Treehouse Childhood Cancer Initiative

08/24/2026

🎗️"Giving people hope is the most important thing because that's what brings us together." Tim Vorenkamp said those words before he died of synovial sarcoma in 2016, at just 18 years old. A rare and aggressive cancer, synovial sarcoma often goes undetected until it has already advanced.

Today, Tim’s story is driving new science. Motivated by his conviction, Olena Vaske, a clinical molecular geneticist with the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute and a professor of MCD Biology at UC Santa Cruz Science, is working with an interdisciplinary team, including Baskin Engineering at UC Santa Cruz Professor Holger Schmidt, to develop a highly sensitive diagnostic tool designed to detect synovial sarcoma much earlier than current methods allow.

Earlier detection means earlier action, which means more hope for patients and their families. Tim's journey, and his family's advocacy through the Live for Others Foundation, have been a genuine inspiration behind this work, providing a reminder that no one should feel alone in facing cancer. 💙

🗞️https://news.ucsc.edu/2026/08/synovial-sarcoma-nanopore-assay/

"Life is a journey, live for the people you experience it with." ...

05/15/2026

We are so proud of the TUBI 2026 cohort!

TUBI is a research program at assumed at engaging undergraduates in bioinformatics and cancer research 🎗️

Thanks to the Degree Defining Experience program for funding the program and to for supporting our undergraduate leaders!

04/16/2026

Thank you to our five incredible alumni who joined us for the Treehouse Undergraduate Bioinformatics Immersion (TUBI) alumni panel!

TUBI provides a quarter-long research experience for undergraduate students to encourage them to explore STEM fields. It was great to hear from our alumni panelists about their unique contributions to scientific and medical progress, not only through research and clinical lab work, but also through leadership, marketing, and science communication.

It was a rich conversation that left both the current TUBI participants and the panelists themselves feeling inspired by what the others were doing!

Each TUBI researcher has a story worth sharing, and we hope to hear from more at future events ❤️

Special thank you to the Degree Defining Experience Program and for funding this year’s TUBI cohort and to .ucsc , , for organizing the event!

If you participated in this event, let us know what your favorite takeaway was in the comments 👇