Members of the UConn American Medical Association chapter’s executive board. Left to right, back: Alyssa Ettinger, Jonathan Lis, Chris Hampton, and Andrew Glick. Front: Elise Mester, Sarah Mattessich, and Christina Klecker. Not pictured: Victoria Greenwood. (Eric Swanson/UConn Health Photo)
It’s Leadership Week at the UConn School of Medicine, a series of events to provide a chance for students who envision themselves as leaders in medicine to share ideas with those who already are—in this case, members of the UConn Health faculty.
The annual tradition of UConn’s American Medical Association student section runs through Thursday. Among the participating faculty are Dr. Bruce Liang, medical school dean, as well as Drs. Paul Dworkin, Anton Alerte, Jane Grant-Kels and Rob Fuller.
“Leadership Week promotes AMA’s core value of leadership by providing an interactive forum for physicians and medical students to discuss pathways to leadership roles and professional development,” says Sarah Mattessich, one of the student organizers. “Last year this event was extremely successful. We had 80 students attend, and we are expecting similar numbers this year.”
Mattessich, a second-year medical student, serves as treasurer of the UConn chapter of the AMA. In that capacity she was able to secure a Section Involvement Grant from the AMA to help offset the costs of holding Leadership Week.
“Our grant will allow us to provide food for our series of events: one dinner and two lunch-and-learns,” Mattessich says. “Success of this event has been possible through the efforts of our entire executive board of second-year medical students. Jonathan Lis and Andrew Glick, the co-chairs of our AMA chapter, have been instrumental in executing this event, including recruiting physician speakers and advertising among the student body.”
Psychiatry professor Mary Casey Jacob, the chapter’s academic adviser, praises Mattessich for her efforts to coordinate this year’s event, by working closely with Lis and Glick and by obtaining the grant.
“This tells us Sarah wishes to provide this important service to her peers, that she is highly organized, and that she know she wants to be a leader within medicine,” Jacob says. “UConn is proud of students like Sarah, who will not only be excellent doctors but also people who nurture their roles within communities as leaders.”
Last year, the UConn chapter hosted the regional student AMA meeting. The year before, UConn’s was a finalist for Chapter of the Year.
“This is a very active and accomplished group,” Jacob says. “That they manage to achieve so much on top of medical studies is quite an achievement.”
Bonnie Hennig is packing her bags for Paris, not to represent UConn Health at a conference, but to represent the United States at the 2015 Veterans Fencing World Championships.
Bonnie Hennig is gearing up for the Veterans Fencing World Championships in France. (Photo by Bob Trestman)
Hennig, the associate director of UConn Health’s Huntington’s Disease Program, shares the No. 2 ranking in the U.S. in her category, which is women age 50 to 59 who compete with a sword called a foil.
“To me it’s the ultimate sport,” Hennig says. “Fencing is considered ‘physical chess.’ It’s aerobic with an anaerobic piece to it. It’s one of those sports that has team comradery but is also very individual.”
Hennig first dabbled in fencing in college but hadn’t picked up a foil for two decades when a local club opened 10 years ago and she got back into it. Recreational fencing became competitive fencing, locally, then regionally, then in national tournaments.
“This is the first time I’ve met the age requirement for an international veteran tournament. For international competition, you’re not considered a ‘veteran’ until age 50,” Hennig says. “For a veteran fencer, the World Veteran Fencing Championship is the highest level you can reach.”
The world championship events take place in Limoges, France, Oct. 20-25.
Bonnie Hennig in her national team uniform (Photo by Madison Hennig)
“While I would love to be a world champion, my first goal is to enjoy the journey,” Hennig says. “It’s not just about a medal around my neck. If I can go to France and fence my best, then I’ve met my goal. I want to fence ‘in the zone’—I’ve been there before and it’s an awesome place. My first plan is to arrive at the venue, do a 360 degree turn, take it all in, and say, ‘I am here!’”
Hennig trains at the Connecticut Fencers Club in Middletown twice a week. She also competes on weekends.
“What’s great about this sport is that anyone can fence,” Hennig says. “There is a lot of technique to it, but people can do it recreationally or competitively. You can go anywhere in the world to fence. It really brings people together.”
In her case, it helped bring husband and wife together. Hennig and Dr. Robert Trestman, executive director of Correctional Managed Health Care and interim director of the Center for Public Health and Health Policy at UConn Health, have fencing in common. While they initially met at UConn years ago, it was fencing that brought them together. They were reintroduced through fencing in 2010 and married in 2012.
A recently started smoking cessation program at UConn Health offers individualized treatment as it seeks to treat both the physical and psychological aspects of tobacco addiction.
“Physical dependence plays an important role in smoking cessation, but I think a lot of the difficulty is also related to psychological issues that come up when one tries to quit” says Dr. Jayesh Kamath, psychiatrist and medical director for the Wellness and Smoking Cessation Program.
