The UVM Cancer Center’s third annual Scientific Retreat, held March 13, 2026, at UVM’s Dudley Davis Center, convened members and trainees for a full day of connection, collaboration, and discovery. Designed to foster cross-disciplinary learning and strengthen the Cancer Center’s research community, the retreat provided a forum for investigators at all stages to share their work and engage with colleagues outside their usual spheres. Topics explored included: 

• Environment and cancer 
  • Noelle Gillis, Ph.D. – “Environmental endocrine disruptors and thyroid cancer incidence: Emerging links between exposure and tumor biology”
  • Jaime Boisoneau (graduate student) – “Disruption of thyroid hormone signaling by PFOS exposure”
  • Selina Mintaah – “Thyroid hormone receptor beta-selective agonism suppresses tumorigenic properties in poorly differentiated thyroid cancer cells” 
• Breast cancer research
  • Olivia Varricchione (graduate student) – “Modeling upgrade to malignant diagnosis for women with high-risk benign breast lesions”
  • Alyssa Hurley (graduate student) – “Investigating the regulatory mechanisms of APOBEC3A transcript level in breast cancer”
• Population sciences
  • Sulamunn Coleman, Ph.D. – "Dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes: Challenges and strategies for secondary prevention"
  • Florence Abraham (graduate student) – “Acculturation, dietary behaviors and cancer risk perspectives of African immigrants in Vermont”
  • Charles Jakubik, M.D. – “Impact of rurality on screening and prevention strategies for patients with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome”
  • Faith Skerrit, MPH & KC Collier, M.D. – “Delaying or avoiding cancer screening due to COVID-19 worry and race/ethnicity in those with chronic lung disease”
• Member highlights
  • Jeremy Logue, Ph.D. – “Molecular mechanisms of mesenchymal to amoeboid transition in motile cancer cells”
  • Julie Dragon, Ph.D. & Mark Henderson, Ph.D. – “Melanoma in a benthic catfish species represents a new transmissible cancer, offering unique insights into cancer evolution and immune evasion”
• Lung cancer 
  • Katherine Horrigan (Ph.D. candidate) – “STK11-dependent increase in CXCL 16 is associated with an altered tumor-immune microenvironment in a mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma”
  • Allison Racela (graduate student) – “NF-𝜿B signaling promotes metastatic programs in STK11-deficient lung adenocarcinoma”
  • Dylan Casey – “Pressure-driven tissue fracturing directs drug distribution during intratumoral injections”

Members also heard about resources available to them, such as the center’s outreach van and BioMobile lab (overview given by UVM Cancer Center Director Randall Holcombe, M.D., Ph.D.); research capabilities via IceCore at the Vermont Advanced Computing Center (relayed by Terry Barrett); and the IIT incubator (shared by Jessica Heath, M.D., UVM Cancer Center’s associate director of clinical and translational research). 

The keynote address was given by Matthew Vander Heiden, M.D., Ph.D., director of M.I.T.’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, who shared groundbreaking research in his talk, “How studies of cancer metabolism have informed understanding of cancer progression.” 

Members enjoyed an array of games and entered a contest by submitting ideas for their dream membership benefit. These lucky winners took home prizes:  

• Katharine Knox - Velcro Darts  
• Rohit Singh, M.D. - Connect Four 
• Jaime Boisoneau - Axe Throwing 
• Elise Tarbi, Ph.D., APRN, won for her “My Dream Member Benefit” entry: “A qualitative research mixed/methods research core”

Honorable mentions for “My Dream Member Benefit” entries go to Maija Reblin, Ph.D., for the most suggestions submitted (12); Tom Ahern, M.D., who suggested a "Lounge with ping pond table for graduate students"; and graduate student Isabelle Mittelstadt for her suggestion, "Facilitating connections between graduate students and clinicians". 

To learn more about (actual) member benefits, visit: https://www.uvm.edu/larnermed/uvmcancercenter/membership-benefits