Olivia Varricchione, a first-year graduate student in the UVM Biostatistics Master of Science program, has been awarded a UVM Cancer Center Summer Research Fellowship for her work with Brian Sprague, PhD, at the Vermont Breast Cancer Surveillance System (VBCSS). Her research supports Dr. Sprague’s NIH-funded R01 grant focused on outcomes for women diagnosed with high-risk benign breast disease. Olivia’s summer project investigates the clinical management of women with benign breast disease diagnoses that carry an elevated risk of progressing to cancer. Using medical records data, she will examine which patient and provider characteristics are associated with choosing surgical removal of the benign tissue. Because her analysis draws from Vermont breast imaging facility data, the findings will help inform the local community’s understanding of treatment patterns, including differences between urban and rural clinics.