“It’s important to try to quit, because smoking cessation is one of the most important changes you can make to improve your health,” says Dr. Cheryl Oncken, an internist and scientific director of the program. Oncken is an internationally recognized tobacco researcher who holds several leadership positions at UConn Health including interim chair of the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Cheryl Oncken
The program is part of a grant from the Department of Public Health to the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, but anyone who smokes is a candidate to join, either individually or by referral.
Patients begin treatment with pulmonary medicine nurse practitioner Diahann Wilcox, who has specialized training in smoking cessation through the American Lung Association. Kamath provides mental health care when appropriate.
“We start with a very comprehensive assessment to determine the physical and psychological issues related to smoking,” Kamath says. “That will be our guide to determine the course of treatment, including what types of interventions we use and how often the patient needs to come in. We will spend the necessary time with each patient, as the treatment is individualized. We use evidenced-based treatments, but it’s also personalized to the patient depending on co-occurring medical and psychological conditions.”
Diahann Wilcox
The program does not cover the costs of medications that may be prescribed, but participants will be directed to resources that may help cover their costs if not covered by their insurance plans. There is no out-of-pocket expense to patients for office visits.
Participation also can contribute to a greater understanding of tobacco addiction and how to beat it.
“There’s a significant research component to this,” Kamath says. “Patients will be offered to participate in a research project, a data repository. The repository will gather clinical data, genetic samples and certain biomarkers on patients participating in the project. This data will help us investigate which patients respond well to treatment, and for those who have difficulty, what are the reasons?”
To learn more about UConn Health’s Wellness and Smoking Cessation Program or to register, call 860-679-2100.
The first class of Accelerate UConn entrepreneurs learns about customer discovery at their kickoff session Oct. 2. (Matt Dunn for UConn)
Accelerate UConn, a National Science Foundation (NSF) entrepreneurship program at UConn, has selected 10 faculty-student teams to receive seed grants and business training aimed at more quickly and successfully commercializing early-stage technologies developed at the University.
Accelerate UConn is one of the NSF’s I-Corps sites, which are housed at academic institutions around the country. I-Corps is a key initiative established in 2011 to increase the volume of commercially viable technologies coming out of academic labs. The program provides a framework for entrepreneurial faculty, staff, and students to join with industry mentors and participate in special NSF-endorsed curriculum. Participants learn to assess the market potential of their technologies, and win funds to support early customer contact to validate concepts and market strategies.
“There is a wealth of technologies coming out of UConn labs that could be commercialized with the right set of tools,” says UConn Vice President for Research Jeff Seemann. “Accelerate UConn allows early-stage ideas to move beyond the lab and join the ranks of other successful Connecticut startups.”
Despite being a new initiative, many faculty and students with diverse backgrounds recently applied to be part of the program’s first class in order to improve their chances of success, according to UConn business professor Timothy Folta, director of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI).
“We are thrilled with the quality of both the applicants and their technologies,” Folta says. “We’re confident that the positive response to Accelerate UConn’s initial application round attests to the program’s value and a desire within the UConn community for additional entrepreneurial support.”
The winning technologies are at varying degrees of development in several different industries. Some of the teams have already formed startup companies based on their technologies, while others may seek to develop licensing opportunities with existing industry. Among the winning teams:
Dr. Robert Kelly of the UConn School of Dental Medicine developed an artificial salivary gland that is being commercialized under the Accelerate UConn entrepreneurship program. (Lanny Nagler for UConn Health)
Oral Fluid Dynamics is commercializing an artificial salivary gland that provides a solution for patients suffering from a lack of salivary flow, and was developed by Dr. Robert Kelly, professor of reconstructive sciences at the UConn School of Dental Medicine.
3D Array Technology will leverage the program’s educational component and seed funding to continue to develop a high performance, low cost catalytic converter based on nano-structured materials. This technology was developed in the lab of Puxian Gao, associate professor of materials science and engineering.
ParrotMD, a student startup developed through the University’s Innovation Quest competition, is aimed at providing a solution for medication adherence in developing countries.
Other teams are still at the very initial stages of development, including those seeking to explore commercialization of innovations for:
composite materials
carbon nanotubes
scientific slide imaging
environmentally friendly flame retardants
topical skin treatment
surface sanitation
Each has the potential to become a successful startup according to the panel of industry experts who reviewed the applications. The program aims to make the road to successful commercialization a little less bumpy for all of the teams in Accelerate UConn’s first class.
Accelerate UConn launched in May 2015, and is the only NSF I-Corps site in Connecticut. The program serves all of the UConn campuses, including UConn Health, and is jointly operated by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation housed in the School of Business. Accelerate UConn supplements many other initiatives at UConn focused on commercialization, like the Technology Incubation Program, the CCEI Summer Fellowship Program, the construction of the UConn Tech Park at Storrs, and the growing relationship with The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine.
Projects Focus on Preventing Obesity in Children Birth to 2
CHDI’s report on preventing early-childhood obesity. (Click image to view report.)
The Children’s Fund of Connecticut (CFC) awarded $230,560 to fund four obesity prevention projects in Connecticut, three of which have ties to UConn.
