Practicum Highlight: Kamryn Thomas, MPH’26
Climate Resilience in Cancer Care Delivery
Kamryn Thomas, a residential MPH candidate in the Class of 2026, completed her Applied Practice Experience (APE) with the Lichter GreenHealth Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Lichter. Her work focuses on climate resilience in cancer care delivery, with particular attention to rural and cold-climate regions.
Kamryn’s project examines how healthcare systems, including the Dartmouth Cancer Center, anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate-related disruptions that may affect timely access to oncology care. In northern New England, winter storms, hazardous travel conditions, and long distances between patients and treatment centers are routine realities. During recent winter weather events, the team documented 27 missed radiation treatment visits due to snowstorms and hazardous travel conditions. For patients receiving daily radiotherapy, even short interruptions can compromise treatment effectiveness and, in some cases, long-term outcomes.
Grounded in these real-world challenges, Kamryn is conducting a mixed-methods evaluation to identify gaps in publicly available resilience and preparedness resources. Her goal is to help inform the development of practical, patient- and clinician-facing tools that support continuity of cancer care during extreme weather events. Rather than simply measuring disruption, the project aims to advance scalable, systems-level solutions that strengthen care delivery across rural settings nationwide.
Kamryn’s APE project aligns with Dartmouth’s growing leadership in climate and health. A recent publication from the Lichter Lab, featured on the ASTRO Blog and published in The Lancet Oncology, quantified the environmental impact of healthcare delivery, including cancer care, and its associated secondary health effects. The study introduced a lifecycle assessment framework and identified actionable strategies such as hypofractionation and institutional energy transitions to reduce the carbon footprint of cancer care while maintaining high-quality oncologic outcomes. Together, this research reflects a broader vision. Sustainability and climate resilience are integral to delivering excellent cancer care.
“In rural, cold-climate regions, weather can directly affect whether patients can complete essential treatments for their cancer,” Dr. Lichter notes. “At Dartmouth, we are developing scalable, systems-level solutions that protect continuity of care while strengthening health system resilience for the future, especially in a changing climate.”
For Kamryn, being part of the Lichter Lab has been both professionally and personally meaningful. “Joining the Lichter Lab has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve enjoyed working with people who truly care about climate change and learning from so many inspiring professionals,” she shares. Reflecting on her MPH experience more broadly, she adds, “I’m really enjoying my time at Dartmouth. It’s great to learn with such thoughtful classmates, explore public health in depth, and notice growth in my studies and in myself.”
Through her practicum work, Kamryn is helping to advance solutions that reduce environmental impact and ensure patients can access and complete life-saving treatment, regardless of the weather outside.
Written by: Mia Soucy
POSTED 2/18/2026 AT 03:52 PM IN #practicum #mph on-campus #applied practice experience #mph #ape #2026
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