For pediatric oncologist-hematologist Jessica Heath, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and biochemistry at the Larner College of Medicine, the inspiration to pursue pediatric oncology came during her residency at Albany Medical Center, when she shadowed a physician who was giving a patient’s family the “Day One Talk.” “This is the day you have to tell a family the horrible news that their child has cancer,” says Heath, the UVM Cancer Center’s associate director for clinical and translational research. “Then, you lay out a plan for treatment and give them hope that things will get better.”
Ever since then, Heath has bonded with dozens of families navigating the devastating realities of childhood cancer. Often, the plan involves clinical trials, which are baked in to the culture of pediatric oncology as a way to offer vulnerable patients the most promising treatments medical science has to offer. Proving this point, a trial conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group nationally, and overseen by Heath at UVM, studied the immunotherapy drug blinatumomab, which, when combined with standard care chemotherapy, significantly reduced relapse rates of standard-risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia—the leading cause of cancer in children.
For Heath, the success of this trial in a rural location reflects the dedication of the UVM Children’s Hospital to providing the best possible treatments to all patients and underscores the UVM Cancer Center’s unique place among research establishments. “Pediatric oncology programs must be in an academic medical center because you need the support of many subspecialties—and often, these are in big cities,” she says. “Being able to live here and serve patients in a rural environment while doing impactful research and forming strong relationships with families is truly special.”
Research like this has contributed to the University of Vermont’s designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an R1 institution, placing it in the top tier of research universities in the U.S.
