The University of Vermont College of Medicine has announced the winners of the 2016 Medical Alumni Association Awards to be presented during its annual Medical Alumni Reunion, Friday June 10, 2016, on the UVM College of Medicine campus.
The Medical Alumni Association of the College of Medicine has, for four decades, honored the accomplishments of its members for their work caring for patients, creating new advances in the laboratory, and contributing to their communities.
The A. Bradley Soule Award, established in 1983, honors an alumnus/a whose loyalty and dedication to the College of Medicine most emulate those qualities found in its first recipient, A. Bradley Soule, M.D.'28. The 2016 award winner is —
John Jerome Saia, M.D. ’66
University of Vermont Associate Professor Emeritus, Family Medicine, Essex Junction, Vermont
Dr. Saia served as a faculty member at the University of Vermont College of Medicine for 27 years, from 1980 until his retirement in 2007. He has held a variety of leadership roles, including director of the Family Practice Residency Program, director of the Basic Clerkship Program, and associate director of the Family Medicine Clerkship. Dr. Saia was director of the Family Medicine Review Course for 11 years, a CME offering currently in its fourth decade. During his academic career, he had the opportunity to influence the careers of literally thousands of medical students, as well as dozens of family medicine residents. He was recognized by medical students for induction into the AOA, twice by residents as Family Practice Residency Teacher of the Year, and by his peers as Vermont Family Physician of the Year. Dr. Saia has also helped to shape medical education at the college through his role as director of the Doctoring Skills course, and through serving on the steering committee for the Vermont Generalist Curriculum. He served in the U.S. Army as a Medical Officer (Captain) in Vietnam, receiving a bronze star and completing his service with the rank of Major. Dr. Saia is the second of three generations of UVM College of Medicine graduates (John L. Saia, M.D. ’34; Kelley A. Saia, M.D.’01).
Alumni honored with this year's Distinguished Academic Achievement Award, established in 1985, which recognizes outstanding scientific or academic achievement, include:
Kristen A. Atkins, M.D.’96
Associate Professor, Pathology and Residency Program Director
University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia
A world-renowned pathologist, Dr. Atkins is associate professor of pathology and pathology residency program director at the University of Virginia. She is a co-author of a textbook on breast pathology, has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, and is conducting leading edge research on radiology and pathology correlations to aid in better triaging women with in determinant risk breast lesions for surgery or observation.
Lisa B. Bergersen, M.D.’96, M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Interventional Cardiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Dr. Bergersen is an interventional pediatric cardiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is a pioneer in her field, publishing over 40 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, with a particular focus on quality initiatives to improve the outcomes of interventional procedures in children.
Jeffrey J. Pomerance, M.D. ’66, M.P.H.
Professor Emeritus in Pediatrics, UCLA, Glendora, California
Dr. Pomerance has helped to shape the field of neonatology through his decades of work as a clinician, scholar and leader at institutions including Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he served as director of the Division of Neonatology for 23 years, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Maryland School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He authored the seminal text, Interpreting Umbilical Cord Blood Gases: For Clinicians Caring for the Fetus or Newborn.
The College's Service to Medicine and Community Award, established in 1984, is presented to graduates who have maintained a high standard of medical service and who have achieved an outstanding record of community service or assumed other significant responsibilities not directly related to medical practice. The 2016 recipients of this award are:
Roslynn S. Glicksman, M.D. ’81, M.P.H.
Medical Director for Primary Care, Project Renewal Inc., New York, N.Y.
Dr. Glicksman’s entire career has focused on improving health care for underserved populations, from her two years as a Peace Corps Medical Officer to her service as deputy regional medical director at Riker’s Island Health Services. As medical director of primary care services at Project Renewal, a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to ending homelessness, Dr. Glicksman has expanded services for the organization’s roughly 11,000 patients.
K A Kelly McQueen, M.D. ’91, M.P.H.
Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Surgery
Director, Vanderbilt Anesthesia Global Health & Development
Director, Vanderbilt Global Anesthesia Fellowship
Affiliate Faculty, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. McQueen is a leader in the global anesthesia and surgery communities and has had a career-long commitment to disaster response humanitarian aid. In 2010 she founded the Global Surgical Consortium, a public charity committed to improving safe anesthesia and surgery in low-income countries, and is founder and immediate past president of the Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia Presence.
Peter S. Millard, M.D. ’81, Ph.D.
Medical Director of Seaport Community Health Center, Belfast, Maine
Dr. Millard is a family physician and epidemiologist who has practiced medicine both in Maine and in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he has cared for some of the neediest patients at ground zero of the AIDS epidemic. His current area of research is male circumcision to prevent female-to-male HIV transmission, and his team recently developed a new minimally invasive technique for voluntary male circumcision.
Peter D. Wilk, M.D. ’76
Psychiatrist, Portland, Maine
Dr. Wilk has been active for the past 30 years in public health advocacy organizations and medical organizations concerned with preventing nuclear war, moderating climate change, reducing pollution, and phasing out nuclear reactors. He has served as executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility and served for 12 years on the board for International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
The Early Achievement Award, established in 2000, recognizes alumni who have graduated within the past 15 years in recognition of their outstanding community or College service and/or scientific or academic achievement. The 2016 award recipients are:
Adam S. Kanter, M.D. ’01
Chief, Division of Spine Surgery
Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery Director, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Program Director, Neurosurgical Spine Fellowship Department of Neurological Surgery University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Presbyterian, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dr. Kanter has garnered national recognition for his expertise in the field of neurological surgery. A sought-after speaker and author of more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals, he leads research projects that advance the field of minimally invasive spine surgery. His work with UPMC and industry supporters led to the development an innovative retractor now being used around the globe that allows surgeons lateral access to the spine with minimal destruction.
Ann Murchison, M.D. ’01, M.P.H.
Oculoplastic and Orbital surgeon, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University and Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A dedicated teacher and researcher, Dr. Murchison’s work reflects her passion for improving public health as it relates to eye disease. She is a founder of the International Scholar program at Wills Eye Hospital, is a founding member of Give Kids Sight Day, and is a member of the team that developed unique online and live-streaming ophthalmic educational activities at Wills.
Bobbi S. Pritt, M.D. ’01 M.Sc., D.T.M.H.
Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Division of Clinical Microbiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, Director, Clinical Parasitology Laboratory
Dr. Pritt has authored more than 90 publications peer-reviewed journals, including recent publications in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet Infectious Diseases, in which she and her team describe two new causes of human tick-borne disease. She has delivered over 100 national and international presentations and has received numerous speaker and teaching awards. Her special areas of interests include clinical parasitology, vector-borne disease, and trainee education.
The Robert Larner, MD ’42 Student Award is presented to a current student or students for outstanding leadership and loyalty to the College and for embodiment of Dr. Larner’s dedication to supporting his medical alma mater and inspiring others to do so as well. The 2016 Larner award recipient is:
Erin Pichiotino ’17
A Burlington, Vermont, native, Erin Pichiotino received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont before graduating from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice with a Master of Public Health degree. As a medical student she has been selected as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, an American Medical Student Association Health Equity Scholar, and has served as a student representative on the UVM College of Medicine Medical Curriculum Committee.