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Plante’s Study on Heart Health & COVID-19
Marshall Wins National Science Foundation Fellowship
Klug Receives Brain Research Foundation Grant
Nambiar Awarded Kuckein Fellowship
Did Heart Health Impact the Risk of Severe COVID-19 Infection During the Pandemic?
Better heart health before the pandemic was linked to a lower risk of severe COVID-19, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association. Larner Associate Professor of Medicine Tim Plante, M.D.’11, M.H.S., an internal medicine physician with UVM Health, was lead author.
People with cardiovascular disease are known to be at a greater risk for severe COVID-19 infection, defined in this study as hospitalization or death. What wasn’t known was how heart health related to severe COVID-19 among adults without cardiovascular disease.
Findings showed that adults with the highest heart health scores at the beginning of the pandemic were nearly half as likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 when compared to those with the lowest scores.
Read more about Dr. Plante’s heart health research
Marshall Wins National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Phoebe Marshall, a graduate student in the University of Vermont’s cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences doctoral program, has earned a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in Biomedical Engineering. Her project, “Energetics in Motion: Developing a Multimodal Spectrophotometer-Coupled Mechanical Testing Platform for Working Myocardial Tissue,” builds on the innovative biophysical tools of the Caporizzo Lab. She is one of just five UVM awardees, and this portable fellowship will support her work wherever she goes.
Brain Research Grant Supports Klug’s Groundbreaking Study
Nicholas R. Klug, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology, received a competitive grant from the Brain Research Foundation to investigate how brain capillaries communicate with neural tissue to ensure a constant supply of oxygen and glucose to brain cells. The $100,000 grant serves as start-up funding to accelerate pioneering neuroscience research by early-career investigators. The foundation annually invites research institutions to nominate a single faculty member to submit a letter of intent. UVM selected Klug to apply for the grant.Read more about Dr. Klug’s grant
Nambiar Receives the Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship
First-year medical student Sithara Nambiar was recently selected to receive the highly competitive Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship from the Larner chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Honor Medical Society. Nambiar’s research, “Characterizing Stress System Synchrony as a Biomarker of Oxytocin Treatment Response for Opioid Use Disorder,” will be mentored by Brown University Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Carolina Haass-Koffler, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Named for long-time AΩA administrator Carolyn L. Kuckein, who died in 2004, this fellowship provides $7,000 in financial support (plus up to $1,000 for travel expenses) for research focusing on clinical investigation, basic laboratory research, epidemiology, social science / health services research, leadership, or professionalism.
Larner and UVM Volunteers at the 2026 Summer Special Olympics
Several members of the University of Vermont community supported the 2026 Special Olympics Summer Games, held at Saint Michael’s College June 5–6.
Larner College of Medicine students Jessa Bradley ’29, Emily Davis ’29, David Kolb ’28, Caroline Johnston ’27, James Liu ’29, Krista Millar ’28, Dalya Munir ’29, Matthew O’Mara ’28, Jillian Rogers ’27, Nila Sabetfakhri ’28, Yoona Shim ’29, Jonathan Slowey ’28, William Ung ’29, and Alice Yun ’29, along with recent UVM biochemistry graduate Isabella Carrara, B.S.’26, performed health assessments and provided education on nutrition, sun safety, and substance misuse.
The 2026 Frymoyer Scholar Recipients
Through the Frymoyer Scholars Program, the John W. and Nan P. Frymoyer Fund for Medical Education supports health care professionals who are actively engaged in teaching University of Vermont medical and nursing students and who embody the best qualities of the clinician teacher. Individuals selected as Frymoyer Scholars are awarded up to $25,000 a year for two years to develop innovative educational products or programs and / or to improve their teaching skills and, in turn, the relationship between clinician and patient.
This year’s scholars and projects are as follows:
- Erin D’Agostino, M.D., neurological sciences resident; Erica Lash, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine; Alissa Thomas, M.D., associate professor of neurological sciences; Miri Kim, M.D., Ph.D.; and Katherine Hill, M.D.
Creating a Space for Neurologists, Neurosurgeons, and Palliative Care Providers to Debrief Challenging Conversations and Outcomes - Andrew Hale, M.D., associate professor of medicine; Margaret Gray, M.D., medicine resident; Kristine Schullo, M.D., assistant professor of medicine; and Halle Sobel, M.D., professor of medicine
Developing a Clinician Educator Pathway for Trainees - Nichole Michaeli, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of emergency medicine; Molly Furin, M.D., M.Sc., assistant professor of emergency medicine; William McSalis, M.S.N., RN, CEN; and Nicholas Walker, paramedic
Strengthening Emergency Response Through Interprofessional Mass Casualty Management Training
110-Year-Old Medical Alumnus Jay Keller, M.D.’40
Meet Jay Keller, M.D., UVM medical school Class of 1940, who celebrated his 110th birthday on June 3. Dr. Keller’s memories of the defining moments of his life range from living in a Burlington boarding house without his family at age 9; to entering UVM’s pre-med program, working long nights at Fanny Allen; to marrying his high school sweetheart and raising eight children while embarking on a career as a general practitioner and later, surgeon; to finding love again at age 82 after the passing of his first wife. Each experience helped shape and deepen his lifelong passion for medicine.Read more about Dr. Keller