Research

The faculty members in the Hematology/Oncology Division maintain active clinical, translational, and epidemiology research programs.

Translational Research

Epidemiology / Public Health


Clinical Research

The Hematology/Oncology Division in alliance with the University of Vermont Cancer Center and The University of Vermont Medical Center lead and participate in clinical trials in our region and nationally. Clinical research includes treatment and prevention protocols and investigator-initiated, cooperative group, and industry trials.

Collaborations

Collaborations with researchers in other University of Vermont departments (including Pathology, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Psychology and Health Promotion) and with national and international colleagues increase available clinical and basic science projects. Biostatistical support is available through the University of Vermont Cancer Center.

Funding

Research activities carried out within the Division are supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society and industry collaborations

Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and vice chair for emerging researchers, reports that the NIH-funded Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) 4a Trial was partly closed to accrual in December 2020 for the stratum of ICU-level of care patients with COVID-19. The team found that full intensity anticoagulation with heparin/low molecular weight heparin was a futile intervention as compared to prophylaxis dose heparin/low molecular weight heparin. She is also a multiple principal investigator for new COVID-19 research funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. This new project is collaborating across 14 existing cohorts of over 50,000 participants to identify cases of COVID-19 and answer critical questions about risk factors and consequences of the disease. The Laboratory for Clinical Biochemistry Research at UVM is collecting dried blood spots on up to 40,000 participants to perform serology testing.

The Chart Winter 2021

L-R: Jacob Barker, PharmD.; Emily Parenteau, M.S.N., APRN; Karen Libby, BSN; Chris Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., Steven Ades, M.D., M.Sc.

L-R: Jacob Barker, PharmD.; Emily Parenteau, M.S.N., APRN; Karen Libby, BSN; Chris Holmes, M.D., Ph.D., Steven Ades, M.D., M.Sc.

Steven Ades, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, is principal investigator for a Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society grant titled “VTE Risk Assessment and Prevention in Cancer Patients in the Community Oncology Setting.” Co-investigators are Chris Holmes, M.D., Ph.D.; Yonatan Resnick, PharmD; Christian Thomas, M.D.; Jacob Barker, PharmD; Emily Parenteau, P.A.; and Karen Libby, R.N.

VTEPACC Link

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Peter Kaufman, M.D., professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Board of Directors. This organization represents the National Cancer Institute-based national clinical trials network. (bottom left)

Julian Sprague, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, was named to the myeloma subcommittee for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. (bottom right)

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The Chart Spring 2020