Dean's Celebration of Excellence in Research - September 23 - 27, 2024

The Dean's Celebration of Excellence in Research is an annual event highlighting the research being conducted by junior faculty, senior faculty, postdoctoral trainees, and graduate students at the University of Vermont and the University of Vermont Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine.

Schedule of Events

Monday, September 23

3 - 5:30 P.M. - Medical and Graduate Student Poster Display

  • Hoehl Gallery, Given Courtyard, MedEd Lobby

Medical Students and Graduate Students from the Larner College of Medicine will display posters showcasing their recent research. Medical student research will be displayed in the Given Courtyard and the MedEd Lobby (outside the Sullivan Classroom) and graduate student research will be displayed in Hoehl Gallery.

Tuesday, September 24

12:00 P.M. - Alumni Award Presentation and Lecture, "The Science of Service"  by Jennifer Musa, Ph.D.'94 

A head shot of a smiling woman with dark hair in an outdoor location.Dr. Jennifer (Collart) Musa ’94 is a Professor of Biology at SUNY Broome Community College. Dr. Musa received a BA in Biology and Psychology from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego in 1990 and a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Neurobiology from the University of Vermont in 1994. While at UVM, Dr. Musa had the distinct privilege and pleasure of learning and working in the laboratory of Dr. Rodney Parsons. After leaving UVM, Dr. Musa did postdoctoral work at Cornell University in the Departments of Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Medicine, where she stayed on as a research associate.  

In 2001, Dr. Musa left Cornell to join the Department of Biology faculty at SUNY Broome Community College. For the more than 20 years since, Dr. Musa has taught Anatomy and Physiology to thousands of undergraduate students and co-created unique interdisciplinary courses that give students the opportunity to learn far beyond the physical classroom. In 2009, she was recognized with the honor of the New York State Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Wednesday, September 25

5:00 P.M. - Research Rally Presentations

  • Hoehl Gallery
  • In-person attendance is encouraged. Food and beverages will be served

Larner College of Medicine researchers will give short Ted-talk style presentations about their inspiring research.

Thursday, September 26

4:30 P.M. - Awards and Research Celebration Address

Awards will be presented for Clinical Research Coordinator, Scientific Research Staff, Clinical Trials, Research Mentor, New Investigator, Mid-Career Investigator, and Research Laureate. Senior Associate Dean for Research Kate Tracy, Ph.D., will deliver her Research Celebration address following the awards presentations. 

Friday, September 27

11:45 A.M. - Stetson Lecture - Innovation and Entrepreneurship: A Strategic Blueprint to Academic Start-up Success, presented by Johannes Fruehauf, M.D., Ph.D.

A smiling man, standing with his arms crossedDr. Fruehauf is a physician-scientist and life-science entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Biolabs and LabCentral, the national network for biotech incubators and the largest co-working spaces for life-science startup companies. Together, Biolabs/LabCentral have helped launch over 850 venture funded startup companies in the life sciences in 16 different cities and have a presence in the US, Germany, France and Japan. The concept of these facilities is built around openness, transparency and shared resources and has changed the way biotech companies are built in the US. Companies launched at Biolabs/LabCentral have raised over $30bn in venture capital financing since 2010.

Dr. Fruehauf is a Founding General Partner at Mission BioCapital, an early-stage venture capital fund providing capital to start-up companies in the life sciences. Dr. Fruehauf studied Medicine in Germany and France. He practiced medicine (internal medicine and OB/Gyn) for several years in Germany before coming to Boston for a postdoctoral at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. He has authored 30 peer reviewed articles and is listed as the inventor on numerous issued and pending patents.

2:30 PM - The University of Vermont-Biolabs Innovation Hub: Where Science and Entrepreneurship Come Together

Join Kirk Dombrowski, Ph.D., University of Vermont vice president for Research and Economic Development, Kate Tracy, Ph.D., senior associate dean for Research at the Larner College of Medicine, UVM alumnus, Chris Pacheco, Ph.D., vice president of Venture Partnerships at Ginkgo Bioworks, and Johannes Fruehauf, Ph.D., M.D., founder and president of Biolabs for a conversation for a conversation moderated by Dean Richard L. Page about an exciting new partnership between science and business. The University of Vermont has partnered with Biolabs, a world-class co-working ecosystem for life science startups, to establish the UVM Biolabs Innovation Hub. The UVM Biolabs Innovation Hub will be located at UVM and will provide state-of-the-art resources to encourage the growth of life science start-ups and commercialization of research discoveries that foster and unlock innovative ideas to benefit both people and planet. 

Learn more about Dr. Dombrowski

Learn more about Dr. Tracy

Learn more about Dr. Fruehauf

Learn more about Dr. Pacheco