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New Director of Medical Student Research
Smartphone Smoking Cessation App
LGBTQ+ Cancer Patient Workshop
Mawani Leads Larner Team to One of the Top Fundraising Spots at the Vermont Heart Walk
Teams from the Larner College of Medicine—led by Minaz Mawani, Ph.D., M.Sc.—and UVM Health were among the top fundraisers for this year’s Vermont Heart Walk June 20 in Burlington. The annual Heart Walk brings together heart disease and stroke survivors, participants from local companies, and other community members to learn Hands-Only CPR, celebrate local survivors, and support the mission of the American Heart Association (AHA). This year’s event raised more than $40,000.
Dr. Mawani, a postdoctoral associate at Larner, said, “Knowing that the dollars we raised will help train more people in CPR and support research that saves lives makes us feel like we are truly making a difference in our community, and we’re grateful to be part of something so meaningful.”
Heart Walk is the AHA’s largest community-facing initiative, reaching more than 10 million people nationwide each year. Through fundraising, community education, and corporate engagement, Heart Walk aims to enhance CPR training accessibility, bolster bystander preparedness, increase funding for cardiovascular research, and drive equitable health for all people.
Cioffredi Named New Director of Medical Student Research
Leigh-Anne Cioffredi, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics and pediatric hospitalist, has joined the Larner College of Medicine Office of Medical Education as the new director of medical student research. A valued member of the Larner faculty since 2016, Dr. Cioffredi has built her physician‑scientist career entirely at UVM. Her National Institutes of Health–funded work focuses on early childhood development, social and environmental determinants of health, and prenatal exposures.
Cioffredi is widely recognized for her commitment to teaching and mentorship. She has guided numerous students through Public Health Projects and Summer Research Fellowships and contributed to the Medical Student Research Taskforce, helping strengthen access and preparation for student research.
In her new role, she will oversee and expand medical student research programs, including the Summer Research Fellowship and the Dean’s Medical Student Research Fellowship. She will support students in finding research opportunities and mentors, assist faculty across departments, and help enhance research education and curriculum.
Cioffredi brings a thoughtful vision centered on foundational research skills, strong faculty mentorship, and interdisciplinary and community partnerships. She is dedicated to ensuring that all students have access to meaningful, high‑quality research experiences that enrich clinical training and future careers.
Higgins’s Smartphone App Offers Pregnant People Financial Incentives to Quit Smoking
A new award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse will support development of a smartphone‑based treatment designed to help pregnant individuals quit smoking. The multiphase federal award was granted to University of Vermont Distinguished Professor Stephen Higgins, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health at the Larner College of Medicine.
The funding will advance testing of a digital financial‑incentives intervention that provides rewards for verified smoking abstinence. If trial results demonstrate effectiveness, the treatment could be designated a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved digital therapeutic.
Read more about Higgin’s research
Jason Stumpff, Ph.D., Named Juckett Faculty Scholar at UVM Cancer Center
The University of Vermont Cancer Center (UVMCC) is proud to announce the appointment of Jason Stumpff, Ph.D., professor of molecular physiology and biophysics at the Larner College of Medicine and co-leader of the Cancer & Host Interactions Research Program at UVMCC, a Juckett Faculty Scholar. This is a distinguished faculty honor recognizing exceptional cancer researchers whose work meaningfully advances the center’s mission and demonstrates excellence in fundamental, translational, population-based, or clinical research.
Dr. Stumpff and his research team explore one of biology’s most fundamental processes—cell division—and its connection to human disease.
Read more about Dr. Stumpff’s appointment as a Juckett Faculty ScholarBack to Top
Story Listening Workshop Supports Queer and Trans Cancer Patients
A UVM Cancer Center study led by Larner Associate Professor of Family Medicine Maija Reblin, Ph.D., M.A., shows that storytelling can meaningfully strengthen connection, peace, and self‑understanding among queer and trans people navigating cancer. After a day-long QT (Queer/Trans) Cancer StoryListening Workshop that included training in engaged neutrality, attentive and responsive listening, cultural humility, secondary traumatic stress, and self-sustenance, participants paired up to share and record their personal stories, which led to increased feelings of community and reduced distress. Researchers are now analyzing the narratives for deeper themes and plan to expand the program statewide through a train‑the‑trainer model to bring empathetic listening and story‑receiving skills into Vermont communities.
