As of December 2024, Andrew Strong, M.S., has been appointed manager of clinical simulation operations for the Clinical Simulation Laboratory (CSL) at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at ̽̽, where he reports to Daniel Ackil, D.O., assistant dean for simulation and assistant professor of emergency medicine.

Strong holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. in clinical engineering from the University of Connecticut. He has many years of experience in clinical engineering, and his work history spans the health care industry as well as higher education. He joins ̽̽ from Hartford HealthCare and, previously, Yale New Haven Health.

Strong can be reached at Andrew.Strong@med.uvm.edu for any scheduling or logistical questions regarding the CSL.

A new publication in Lancet Regional Health - Americas, titled summarizes the effectiveness of applying a venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention program to increase blood clot education and risk assessment in community oncology practices. With Larner Professor of Medicine Steven Ades, M.D. M.Sc., as lead author, the study was co-led by ̽̽ Cancer Center (̽̽CC) members and oncology practice partners at New England Cancer Specialists.

Venous thromboembolism refers to the occurrence of blood clots in veins, which can lead to several serious medical conditions. According to a published this month by the ղѰ’s Katelyn Queen, Ph.D., “Cancer patients have a particularly high risk of developing VTE, with approximately 5–20 percent of patients developing the condition.”

Several organizations have issued recommendations on the use of prophylactic anticoagulation in cancer patients at a high risk for VTE; however, the implementation of these recommendations has faced numerous hurdles. The recent publication by ̽̽CC members and Larner College of Medicine faculty Ades; Karlyn Martin, M.D., M.S., associate professor of medicine; Ryan Thomas, M.D., third-year hematology and oncology fellow; and Chris Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and medical director for cancer clinical programs, together with ̽̽ Medical Center colleagues Jacob Barker, Pharm.D., and Karen Libby, B.S.N., in collaboration with the community oncology practice, found that while rates of education and risk assessment increased by implementing the ̽̽ Cancer Center model, there is a need to better understand how to overcome barriers to treatment initiation in high-risk VTE patients in the community oncology setting.

On January 4, a full arena of ̽̽ Men’s Hockey fans sang happy birthday to ̽̽’s mascot, Rally Cat, at Gutterson Fieldhouse. To make the celebration more exciting, Rally Cat invited many iconic Vermont mascot characters, including Larner’s own Dr. Moo (played by medical student Aiden Masters ’27, assisted by a “mascot handler,” medical student Quinn Duisberg ’28).

Before hitting the ice, the mascots interacted with each other and the crowd, bringing smiles to fans large and small. During the first period intermission, Dr. Moo showed big energy racing as fast as their hooves could glide toward the puck against “Skip” the Vermont Mountaineers beaver and Green Mountain Coffee’s “KCupee,” then gained possession and kicked it through “Champ” the Lake Monster’s feet, completing a successful pass to “Monty” the moose from ̽̽ Medical Center Vermont Children’s Hospital. Once the mascots cleared the rink, the Catamounts blitzed St. Lawrence for a non-conference win, 8–1!

Langdon Lawrence, M.D., M.P.H., education assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Public Health, received the 2024 Prelock Online Teaching Award in the asynchronous category for his course PH 6310 Climate Change Emergencies. Named in honor of ̽̽ Interim President Patricia Prelock, Ph.D., an early adopter of online teaching at ̽̽, the Prelock award recognizes superior online teaching, provides a model of excellence for fellow faculty, and encourages all faculty to continue to improve and advance their online teaching pedagogy.

Prelock presented the award to Lawrence on December 11 in a ceremony at the Osher Center for Integrative Health. Langdon received a framed certificate and a cash award of $1,000. In her remarks, Prelock commended Lawrence’s course for standing out among the 58 courses nominated for this award, and for earnestly engaging students on a crucial and timely topic.

“With such a challenging subject that is both personal and existential, it can be difficult to both engage and support students. The course has succeeded in maintaining this balance and thoroughly embraced ̽̽’s principles of planetary health,” Prelock said.

Lawrence returned the compliment by thanking Prelock for launching the university-wide initiative on planetary health. He also thanked Jan K. Carney, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and associate dean for public health and health policy. “Thank you to Professor Carney for hearing my pitch and then green-lighting my course teaching the humanitarian implications of climate change to future public health practitioners,” Lawrence said. “Most importantly, thank you to my fantastic, curious, moral, and courageous students for continually engaging with such difficult material. I rest easier knowing the future is in your hands!”

̽̽ Cancer Center (̽̽CC) has released a month-by-month “highlight reel” of some—but by no means all—of the center’s newsworthy accomplishments for 2024 titled

The short video, published on YouTube, touches on:

  • James Gerson, M.D., and , which harnesses the power of the body’s own immune system to target cancer cells;
  • Brian Cunniff, Ph.D., and for the treatment of mesothelioma uncovered at ̽̽CC;
  • Karen Glass, Ph.D.’s Mid-Career Advancement award from the National Science Foundation;
  • Senator Welch at ;
  • Alan Howe, Ph.D., and ;
  • ղѰ’s statewide sun safety campaign;
  • Steven Lidofsky, M.D., Ph.D., and a ;
  • a by Brian Sprague, Ph.D., Hannah Perry, M.D., Sally Herschorn, M.D., and Donald Weaver, M.D.;
  • research presented by ;
  • Thomas Ahern, Ph.D., M.P.H., and an to develop a genetic panel for breast cancer;
  • Beth Zigmund, Ph.D., and ; and
  • by Tyler Erath, Ph.D., Fang Fang Chen, Ph.D., and Stephen Higgins, Ph.D.

Andrew Solomon, M.D., professor of neurological sciences, division chief of multiple sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis fellowship director at Larner and quality vice chair of neurological sciences for ̽̽ Health Network, has been appointed interim chair of the Department of Neurological Sciences at ̽̽ and interim chair of the Network Department of Neurological Sciences, effective January 3, 2025. He replaces Gregory L. Holmes, M.D., who has served in this capacity since 2013.

Solomon joined the Department of Neurological Sciences in the Larner College of Medicine in 2011 after graduating from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. He completed his residency in neurology and a fellowship in multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuroimmunology at the Oregon Health & Science University.

An investigator on numerous local and national multicenter clinical and translational studies evaluating therapeutic and prognostic interventions for MS, Solomon has been recognized nationally and internationally for his research on MS diagnosis and misdiagnosis. His current work focuses on the evaluation of novel diagnostic imaging and laboratory biomarkers for MS.

Erika Ziller, Ph.D., director of the Larner College of Medicine’s Health Services Research Center and associate professor of medicine, has been appointed to a two-year term on the Health Equity Council for the  The mission of the council is to promote and enhance physical and mental well-being for rural and frontier underserved populations through national leadership, representation, and advocacy for accessible, affordable, high-quality health services that result in an improved quality of life.

Every year since 2011 (save for a COVID hiatus), the , founded in 2002 by Larner Professor of Medicine Daniel Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., has celebrated New Year’s Day with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by its orchestra and chorus, conducted by Daniel Bruce.

Proceeds for this year’s concert at the Elley-Long Music Center in Colchester benefited the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.

Weiss, an “avocational” bassist, physician, and scientist at ̽̽, founded the festival to give area instrumentalists opportunities to play large-scale symphonic works. Performing Beethoven’s Ninth has become an annual New Year’s Day tradition.