Christan Coogle, Associate Professor of Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education, College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), received $12,000 from the Virginia Department of Education for “School Based Preschool Technical Assistance Sessions.” Funding began in Feb. 2025 and will end in late June 2025.

*Please mention the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14) if using this research*

 

New research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025) has found that patients of an online obesity clinic achieved similar weight loss to that reported in clinical trials – but with less than half the medication. The study is to be published in the journal The Lancet Digital Health.

About The Study: This cross-sectional study of U.S. medical student matriculants found a decrease in the number of matriculants who were first-generation. These students were at significant risk of attrition from medical school, particularly when considering the intersectionality with low-income and underrepresented in medicine identities. These results suggest a need to recruit and retain these students, so that the physician workforce better reflects the backgrounds and experiences of the communities served.

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, a patient-centered measure of adverse experiences in vulvovaginal care was developed. Participants reported common past experiences with gaslighting (a patient’s concerns are dismissed without proper evaluation) and substantial distress; they frequently considered ceasing care. There is an urgent need for education supporting a biopsychosocial, trauma-informed approach to vulvovaginal pain and continued development of validated instruments to quantify patient experiences.