As part of the conference, 100 students from five area high schools, broken into small groups, will visit UVM cancer research labs like this one. They will also receive guidance on how to pursue careers in cancer research from the renowned experts attending the conference. (Credit: Bailey Beltramo)
UVM’s “Convergence” Conference Brings National/International Experts to Campus October 24-27 to Discuss Advances in Cancer Treatment
100 Area High School Students Will Attend, Receive Career Guidance from Experts, Observe Research Lab Activities
Vermont Business Magazine A national cancer research event called Convergence will bring experts from around the country and the world to the University of Vermont October 24-27 to discuss interdisciplinary techniques to advance cancer treatment. The experts, along with UVM Cancer Center faculty, will present information about their cutting-edge cancer research.
The conference is co-hosted by the National Science Foundation-sponsored Cancer Convergence Education Network.
As part of the UVM activities, 100 students from five local high schools will attend a half-day “Careers in Cancer” event on October 24. Students will receive career advice from experts and observe faculty and students working in several of the university’s cancer research labs.
The UVM event will consist of 24 lecture-discussions over four days attended by faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral trainees at the university.
In addition to UVM, presenters are from the University of Cambridge (England), Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber, Columbia University, Mass General Hospital Cancer Center, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Rutgers, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Presenters have expertise in oncology, immunology, virology, epigenetics and genomics, epidemiology, computer sciences and artificial intelligence, physics, mathematics, and engineering.
“The Convergence conference is about the future of cancer research,” said Randall Holcombe, M.D., M.B.A., director of the UVM Cancer Center, which organized the UVM event. “Integrating interdisciplinary approaches to cancer research — the convergence of the conference’s title — is prompting new questions, setting new research directions and providing researchers with new technologies that are already leading to new cancer treatments and cures,” said Holcombe, who will present at the event.
High school students to learn about career pathways, observe science in action in research labs
High school students will have an immersive experience from 9:00 to 1:00 on October 24. They will break into small groups, interacting with world-renowned scientists to learn about career pathways in cancer research. They’ll also visit UVM cancer labs to meet with a range of faculty researchers, see science in action, and view demonstrations.
The demonstrations will include growing and visualizing crystals to understand protein structure, microscopy to visualize the important components of a dividing cell, and exploring the various equipment needed to successfully carry out cancer research.
“Both the Cancer Convergence Education Network (CCEN) and the UVM Cancer Center view community connection as a key component of furthering interdisciplinary cancer research,” said Arnie Levine, Ph.D., the founder of the CCEN program. “Including local high school students, who are the future of science, in the conference is an important way to further this objective and one that NSF supports”
The students are from Burlington High School, South Burlington High School, Winooski High School, Essex High School, and Champlain Valley Union (CVU) High School.
The Convergence conference at UVM, and at other institutions, was developed by the Cancer Convergence Educational Network. The Network provides a mechanism for direct feedback from diverse members of Convergence teams to improve existing research; to foster new collaborations borne of the proximity of scientists from a range of backgrounds that may lead to new original research efforts; to offer professional connections for trainees seeking post-doctoral or professional positions, and to promote the development of a new field with new practitioners who are approaching important questions in cancer biology and developing research in physics in an unique fashion with significant impact.
The Cancer Convergence Educational Network is funded by the National Science Foundation and Stand Up to Cancer.
About the University of Vermont Cancer Center
The University of Vermont Cancer Center is Vermont’s only not-for-profit comprehensive clinical and research cancer center. Founded in 1974, the organization is located within the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine and enjoys a clinical partnership with the University of Vermont Medical Center. Drawing on the expertise of more than 165 research and clinical members, the center works to reduce the burden of cancer in Vermont, northeastern New York and across northern New England, through research, outstanding clinical care, community outreach and education.
