A wide range of junior and senior University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine faculty were recognized at the annual UVM Medical Group Research & Education Awards Reception held in December 2015.

The University of Vermont Medical Group is a multi-specialty practice that includes approximately 500 physicians who are jointly employed by the UVM College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center. Each year, the group presents research and education awards to recognize faculty excellence. These awards include: Investigator-Initiated Research Awards (each team receives a two-year, $50,000 grant); Junior Researcher of the Year (recipient receives a $1,500 cash prize and a $6,000 research grant); Senior Researcher of the Year (recipient receives a $1,500 cash prize and a $6,000 research grant); CME Educator of the Year (recipient receives a $1,500 cash prize and a $6,000 education grant); GME Teacher of the Year (recipient receives a $1,500 cash prize and a $6,000 education grant).

Research Awards
The UVM Medical Group’s Investigator-Initiated two-year research awards were created to help align the academic missions of the UVM Medical Center and College of Medicine and to enhance multidisciplinary and multi-departmental work. Each year, two grants are awarded in this category.

Primary Co-Investigators Peter Moses, M.D., professor of medicine and gastroenterologist; Jessica Crothers, M.D., fourth-year pathology resident; Aaron Cohn, M.D., gastroenterology fellow; and Mario Velez, M.D., gastroenterology fellow, received a grant to study “Fecal Microbiota Transplant and Oral Bacteriotherapy in Ulcerative Colitis,” with support from Magen Phillips in UVM’s Office of Clinical Trials Research. The team will study the safety and efficacy of bacteriotherapy in patients with moderate ulcerative colitis who are on standard medical treatment. The study aims to extend the therapeutic effects of fecal microbiota transplantation – or FMT – observed in treatment of refractory C difficile colitis. Some research suggests that FMT might help restore a balanced microbiome in ulcerative colitis patients, though recent studies have yielded conflicting results.

In addition, Prema Menon, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and pulmonary and critical care specialist, and Margaret Tandoh, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, were awarded a two-year grant to study “Improving Communication with Mechanically Ventilated Patients.” This project aims to address the difficulties inherent in communicating with awake mechanically-ventilated patients in the ICU. Menon and Tandoh intend to first assess the gap in perceptions of patients, families and clinicians about the experience of awake mechanical ventilation. Based on that information, they propose to develop a tool that facilitates communications between these patients, their families and members of the health care team. Although several existing tools facilitate communication among non-verbal patients with chronic neurological diseases, they have not been tested in patients with ARF in the ICU. The need for a tool that enables effective patient and family-centered communications in such situations has been recognized by families and granting agencies.

Philip Ades, M.D., professor of medicine, was honored as the Senior Investigator of the Year. Ades has devoted his career to researching the value of exercise for the treatment and prevention of heart disease, in particular the methods and benefits of weight loss in obese coronary patients. Finalists for the award included: Mort Wasserman, M.D., professor of pediatrics; Magdalena Naylor, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry; and Sally Herschorn, M.D., professor of radiology.

There was a tie for Junior Investigator of the Year. Nikoletta Sidiropoulos, M.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, was recognized for her work studying the genomics of micropapillary thyroid carcinomas and microRNAs. Charlotte Teneback, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and pulmonary and critical care specialist, was honored for her research and leadership of the Cystic Fibrosis Therapeutic Development Center and the Medical Center’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program, both of which have received national attention. Finalists for the award included: Andrew Solomon, M.D., assistant professor of neurological sciences, and Joshua Nickerson, M.D., assistant professor of radiology

Education Awards
The 2015 GME Teacher of the Year is Rebecca Wilcox, M.D., associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. Wilcox, who was selected in 2010 as Attending of the Year by pathology residents, was praised by one of her current residents, who says, “She not only engages residents day-to-day on clinical correlations to diagnoses, she really challenges the residents on difficult cases to see beyond the gross pathology and glass slide to what the disease really means to patients . . . she inspires and makes you want to learn more.” Gino Trevisani, M.D., associate professor of surgery, was a finalist for this award.

Glenn Goldman, M.D., professor of medicine, chief of dermatology, and director of the Dermatology Residency Program, was named CME Teacher of the Year. Goldman has served as course director of the Winter Dermatology Course since 2011, and is heavily involved in planning the Advanced Dermatology Conference. He often serves as a guest lecturer for Grand Rounds and other conferences, and recently presented at the Family Medicine Review Course. Participants praise him for the clarity and usefulness of his presentations. James Hebert, M.D., professor of surgery, and William Charash, M.D., Ph.D., professor of surgery, were finalists for this award.

Learn more about the UVM Medical Group.

PUBLISHED

02-11-2016
Jennifer Nachbur
Peter Moses, M.D. (left), UVM Professor of Medicine, and Philip Ades, M.D., UVM Professor of Medicine (Photo: UVM COM Design & Photography)
Nikoletta Sidiropoulos, M.D. (left), UVM Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Charlotte Teneback, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine. (Photos: UVM COM Design & Photography)