Supported by a UVMCC pilot grant and developed by researchers from UVMCC, the UVM College of Education and Social Services, the Vermont Conversation Lab, and the Pride Center of Vermont, the study was co-authored by Reblin, Francesca Arnoldy, Vie Mazur, Petergaye Murray, Ethan Stein, Keiran Kozlowski, Robert Gramling, and Jason C. Garvey from UVM and Kell Arbor from the Pride Center of Vermont.
Read more about the QT (Queer/Trans) Cancer Story Listening Workshop
Harraz Selected as Kathryn W. Davis Aging Brain Scholar
Larner Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Osama Harraz, Ph.D., M.Sc., is one of four of the 2026 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences named as Kathryn W. Davis Aging Brain Scholars. Supported by the Kathryn W. Davis Peace by Pieces Fund, Aging Brain Scholars were selected for their commitment to investigating health challenges relating to the brain as it ages. These scholars will contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.
UVM Cancer Center Community Outreach
The University of Vermont Cancer Center (UVMCC) Community Outreach Team is having a busy summer offering education and resources and building engagement across the region:
- Delivered bouquets at the Hope Lodge Open House – Highlights of this event included a therapy dog fashion show, Zumba, house tours, a build-your-own bouquet station, and antioxidant-packed snacks dished out by Cancer Center Member Trishnee Bhurosy, Ph.D. The American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge provides free temporary housing for cancer patients and their caregivers who have to travel far from home for treatment.
- Helped expand Vermont’s statewide sunscreen dispenser program – In response to the third-highest incidence rate of melanoma in the country, Vermont’s Free Community Sunscreen Dispenser Program, coordinated by UVM Cancer Center, Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer, Dartmouth Cancer Center, and Impact Melanoma, provides free automated sunscreen dispensers to high-traffic outdoor community sites across the state.
- Brought a giant inflatable colon to the Vermont City Marathon – There’s nothing quite like a live, in-person tour of a giant inflatable colon to bring home the message about cancer screening and prevention!
- Partnered with Vermont Green FC - The passion, energy, and connection of the Vermont Green Football Club soccer games is just one example of the kind of community that fuels UVMCC’s mission to advance cancer research and care for Vermonters and northern New Yorkers.
- Joined Tri-Lakes Pride in Saranac Lake, N.Y. – A festive weekend of sharing sun safety resources, running trivia, and celebrating alongside an amazing community at this event hosted by Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance.
- Most recent stop: Akwesasne, N.Y., for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s annual health fair - The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Annual Wellness Fair brings the community together to celebrate health and well-being! From fun activities to helpful resources, it’s always a day full of positive energy.
Larner AHEC Scholars Mentor Vermont High Schoolers Interested in Health Care Careers
Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars from the Larner College of Medicine’s medical Class of 2029 mentored Vermont high school students interested in exploring careers in health care this summer.
Northern Vermont AHEC’s week-long residential Governor’s Institute of Vermont (GIV) Health & Medicine Institute, held at UVM July 12–18, offered hands-on learning modules and team activities designed and led by the Larner student mentors on such topics as clinical skills, emergency response preparation, crisis simulations, dissections, diagnostic challenges, and primary care–focused activities. This year’s Larner mentors at GIV included Hamza Azhar Karim, Jessa Bradley, Selena Henry, Foster Horton, Emma McMahan, Stephanie Miller, Sithara Nambiar, Anna Paritsky, Isabel Park, Gabriella Pedro, Romoye Sohan, and Ann Wong.
Two three-day non-residential sessions of Southern Vermont AHEC’s MedQuest program, in Brattleboro July 20–22 and in Windsor July 29–31, led by Larner students Margaux Eller, Daron Forohar, Joseph Gallo, Grace Giroux, Eric Goodney, and Tariq Qayum, allow high school students to explore a variety of health careers in a rich learning environment with engaging content and group discussions, clinical skill-building and team activities, job shadowing, mentoring, and dialogue with health professionals.
AHEC supports learners from middle school through professional practice, focusing on medically underserved communities.
Learn more about the GIV Health & Medicine Institute
Learn more about MedQuest
Learn more about AHEC at Larner