University of Vermont faculty members Rebecca Aslakson and Kristen Pierce have been selected to participate in the 2024–25 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. The fellowship prepares senior women faculty at schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy for institutional leadership positions.
Aslakson, professor and chair of the anesthesiology department at UVM's Larner College of Medicine and UVM Health Network, and Pierce, professor of medicine at Larner and an infectious disease specialist at UVM Medical Center, began the fellowship in June with online assignments and community-building activities that will continue through the end of the program in April 2025.
“ELAM provides a training and networking opportunity that is unparalleled in academic medicine today,” said Dr. Richard Page, dean of the Larner College of Medicine. “Dr. Aslakson’s and Dr. Pierce’s acceptance to this year’s class is a fitting acknowledgment of their national stature and will provide further opportunities for their professional growth and accomplishment.”
The ELAM fellowship includes a curricular requirement to conduct an Institutional Action Project, developed in collaboration with the fellow’s sponsor, which, for Aslakson and Pierce, is the Larner College of Medicine. These projects are designed to address an institutional or departmental need or priority in collaboration with each fellow’s dean or other senior official.