Dave Punihaole, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and a member of the Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health, recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) early-career development award, a prestigious grant that supports researchers who are early in their careers and undertaking new projects. Punihaole investigates the development of new chemical imaging methods for investigating protein folding in living cells. The NSF grant provides $665,769 over a five-year period for Punihaole’s project titled “Directly Visualizing the Conformational Dynamics and Non-covalent Interactions of Biological Macromolecules in Living Cells using Fast Raman Relaxation Imaging.”

This project seeks to transform the current understanding of how cells regulate protein folding. Proteins must fold into specific shapes to function correctly—misfolding is linked to diseases and genetic disorders—but most current tools can only observe this process in test tube environments, not within cells. To overcome this challenge, Punihaole aims to create a novel technique, called fast Raman relaxation imaging, to directly monitor protein folding structural dynamics in living cells. Success in this project could provide transformative insights into how different cellular environments, like the cytosol and mitochondria, influence protein folding, with impacts on neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disorders.

Read more about Dr. Punihaole's research

Larner medical student Sabrina Herzberg ’28 has been awarded the 2025 Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship from the Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Honor Medical Society for her project “Unraveling the Link Between Melanoma and Type II Diabetes Mellitus.”

While Type 2 Diabetes has been linked to increased risk for several cancers, the literature surrounding its association with melanoma remains limited and often conflicting. Herzberg’s project leverages the relatively newly available Epic Cosmos data, which includes nearly 300 million longitudinal patient records, to explore associations that were previously impossible to study at scale. In a cancer like melanoma, where early detection is critical, identifying high-risk populations could pave the way for more effective, targeted screening strategies.

This work is supported in part by the AΩA Carolyn L. Kuckein Research Fellowship, a nationally competitive award granted annually to a select group of medical students who demonstrate excellence in research, scholarship, and leadership.

Named for long-time AΩA administrator Carolyn L. Kuckein, who died in 2004, this fellowship provides $5,000 in financial support for research focusing on clinical investigation, basic laboratory research, epidemiology, social science / health services research, leadership, or professionalism.

Two UVM Cancer Center members affiliated with the Larner College of Medicine and one mentee of a Cancer Center member have received Institutional Research Grants from the American Cancer Society for fiscal year 2026.

Dani Brasino, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics; Trishnee Bhurosy, M.Sc., Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition and food science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who is mentored by Maija Reblin, Ph.D., associate professor of family medicine; and Pamela Egan, M.D., of MaineHealth, who is mentored by UVM Cancer Center clinical member Scot Remick, M.D., of MaineHealth, were awarded grants in the amount of $40,000 each.

Their innovative projects on targeted prebiotics for immunotherapy patients (Brasino) and food insecurity among young adult cancer survivors (Bhurosy) showcase the cutting-edge research happening at the University of Vermont; additionally, Egan secured funding for her important work on transfusion dependence in hospice care.

Read more about these Institutional Research Grants

Thanks to an invitation from Lieutenant Justin Beauchemin, training officer at the Hinesburg, Vermont, Fire Department (HFD), Larner medical student and National Registry Paramedic Brian Canova ’27 gained hands-on teaching experience last month. To assist with their EMS training nights, Canova joined the HFD and delivered a lecture on heat emergencies to be used by first responders when treating patients in the field. He provided scenario-based questions that led to productive conversation amongst the attendees. “This was a great success in my eyes, and hopefully the first of many [trainings],” said Beauchemin. This opportunity was offered as an HFD/Medical Student EMS Training Collaboration for medical students to gain teaching experience while contributing to the ongoing education of EMS providers.

The training covered the pathophysiology of heat emergencies and key physical exam findings for rapid triage according to VTEMS protocols. “To keep it engaging, we incorporated multiple-choice questions, AMLS-style differentials, and real-world scenarios,” Canova said. “Coincidentally, a heat wave hit days later—so some of these firefighters likely put the continuing education to immediate use,” he said.

Since the opening of the Ulric R. Plante, M.D.’15, Student Lounge in winter 2024, its ping-pong table has seen some action—including matches against Larner Dean Richard L. Page, M.D. 

