The University of Vermont Cancer Center will offer a novel, highly effective form of cancer treatment called CAR T-cell therapy, and is expected to begin treating patients in late. The Cancer Center will be the only healthcare institution in Vermont and northern New York to provide the treatment.

Randall F. Holcombe, M.D., M.B.A., director of the UVM Cancer Center and chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Medicine, has been appointed as associate dean for cancer programs at the UVM Larner College of Medicine.

An analysis by UVM medical student Benjamin Weaver and UVM Cancer Center member and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology Nataniel Lester-Coll, M.D., illustrated both health disparities and parities across a cohort of 100,000+ patients with the most common form of liver cancer. Their results were published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

(JANUARY 12, 2023) Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, is described as a “humble superstar” in an article about cancer research at UVM in The Charlotte (Vermont) News.

Albert van der Vliet, Ph.D., professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, participated in a six-week Invited Fellowship at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, engaging in research on environmental medicine and molecular toxicology. The fellowship coincided with a medley of scientific meetings and symposia that brought together leading scientists from around the world in the specific research fields of nitric oxide biology. Dr. van der Vliet, Yvonne Janssen-Heininger, Ph.D., and Brian Cunniff, Ph.D. participated as invited speakers. Additional Japanese federal funding supports the exchange of invited researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral scholars to collaborate on research.

The University of Vermont Cancer Center recently announced the names of the inaugural Juckett Scholars. The award program is part of the new Clinician Investigator Development Initiative and is supported by the Juckett Foundation.

Located in a rural state with a population among the oldest in the nation, the Larner College of Medicine has long been committed to finding innovative ways to provide and improve access to health care for not only the elderly, but also all residents, regardless of location or socioeconomic status. Several research initiatives at the college focus on new approaches to help patients in these regions.

Assistant Professor of Surgery Mirabelle Sajisevi, M.D., and colleagues published a study in JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery regarding geographical variation in modes of detection for thyroid cancer, a disease that has risen dramatically in incidence since the 1990s.

(NOVEMBER 8, 2022) Medical oncologist Kim Dittus, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and director of the UVM Cancer Center’s Steps to Wellness exercise program for cancer survivors, was interviewed for a story about the Cancer Center being named Health.com’s Innovative Hospital Award Winner for 2022. Also interviewed was cancer survivor Evelyn Sikorski, manager of UVMMC’s employee health and wellness and employee assistance programs.

While oxygen is critical for the chemical reactions our cells need to survive, some oxygen reactions occur at the wrong locations or in the wrong proteins, which can cause damage leading to illness and death. The Yvonne Janssen-Heininger lab team has discovered new tools for determining oxidation targets, designing precise small molecules to treat lung fibrosis and cancer.

On October 27, 2022, the UVM Larner College of Medicine held a grand opening and dedication of the newest addition to the medical campus: the Firestone Medical Research Building.

A national cancer research event called Convergence brought experts from around the country and the world to the University of Vermont October 24-27 to discuss interdisciplinary techniques to advance cancer treatment. The experts, along with UVM Cancer Center faculty, presented information about their cutting-edge cancer research.

(OCTOBER 27, 2022) NBC5, WCAX, and other media covered the annual Cancer Convergence Conference, which brought experts from around the country and the world to UVM and featured a Careers in Cancer event for local high school students.