The University of Vermont has recognized Larner College of Medicine scholars Dr. Mary Cushman, Stephen Higgins and Gary Stein with University Distinguished Professor Awards, the highest academic honor the school bestows upon a faculty member. A fourth Larner faculty member, Sarah Heil, was named a 2023-24 University Scholar.
Cushman, a professor and vice chair in the Department of Medicine, is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar in the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases, stroke and venous thromboembolism. She has published more than 690 works, including original manuscripts, reviews, guidelines and book chapters, and is recognized nationally as ranking in the top 1% of researchers in the field of clinical research.
Higgins, the Donaldson Professor of Psychiatry and Psychological Sciences, is one of the most influential and important leaders in the substance use disorder field. His work in contingency management revolutionized treatment approaches for patients with SUDs, providing one of the few efficacious clinical interventions to change human behavior.
Stein, professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry at UVM, also serves as the Vermont director of the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network. His work, which spans the fields of cancer, bone biology, genetics and epigenetics, pathology and physiology, works to reveal new biologic mechanisms that control cellular proliferation and differentiation, especially genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of regulation that are compromised in cancer cells.
Heil, professor of psychiatry, serves as associate director of both UVM’s Center on Rural Addiction and the Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science in the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health. Her award is in the category of basic and applied science and honors her excellence in her field and her ability to foster academic achievement in others.