Shane Cauley ’28, primary contact for the Larner Rackets Student Interest Group, reported the winners from the fall 2024 and spring 2025 tournaments. The fall semester winners were Michael Bergner ’28, gold; David Rezapour ’28, silver; and Ian Kent ’27, bronze. This spring’s winners were Sam Fishman ’28 (left), bronze; Jack Dolak ’28 (center), gold; and Alex Nissenbaum ’28 (right), silver. In the intermediate bracket, Jordan Hacker ’28 placed first, and in the beginner bracket, Andrew Root ’28 came out on top.

Scott Langevin, Ph.D., M.H.A., associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the Larner College of Medicine and associate director of community outreach and engagement at the University of Vermont Cancer Center, has been awarded a grant from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. His study on circular RNA in mesothelioma exemplifies the leading-edge research happening at the UVM Cancer Center.

The focus of Langevin’s research is molecular epidemiology and pathobiology of respiratory tract cancers, with a particular interest in cancer epigenetics. His current work involves cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (exosomes) and their potential as biomarkers for early detection using non- or minimally invasive biofluids; DNA methylation biomarkers in oral rinse samples for early detection of recurrent head and neck cancer; and occupational asbestos exposure as a risk factor for laryngeal and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Larner College of Medicine student Isabella Sutherland ’26 has been selected as a recipient of an inaugural Rising Star Award from the Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society. This award—given annually to emerging leaders in clinical cancer care, research, or student mentorship—recognizes medical, nursing, or allied health students in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine who have demonstrated commitment to caring for cancer patients and/or advancing the field of oncology through teaching, research, or advocacy. Rising Star Award recipients are presented with a certificate and a monetary stipend.

Dermatologist Santana VanDyke, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the Larner College of Medicine and a UVM Cancer Center member, was featured on a recent episode of the University of Vermont’s Across the Fence program. She spoke with program host Keith Silva about how to protect the largest organ in the human body—your skin—from the harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can cause sunburns, skin cancer, and premature aging. Vermont has the third-highest rate of melanoma—a serious form of skin cancer—in the United States.

Across the Fence is a daily 15-minute television program co-produced by UVM Extension and WCAX-TV informing viewers about activities being conducted by University of Vermont faculty, staff, and students that benefit viewers and their communities. The longest running farm, home, and community television program in the country, Across the Fence airs weekdays at 12:15 p.m. on WCAX-TV Channel 3.

Watch Dr. VanDyke on ‘Across the Fence’

This summer, Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars Jess Fitzgerald ’27 and Jordan Hacker ’28, medical students at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, are collaborating with Southern Vermont AHEC and the City of Rutland, Vermont, on a public health research project focused on the city’s drinking water.

During a recent visit to Rutland, Fitzgerald and Hacker visited the Rutland Regional Medical Center, City Hall, and the downtown Rutland Area and received a guided tour of the city’s water treatment facility.

As part of the two-year AHEC Scholars Program, these future health care professionals are deepening their knowledge of rural health, social determinants of health, and cultural competency through both didactic and hands-on learning.

Nathaniel Shannon, Ph.D.’25, a postdoc in pathology and laboratory medicine and former Ph.D. candidate in the Cunniff lab, is lead author of new work published in the Journal of Cell Science investigating what leads to certain cellular alterations upon loss of the protein Miro1.

Miro1, also known as Mitochondrial Rho GTPase 1, is a crucial protein involved in mitochondrial transport and dynamics within cells. It plays a significant role in maintaining cellular energy metabolism and is essential for the proper functioning of neurons.

Co-authors of the study are Cory Raymond, a graduate student in the cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences program working in the Cunniff Lab; Chloe Palmer, former undergraduate research student in the Cunniff Lab, now a Ph.D. student in biomedical sciences at the University of Virginia; David Seward, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and Brian Cunniff, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine.

Read more about this research at the UVM Cancer Center

The University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center, including the UVM Children’s Hospital, is again ranked as the #1 Best Regional Hospital in Vermont on U.S. News & World Report’s 2025–26 Best Hospitals ratings list. The latest edition of Best Hospitals, now in its 36th year, evaluated more than 4,400 hospitals on such measures as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications, and level of nursing care. The UVM Medical Center is rated High Performing in 1 adult specialty—Urology—and 13 procedures and conditions.

Read more about the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals list