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Larner on the VT Immunization Advisory Council
Women’s Health & Cancer Conference
North American Redox Symposium
Larner Faculty Appointed to Vermont Department of Health Immunization Advisory Council
Larner College of Medicine faculty members appointed to serve on the Vermont Department of Health’s 2026 Immunization Advisory Council include Judy Fingergut, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine; Beth Kirkpatrick, M.D., professor of microbiology and molecular genetics; and Ben Lee, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics.
The role of the Vermont Immunization Advisory Council—established in Vermont law and expanded through Act 76 (2026)—is to bring together experts in medicine, epidemiology, policy, and education to review Vermont’s immunization schedule for schools and child care programs and advise the Vermont Department of Health on immunization issues. The council includes members appointed by Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and representatives from state government who serve as part of their official roles or through a designee; the Commissioner of Health may also appoint additional members as needed.
The 2026 Women’s Health and Cancer Conference
The University of Vermont Cancer Center’s 29th Annual Women’s Health and Cancer Conference brought together patients, caregivers, health care professionals, and community members on September 18, virtually and in-person, for a day of education, inspiration, and connection.
This year’s program highlighted the many voices that influence cancer care, including researchers advancing new treatments, clinicians guiding patients through difficult decisions, caregivers supporting loved ones, and individuals sharing their lived experiences with cancer. Sessions explored topics ranging from grief and resilience to narrative medicine, emotional wellness after cancer, family communication, and the promise of emerging therapies.
Among the featured speakers were author and podcast host Nora McInerny, who opened the conference with a candid and often humorous discussion about loss and resilience; and breast and gynecologic oncologist Eleonora Teplinsky, M.D., who examined how patients can navigate health information in the age of social media. The conference concluded with an overview of the rapidly evolving landscape of cancer treatment, including advances in targeted therapies and immunotherapies.
Attendees also participated in a Collective Remembrance Art Installation, contributing messages and tributes that were transformed into a collaborative quilt-inspired artwork honoring loved ones affected by cancer.
Read more about this year’s conference
The Society for Redox Biology and Medicine’s North American Symposium in Burlington, VT
Leading scientists from around the world came to Vermont for the 2026 SfRBM North American Redox Symposium, held September 13–16 in Burlington. Researchers at UVM and Tohoku University in Japan have partnered for some 25 years to help advance the growing field of redox biology, which explores how the chemical reactions that sustain life also influence health and disease.
Read more about the symposium and an exciting featured partnership
Christian D. Pulcini, M.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., Invited as a Visiting Professor at the University of Padova in Padua, Italy
Christian D. Pulcini, M.D., M.Ed., M.P.H., associate professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics, has been invited as a Visiting Professor at the University of Padova, one of the oldest universities in the world. The invitation reflects growing international interest in Dr. Pulcini’s and the Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health’s work on emergency care for children with medical complexity. The appointment will run January through June 2027.
“This appointment extends UVM Larner College of Medicine’s expertise onto the international stage, helping enhance the institution's reputation as a center for pediatric emergency care research,” Pulcini said. “My family will join me for the appointment, and we're looking forward to the experience both professionally and personally.”
The Visiting Professorship is hosted by Professor Silvia Bressan, assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Pavoda. While in Italy, Pulcini will continue to research emergency care systems for children with medical complexity, collaborate with Padova’s pediatric and emergency medicine faculty, and explore opportunities to extend this work internationally.
The 2026 Health Equity Summit
Research and health experts from the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and UVM Health Network gathered September 24–25 for the fifth annual Health Equity Summit at UVM’s Davis Center. The free, two-day hybrid event brought together leaders in medicine, rural health, women’s health, cancer, and other fields to explore how research can advance health equity in communities.
Engagement Through Experience
Mona Hanna, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health at Michigan State University, delivered the opening keynote. Known for her work addressing the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, Dr. Hanna emphasized the importance of collaboration among researchers, health professionals, and communities in addressing systemic health disparities.
The summit also featured a screening of Come See Me in the Good Light, a documentary exploring love, resilience, and connection amid a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Author and activist Eli Clare delivered the closing keynote, “Practicing Anti-Ableist Health Care: Essential Skills for Providers, Advocates, and Allies,” exploring ableism in health care and ways providers and advocates can advance more inclusive care.
