Larner Accolades & Accomplishments: JULY 23, 2025

2 headshots of a woman on the left and a man on the right — *Melanie Bui, M.D., Ph.D. (left), and Steven Roberts, Ph.D. (Photos: Ceilidh Kehoe)*

A new study being launched by dermatologist Melanie Bui, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine, and Steven Roberts, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics—both UVM Cancer Center members—will seek insights into why Vermont has one of the highest incidence rates of melanoma in the country.

While there are a few theories as to why this is (e.g., large numbers of older people with fair skin who work and play outdoors), scientists have yet to find answers at the genomic level.

Bui and Roberts have received an interprogram pilot award of $20,000 through the Cancer Center’s Population Sciences and Cancer Outcomes program to assess skin mutations in Vermont and look for signatures that may shed light on why some Vermonters develop skin cancer and how they respond to treatment.

Marissa Birne, M.Ed., associate director of education at the UVM Center on Aging, has been selected as a 2025–26 Eisner Prize Fellow. The year-long program is designed to support leaders who are pioneering innovations in intergenerational connection. Selected from a highly competitive applicant pool, fellows receive $50,000 to support their project proposal.

Birne’s project, titled “Vermont Youth Leaders in Aging,” will place high school students in long-term multigenerational volunteer groups at senior living and residential care communities, connecting through facilitated discussions and engaging activities led by trained UVM students, including Larner medical students. Youth leaders will build meaningful relationships with older Vermonters while gaining exposure to a range of aging-related careers through mentorship and educational opportunities provided by the Center on Aging. This project aims to ignite in its participants a lasting appreciation of older adults by building empathy, reducing ageism, and opening the door to future opportunities in gerontology and geriatrics.

The Eisner Foundation identifies, advocates for, and invests in high-quality and innovative programs that unite multiple generations for the enrichment of communities.

a group of people standing on steps — This year’s TREC fellows, with PI Melinda Irwin, Ph.D., M.P.H., Yale School of Public Health, and Diana Lowry, M.P.H., program director, TREC Training Workshop, at the Water’s Edge Resort in Westbrook, Connecticut, on the final day of the meeting.

Deena Snoke, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Michael Toth, Ph.D., Laboratory and a UVM Cancer Center member, was one of eight postdoctoral fellows—and the first fellow invited from the University of Vermont—to participate in the ninth annual Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) training workshop held in June in Connecticut. Hosted by Yale’s School of Public Health and funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, the workshop brought together 25 early-career basic, clinical, and population science researchers and invited leaders in the field to speak on the examination of physical activity, nutrition, and body composition across the cancer continuum.

Additionally, Snoke was recently awarded the UVM Cancer Center’s Postdoctoral Research Excellence Award. This competitive, merit-based award recognizes and supports outstanding postdoctoral fellows engaged in cancer-related research. The award provides $10,000 per year for three years to be used at the fellow’s discretion in support of their research, training, or professional development.

2 men on the set of UVM's Across the Fence TV program

UVM Cancer Center members Steven Ades, M.D., professor of medicine in hematology and oncology, and Nataniel Lester-Coll, M.D., associate professor and division chief of radiation oncology, were guests on UVM’s Across the Fence program in June—Prostate Cancer Awareness Month—where they discussed prostate cancer risk factors, symptoms, and treatments.

Ades is medical director of the University of Vermont Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office; he specializes in treating patients with genitourinary malignancies, including prostate cancer, and gastrointestinal cancers. Lester-Coll, who also is chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the UVM Health Network, specializes in treating patients with prostate cancer, lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, sarcoma, lymphoma, and metastatic malignancies.

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 Drs. Ades and Lester-Coll on Across the Fence

a group of people posing in a line — Left to right: Larner Medical Class of 2028 students Angela Mueller, Ayda Oktem, Danielle Callard, Sidney Gregorek, Connor Nowak, Brian Hess, Alex Nissenbaum, and Caitlin Wizda participating in their end-of-year Community Service Day at the Intervale Conservation Nursery

On June 13 eight medical students from the Larner Class of 2028 volunteered at the Intervale Conservation Nursery for their end-of-year community service day project. Following an introduction on how to distinguish between weeds and valuable growth led by Intervale Center Production Manager Ben Fishbein, the volunteers cleared out two full beds of weeds in two hours.

“Overall, it was a great day to get out of the classroom and do something hands-on as a team to give back to our community,” said Larner Medical Student Council Community Service Representative Sidney Gregorek.

a group of people working in a field — Larner Medical Class of 2028 students did some weeding at the Intervale Conservation Nursery as part of their end-of-year Community Service Day. Left group (front, middle back): Alex Nissenbaum, Angela Mueller, and Caitlin Wizda; middle group (front, middle, back): Ayda Oktem, Brian Hess, and Danielle Callard; far right: Connor Nowak.

Founded in 1988, the Intervale Center manages a 360-acre campus of farmland, trails, and open space along the Winooski River in Burlington, Vermont. Their conservation nursery grows native riparian trees and shrubs for conservation and restoration projects across Vermont.

Vermont may be one of the smallest states by population, but it is rich in innovation, leadership, and community spirit. Women We Admire, a membership organization connecting accomplished women executives and leaders across the U.S. and Canada, recently announced the Top 50 Women Leaders of Vermont for 2025. This year’s honorees reflect the state’s deep-rooted values and forward-thinking mindset, including …

#4. Larner Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Julie Vieth, M.D., medical director of emergency medicine at the UVM Medical Center and division chief of clinical operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine for the University of Vermont Health Network
#46. Larner public health alumna Hilary Nardone, M.P.H.’21, director of public water systems at Nalco Water in Burlington

Women We Admire provides members with powerful leadership insights and a community of extraordinary women who enrich each other’s career journeys, as well as an educational video library, monthly virtual events, in-person networking events, and proprietary platform messaging to connect members, and local initiatives around the U.S. and Canada led by regional chapter leaders.

Larner Accolades & Accomplishments: JULY 23, 2025

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Larner Accolades & Accomplishments: JULY 23, 2025