Health and Wellness Coaching for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Model for Improving Inclusion and Accessibility in the Integrative Health Care Context

Defense: July 21, 2025, 8:30 a.m., Osher Center

Advisors: Karen Westervelt & Patricia Prelock

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interprofessional Health Sciences

Integrating terrestrial, snowpack, and meteorological drivers of runoff generation during winter thaws in a montane catchment of the northeastern U.S.

Defense: July 22, 2025, 8:30 a.m., Delehanty Hall, Room 101 and Teams

Advisor: Andrew Schroth

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Geology

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots for Optical Sensing of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water

Defense: July 29, 2025, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Votey 209

Advisor: Dr. Appala Raju Badireddy

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering

A Study of the Structural and Electronic Influences of Non-canonical Heme Oxygenase Enzymes on Heme Reactivity

Defense: July 31, 2025, 8:30 a.m., Lafayette L108 and Teams

Advisor: Matthew D. Liptak, Ph.D.

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Chemistry

Characterization of Network Inhibition and Cognitive Deficit in the Kcnt1 Gain of Function Model of Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathy

Defense: July 30, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Health Science Research Facility 400

Advisor: Jeremy Barry

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Pharmacology

Biophysical Impact of β-Cardiac Myosin Cardiomyopathy Mutations and Development of Artificial Intelligence-based In Vitro Motility Analysis

Defense: August 4, 2025, 1:00 p.m., MEC 200 (Sullivan Classroom)

Advisor: Sebastian Duno-Miranda

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences

MIRO1-Mediated Mitochondrial Positioning in the Development and Metastasis of Breast Cancer

Defense: August 5, 2025, Noon, UVM Medical Center MED ED 200

Advisor: Brian Cunniff, Ph.D.

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences

Beyond the Bottom Line: Exploring the Multifaceted Impacts and Adaptive Management of an Emergency Food Assistance Program

Defense: July 18, 2025, 10:00 a.m., 010 Morril Hall/Teams

Advisor: Sarah Heiss

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Community Development and Applied Economics

From Research to Policy: Evidence Production and Use in Shaping Public Policy Decisions in Nigeria’s Federal Government

Defense: July 14, 2025, 10:00 a.m., Morrill Hall 104 and Teams

Advisor: Travis W. Reynolds, PhD

Degree: Doctor of Philosphy

Department: Sustainable Development Policy, Economics, and Governance

Ransomware Classification using Windows ETW and Deep Learning

Defense: June 26, 2025, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m., Online

Advisor: Sfwan Wshah

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Computer Science

A New Architecture for Choreographic Programming Languages

Defense: June 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Innovation E425 and on Teams

Advisor: Joseph P. Near

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Computer Science

Complex Currents: Reframing Water Security through an Interdisciplinary Bayesian Network Analysis of Conflict and Cooperation in Transboundary Water Basins (1948-2008)

Defense: June 25, 2025, Noon - 2:00 p.m., Morrill Hall 104 and Online

Advisor: Asim Zia, Ph.D.

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Community Development & Applied Economics

Are We Driving Toward Equity? Exploring the Impact of Different Electric Vehicle Transition Scenarios on Exposure and Health

Defense: July 17, 2025, 10:00 a.m., Innovation E325

Advisor: Greg Rowangould

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Weight Loss and Therapeutic Ketosis Improve Obese Asthma by Modulating Airway Epithelial Pro-inflammatory Responses”

Defense: July 18, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Marsh Life Science 235 (Beneditct Auditorium) / Zoom

Advisor: Matthew Poynter, Ph.D.

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences

Mapping Vermont Flooding and Vulnerable Communities in Preparation for Future Events

Defense: July 2, 2025, 10:00 a.m., Aiken 311

Advisor: Kristine Stepenuck

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Natural Resources

The Interplay between Nitric Oxide-mediated Metabolic Rewiring and Immune Functions in Dendritic Cells

Defense: July 17, 2025, 10:00 a.m., UVM Medical Center Davis’ Auditorium and Zoom

Advisor: Eyal Amiel, Ph.D.

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences

Short-Term Effects of Invasive Pheretimoid Jumping Worms on Mycorrhizal Associations with Winter Rye (Secale cereale)

Defense: July 18, 2025, 4:30 p.m., Teams

Advisor: Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Natural Resources

Analysis of the Therapeutic Mechanism of Action Induced by Selective Activation of TRβ in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

Defense: July 15, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Health Science Research Facility 400

Advisor: Frances Carr

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Pharmacology

Galois Representations and Automorphic Forms

Defense: June 27, 2025, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m., Lafayette L102

Advisor: Christelle Vincent

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Mathematical Sciences

How Does Floodplain Geomorphic Heterogeneity Influence Flood Routing and Attenuation?

Defense: July 15, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Delehanty Hall 101 and Teams

Advisor: Rebecca Diehl

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Geology

"Hidden" Community Capital and Farmers' Market Management and Pefromance in Vermont

Defense: June 27, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Morrill Hall 104

Advisor: David Conner

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Community Development and Applied Economic

Leveraging Biomaterials for Treating Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm Infections Through Nanoprarticle and Hydrogel Approaches

Defense: July 17, 2025, 9:30 - 2:30 a.m., Votey 303

Advisor: Amber Doiron

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Biomedical Engineering

Nonstructural Carbohydrates as a Proxy for Adaptive Capacity and a Mechanism for Resilience in Northern Hardwood and Mixedwood Forests

Defense: July 16, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Aiken 103

Advisor: Anthony D'Amato

Degree: Master of Science

Department: Natural Resources

Task-Based Functional Connectivity with Machine Learning Approaches to Detect Individual Differences in Brain Phenotype

Defense: July 17, 2025, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Innovation E425

Advisor: Nicholas Allgaier

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Complex Systems and Data Science