Conversation as a Key to Learning
Kate Tracy, Ph.D., senior associate dean for research at Larner and director of research at UVM Health, opened Friday’s symposium with “Why Does Research Matter: From Evidence to Community Health Impact.” The session highlighted the importance of translating research into meaningful community health outcomes, particularly in rural Vermont.
Dr. Tracy noted that rural cancer patients can face higher mortality due to limited access to specialists, screening, and high-quality care. UVM is addressing these disparities through initiatives including rural cancer screenings and genetic risk assessments, an NIH-funded population health research enclave, and expanded evidence-based opioid treatment and support through the UVM Center on Rural Addiction.
Together, the Larner College of Medicine and UVM Health share a dedication to serving communities throughout the region. The annual Health Equity Summit showcases all that this network of public health professionals is doing to support our friends and neighbors across Vermont and beyond.
Peter Calabresi, M.D., Invited to Present Research at the National Institutes of Health
On September 8, Peter Calabresi, M.D., professor and chair of neurological sciences at the Larner College of Medicine, presented at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) neuroimmunology symposium. The symposium was held on the main National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and was sponsored by the NIAID Neuroimmune Interface Center.
The goal of the symposium was “to highlight the most innovative and forward-looking research shaping the discipline today and to showcase for the broader NIH community and leadership just how rapidly this field is advancing.” It brought together a group of investigators whose work spans immune cell dynamics across subjects, including normal physiology, infection, autoimmunity, injury, and neurodegeneration.
Dr. Calabresi spoke about his research concerning the role of complement in mediating neurodegeneration in the central nervous system (brain and retina), based on several published papers that he has been a part of, including a recently coauthored paper in the journal Nature.
Tracy Madsen, M.D., Ph.D., Receives R01 Grant from the National Institutes of Health
University of Vermont Health Emergency Medicine Physician Tracy Madsen, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., associate professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, has been awarded a five-year R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, alongside Laura Harrington, Ph.D., of the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Their proposal is titled “Postmenopausal androgens, sex hormone binding globulin, and cardiovascular risk: a cohort study.”
This project aims to characterize profiles of postmenopausal sex hormones (e.g., androgens and sex hormone binding globulin [SHBG]) across 20 to 30 years of follow-up and to evaluate postmenopausal androgen and SHBG levels and profiles over time in relation to cardiovascular risk. Dr. Madsen and her team will accomplish this as part of a new ancillary study in the Women’s Health Initiative that leverages existing stored biospecimens, previously measured markers of cardiovascular risk, and cardiovascular events over 30 years of follow-up.
Thanks to the support of the many collaborators, mentors, institutional partners, and most importantly the WHI study participants, this work represents a major step forward in advancing understanding of sex-specific factors that contribute to cardiovascular health and disease risk among postmenopausal women and is expected to have a positive impact on cardiovascular prevention, risk prediction, and women’s health research.
Tyler Hogan Awarded NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Fellowship
Tyler Hogan, a doctoral candidate in the cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences program who works in the Krementsov Lab, has been awarded a prestigious NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The fellowship will support Hogan in his ongoing research on how a member of the “dark proteome,” or microproteome (proteins <100 amino acids), influences disease severity and survival during sepsis.
Matthew Caporizzo, Ph.D., Earns a Bloomfield Early Career Professorship
Matthew Caporizzo, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics at the Larner College of Medicine, was recently awarded the Bloomfield Early Career Professorship in Cardiovascular Research. Administered by the Cardiovascular Research Institute, the award is for $50,000 per year for two years, with the potential for a third.
The award was endowed by Marty Bloomfield, M.D., and his wife, Judy, both UVM alumni. Dr. Bloomfield is a retired cardiologist who has a passion for basic science, as evidenced by his endowment. Dr. Caporizzo’s project, “Sex-Specific Regulation of Diastolic Dysfunction,” focuses on defining the molecular mechanisms associated with a woman’s increased susceptibility to diastolic dysfunction in the heart. His innovative use of heart tissue slice technology should provide a window into the contractile and cytoskeletal modifications that arise from metabolic syndrome.
Courtney Waytashek Awarded NIH NRSA F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship
Courtney Waytashek, a doctoral candidate in the cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences program who works in the Krementsov Lab, has been awarded an NIH NRSA F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship. This award recognizes both the scientific merit of the proposed research and the applicant’s long-term potential for leadership and independence in the biomedical sciences.
Waytashek was previously supported by the VI2D T32 training grant.