People

Our lab is housed in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont. We accept students through the following programs:

Animal BioSciences for prospective PhD, MS, and AMP students
Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences for first-year PhD students scheduling rotations

We will be affiliated with the Vermont Collaborative for Immunology and Host-Microbe Interactions, Translational Global Infectious Disease Research Center, and the VBRN Disease Ecology Working Group, and are a founding member of the MAP2LE network. I am also always looking for curious and dedicated UVM undergraduate researchers to join our team!

Current Team

Rebekah Honce, PhD

Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor of One Health

Bekah is originally from West Virginia. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan for her undergraduate degree in Biology, where she was active in outdoor recreation and college athletics. After graduating with her BS, she joined the Integrated Program in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and received her PhD in 2020. Her doctoral work was mentored by Dr. Stacey Schultz-Cherry at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and focused on understanding influenza virus pathogenesis and evolution in high-risk hosts. Bekah completed her postdoctoral work with Dr. Jason Botten in the UVM Larner College of Medicine, working on the cellular regulation of arenavirus defective interfering particles. Since moving to the Green Mountain State, she has enjoyed summitting the “Vermont 5” (3/5!) and visiting all the local coffee shops (but only for tea).

Personal Website | Google Scholar | Storygraph | Spotify

Undergraduate Students

Sarah Kincherlow-Warren

Sophomore Animal Sciences

Sarah is an Animal Science major on the pre-veterinary track at UVM. She was born and raised in New Jersey and attended the PCTI STEM Academy in Wayne, where she discovered her passion for science and the medical field. Sarah currently aspires to become a clinical veterinarian, while remaining open to exploring new opportunities within the field. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing club water polo at UVM. Sarah is excited to continue exploring animal health and medicine through both academic study and hands-on experiences.

Kate Melbye

Sophomore Biological Sciences

Kate is a Biology major with a Spanish minor on the pre-med track at UVM and is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is interested in understanding the biological mechanisms responsible for human health and development. At UVM, she is also a member of the pep band where she plays the flute and works as a peer mentor for the UVM Think College Program. She loves Vermont winters especially, when she can ski and enjoy the snow! Ultimately, Kate wants to become a developmental-behavioral pediatrician but wants to explore various aspects of biology and learn as much as she can about our world along the way.