The University of Vermont Student Research Conference was held on Wednesday, April 15, at the Davis Center, featuring a poster session highlighting graduate and undergraduate research from across the university. Six student teams from the PH 6920 Culminating Project Experience course presented their work, showcasing original public health research conducted as part of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program.

During the poster session, student researchers engaged with attendees, describing their research questions, analytic methods, and the collaborative writing process behind each project. The Culminating Project Experience serves as the MPH program’s capstone course and is led by Larner College of Medicine faculty Dr. Tom Delaney and Dr. Elzerie de Jager.

This year’s session included the following research presentations:

• Associations Between Food Insecurity and Asthma: Findings From the 2024 Adult National Health Interview Survey
  Celia Heath, Rebecca Hill‑Larsen, Grace Hilton, Francesca Scaramuzzo, Christel Tonoki, Christopher Zuidema, PhD 
• Association Between Physical Activity and Functional Limitations in Adults with Long COVID: Analysis of Vermont 2023 BRFSS Data
  Kripa Philip, Maurice Paquette II, Stephen Halsey, Caroline Kagan, Brianna Najjar
  Mentors: Elzerie de Jager, MBBS, PhD, Tom Delaney, PhD
• Rural–Urban Inequities in Cardiovascular Health and Access to Preventive Care in the United States
  Lejla Pasic, Erin Fogarty, Ella Church, Molly Fahey, Brody Brown
  Mentor: Tom Griffin, PhD
• Trusting the Timeline: Social Media Use in Making Health Decisions Across Race and Ethnicity
  Sierra Cramer, Cassie Rivers, Yangdon Fenner, Margo Martinez, Alyssa Greaney
  Faculty: Thomas Delaney, Elzerie de Jager
  Mentor: Jack Carew, MPH
• Does Insurance Status Predict Asthma‑Related Health Care Utilization Among Adults With Moderate to Severe Asthma?
  Avery Rosenbloom, Faith Skerritt, Barbara (Sage) Hannon, KC Collier, Tracy Worobe
  Mentor: Brittany Duchene, MD
• Food Insecurity and Mental Health Among Vermont Adolescents
  Lorenzo Aci, Christine Pletcher, Ndeshi Atake, Blessing Ngoma, Brooke Flaherty
  Faculty: Elzerie de Jager, Tom Delaney
  Mentor: Connie van Eeghen, DrPH

Each year, at the annual American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting, Delta Omega recognizes excellence in student research through a competitive poster nomination process. Each chapter is eligible to nominate up to two student posters for consideration. This year, the following projects were selected for nomination:

• Associations Between Food Insecurity and Asthma: Findings From the 2024 Adult National Health Interview Survey
• Trusting the Timeline: Social Media Use in Making Health Decisions Across Race and Ethnicity

Following the conference, Culminating Project Experience teams may choose to pursue additional poster presentations and peer‑reviewed publications to further disseminate their findings. Congratulations to all PH 6920 students for their outstanding work and achievements this year.