermont Lung Center

October 22, 2019 by Jennifer Nachbur

Anne Dixon, M.A., BM BCh, professor of medicine and division chief of pulmonary disease & critical care medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, has been named the new director of the Vermont Lung Center.

Anne Dixon, M.A., BM BCh, Director of the Vermont Lung Center (Photo: LCOM Communications)

University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., Senior Associate Dean for Research Gordon Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., and E.L. Amidon Chair and Professor of Medicine Polly Parsons, M.D., have announced that Anne Dixon, M.A., BM BCh, professor of medicine and division chief of pulmonary disease & critical care medicine, has been named the new director of the Vermont Lung Center.

Originally founded in 1972, the Vermont Lung Center at the University of Vermont (UVM) has been conducting groundbreaking basic science and clinical research for nearly half a century. Charles Irvin, Ph.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for faculty affairs, was appointed as the Vermont Lung Center’s director in 1998. Under his leadership, the Center became a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in 2000, securing 15 years of funding from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The Vermont Lung Center was chosen as one of only 15 American Lung Association Airways Clinical Research Centers, and has been a national leader in basic and clinical research related to respiratory and critical care diseases.

“We are incredibly grateful for Dr. Irvin’s passion, commitment, and leadership, which have helped ensure that Vermont Lung Center faculty and staff could continue conducting world-class research, our patients had access to cutting-edge clinical trials and care, and the Larner College of Medicine became a leader in lung disease research,” said Page, Jensen, and Parsons in an announcement to the Larner College of Medicine community.

Dixon, a fellow of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), joined the UVM faculty in 2001. She has a notable national and international reputation in the field of asthma, and has served as director of clinical research at the Vermont Lung Center for the past 18 years. In this new role, she is responsible for leading and tracking Vermont Lung Center activities and accomplishments, and supporting Vermont Lung Center-affiliated faculty in securing publication of peer-reviewed papers and applying for and receiving extramural funding, and will create and enlist the guidance of both internal and external advisory boards for the Vermont Lung Center.

A current and past member on several NIH and Veterans’ Affairs study sections, national guideline panels, and the American Lung Association’s national Board of Directors, Dixon’s clinical and research expertise lies in the areas of asthma and lung disease related to obesity and metabolic dysfunction. She was named the UVM Health Network Medical Group’s Senior Investigator of the Year in 2016. Dixon received her medical degree from Oxford University in England and completed an internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins University and a pulmonary and critical care fellowship at the University of Washington. To date, she has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, an edited book, and 12 other book chapters. Her extramural funding includes four NIH R01 grants and two other NIH grants.

“We congratulate Dr. Dixon on her new role and look forward to the Vermont Lung Center’s continued success and excellence in the field of lung disease research and treatment in the years to come,” said Page, Jensen, and Parsons.