UVM cancer center leaders ask Vermont for $1 million to support NCI designation bid

Rick Page, dean of the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, and Dr. Randy Holcomb, director of the Vermont Cancer Initiative, told the House Committee on Health Care that the university is asking the state for $1 million a year to help secure National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation.

Page said the designation matters because of the “excellence that this represents and the opportunities that it offers,” and he urged lawmakers to support the center’s application, planned for submission in fall 2026. The university and UVM Health Network have already provided substantial internal funding, Page said, but state support would demonstrate a broader commitment the NCI looks for in applications.

NCI designation signals sustained research, education, community outreach and clinical-care capacity, the presenters said. Dr. Holcomb described four pillars guiding the center’s work—research, education, outreach and clinical care—and highlighted recent advances: research on melanoma, recruitment of faculty studying the microbiome and engineered bacteria for cancer detection,…