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Amaio Interviewed by Contemporary Pediatrics
The Perry Initiative at Larner
Carney Receives the INSPIRE Award
Fourth-Year Medical Student Recently Interviewed by Contemporary Pediatrics
In a recent interview with fourth-year medical student Lexi Amaio ’27, Contemporary Pediatrics highlighted Amaio’s research on pediatric water bead ingestion. A scary reality for parents is that, according to a recent study, children swallowing expanding water beads resulted in 6,135 calls to America’s Poison Center from 2010 to 2022. Water beads are superabsorbent polymer crystals capable of expanding to many times their original size after exposure to liquid, creating the potential for gastrointestinal obstruction or aspiration following ingestion.
The interview touched on what Amaio thinks accounts for children under age 2 having increased odds of moderate or major clinical outcomes; when emergency intervention is necessary; and specific warning signs that parents should be on the lookout for.
“A large part of my outpatient pediatrics clerkship was providing anticipatory education to parents, and part of that education often includes toys to be careful of with children, namely those with button batteries, small size, etc.,” Amaio stated.
The Inaugural Perry Initiative Held at the Larner College of Medicine
On September 26, 2026, the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine welcomed the Perry Initiative to Burlington for the first time, bringing together medical students, biomedical engineering students, physicians, residents, and institutional partners for an evening dedicated to hands-on orthopaedic surgery and engineering education, mentorship, and advancing diversity within these fields.
The inaugural program at Larner—initiated by second-year medical student Dalya Munir, who had participated in a Perry Initiative Medical Student Outreach Program at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth—was made possible through a collaborative effort among the Larner Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, the Office of Intercultural Excellence, the Office of Medical Education, and UVM’s biomedical engineering community, alongside the Perry Initiative. The 40 attendees included participants from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. UVM orthopaedic surgery residents Max Rakutt, M.D., Manoj Goud, M.D., Ian Risser, M.D., and Isaac Arefi, M.D., volunteered throughout the evening, giving students additional opportunities for mentorship and insight into orthopaedic residency training.
The Perry Initiative is a national nonprofit organization named in honor of pioneering orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jacquelin Perry, who was among the first women certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, as well as a pioneer in field of gait analysis and post-polio rehabilitation. The organization is committed to increasing representation of women in orthopaedic surgery and engineering through programming for medical students and high school students that provides early exposure, mentorship, and hands-on experiences designed to strengthen the pipeline into both fields.
Carney Earns an INSPIRE Award from the American Medical Women’s Association
Earlier this month, the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) announced 31 INSPIRE Award recipients from across the country, which included Larner’s Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health and health policy, chief of the Division of Public Health, and professor of medicine. The award was established in 2021 by the AMWA Leadership Council to highlight women physicians who inspire others through their commitment to excellence in patient care, mentorship, leadership, community service, and advocacy. The American Medical Women’s Association, founded in 1915, is the oldest multispecialty professional organization of women in medicine. Its mission is to advance women physicians and improve the health of women.
Botten Honored with an Alumni Achievement Award from his Alma Mater, Concordia College
Jason Botten, Ph.D., professor of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, has received the Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater, Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. The award is the college’s highest honor, conferred upon alumni who have “distinguished themselves in their careers and service to others” and who are “at the pinnacle of their vocational life.”
Dr. Botten’s research focuses on host–pathogen interactions among pathogenic RNA viruses (e.g., arenaviruses, hantaviruses, and flaviviruses) and their incidental human hosts and natural animal or insect reservoirs. The major goals of his research program are to (i) discover key virus–host interactions that are essential for the virus and/or can be targeted for the development of therapeutics and vaccines; (ii) define the natural history of the human T and B cell responses to these pathogens and determine their contribution to protective immunity and/or immunopathologic disease; (iii) develop new cutting-edge assays and reagents for the field; and (iv) translate the most promising discoveries into therapeutics and vaccines.
The 5th Annual Conference of the Global Health Academy at Northwell
Christa Zehle, M.D.’99, senior associate dean for medical education at the Larner College of Medicine, and Cristin Gildea, program specialist in the Office of Medical Education, attended the fifth annual Global Health Conference, held September 28–30 in Southbury, Connecticut. The conference theme was “From Partnership to Practice: Global Collaborators Shaping the Future of Education in Global Health.” The Global Health Conference is part of the Global Health Academy at Northwell (formerly Nuvance). The Larner College of Medicine partners with the Global Health Academy to implement the global health electives at Larner. Several members of the Larner community presented their work and/or connected with colleagues in the global health community at the conference:
- Ayra Kale and Eunice Suberu, both of Larner’s Class of 2027, presented their research on “How Global Health Electives Develop Clinical Competencies and Increase Physician Engagement with Underserved Communities.” Others from Larner who had a hand in this project included Curtis Plante, M.D.’27, Sarah Chiavacci, M.D.’27, Shrey Patel, M.D.’26, and Andrea Green, M.D. The project surveyed more than 200 medical alumni who participated in a global health elective.
- David Lovett, Larner Class of 2029, presented his poster on a floating clinic in the Philippines after having traveled there this past summer.
- Theresa Kirsimagi of the Larner Class of 2028 was the recipient of the Sister Jane Frances Award, given to a student who transforms compassion into impact through outstanding engagement in global health, both locally and globally, by designing and implementing creative equity-driven solutions. Kirsimagi spent six weeks in Uganda in the summer before her second year of medical school, which fueled her dedication to the field of global health.