The work will inform and advance efforts to prevent and reduce early childhood obesity by addressing risk factors in the first two years of life.
Four projects were selected from a competitive application process.
Health Messaging: UConn, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Data Development: UConn Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy
Policy Development: UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy
Baby Friendly Hospitals: The Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition
The grants were inspired by the Child Health and Development Institute’s (CHDI) IMPACT “Preventing Childhood Obesity: Maternal-Child Life Course Approach.” The IMPACT reviewed scientific research on the causes of obesity and explored implications for prevention and early intervention. Risk factors for early childhood obesity include: maternal pre-pregnancy weight and weight gain during pregnancy, infant feeding practices, weight gain during infancy, and eating habits during toddlerhood and preschool.
“Childhood obesity is a serious epidemic affecting one-third of children in Connecticut and nationwide,” says Judith Meyers, IMPACT co-author and president and CEO of the Children’s Fund of Connecticut and its non-profit subsidiary CHDI. “Research shows that that obesity may be very difficult to reverse if children are obese by 5 years of age. The grant projects funded today will help us get ahead of the curve by preventing the onset of obesity.”
Grant Awards
Health Messaging: $75,700, UConn, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Currently, there is minimal and varying outreach to parents regarding early optimal feeding practices, and the messages that are conveyed are often inconsistent. Effective messages will equip parents and caregivers and providers with the information they need to promote a healthy weight in young children. Principal investigator Amy Mobley, assistant professor nutritional sciences, and her staff will develop and test a set of obesity prevention messages for children birth to 24 months that are parent and caregiver focused, culturally appropriate, at appropriate literacy levels and evidence based, along with information for providers about strategies to disseminate these key messages.
Data Development: $80,000, UConn Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy
The goal of this project is to establish a single, integrated longitudinal database containing child weight and other relevant data, beginning with the 2009 and 2010 birth cohorts, as a means of demonstrating the possibility of tracking population data for all children in Connecticut. Under the direction of Dr. Robert Trestman and Ann Ferris, this project creates a childhood obesity surveillance database using PATH (a HIPAA-compliant data matching software application) to link birth records from the Connecticut Department of Public Health with electronic health records at Community Health Center, Inc., with 12 sites across the state. Data will be analyzed to identify factors that increase the risk of being overweight at age 5 and to model the development trajectories to determine the probability of being overweight by age 5 based on a variety of factors, broken down by sex and ethnicity/race.
Policy Development: $14,990, UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy
The Rudd Center’s Director of Public Policy, Roberta R. Friedman, will conduct a review of relevant federal and state policies and regulations (Connecticut and elsewhere) to prevent obesity in children birth to 2 years of age. The results will be a database of policy, legislation, and regulation and the development of a Connecticut policy agenda on childhood obesity for children ages birth to 2. The proposed policy agenda will assist academics, practitioners, program staff, community coalitions and advocates committed to preventing and reducing early childhood obesity in Connecticut.
Baby-Friendly Hospitals: $59,870, The Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is an international movement launched by the World Health Organization and UNICEF to increase rates of breastfeeding through policy changes in birthing hospitals. Eight of 28 birthing hospitals in Connecticut have achieved this designation. The project goals include: 1) assist Connecticut hospitals already in the process to complete their work and achieve the baby-friendly designation; 2) recruit one or more Connecticut hospital to start the baby-friendly hospital designation process; 3) strengthen the infrastructure to support hospitals moving from start to finish including developing partnerships with physicians, community providers, mothers and families; and 4) report on the sustainability and maintenance of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
Learn more about CHDI’s work to prevent obesity in early childhood at www.chdi.org. For further information about the “Preventing Obesity in Early Childhood Grants, please visit www.childrensfundofct.org.
UConn Health continues to grow its volume of practitioners in both Farmington and Storrs Center. Here are some of those who’ve recently started seeing patients.
Dr. Hsung Lin, a graduate of the UConn School of Dental Medicine, is back with UConn. She practices family dentistry, including pediatric dentistry, in Storrs Center, where she is the director of dental services. One day a week she sees patients in the dental clinics in Farmington. In addition to general dentistry, she offers services including wisdom teeth extractions, root canals and dental implants. Lin completed her general practice residency at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. She is fluent in Chinese.
Dr. Lenora Williams, Ob/gyn (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Lenora Williams joins UConn Health at Storrs Center after more than 25 years providing comprehensive individualized ob/gyn care to a diverse population of patients at her private practice in Ellington. Williams’s clinical interests include menopause, reproductive needs, pap abnormalities and HPV, adolescent reproductive health, preconception counseling, PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and minimally invasive in-office and outpatient procedures. Williams is a graduate of the UConn School of Medicine and the UConn Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, and is a fellow of the American College of Ob/Gyn. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and is accredited in ob/gyn ultrasound by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.
Dr. Philip Blumenshine, psychiatry
Dr. Philip Blumenshine is a psychiatrist specialty trained in psychotherapy, including psychodynamic, brief dynamic, and supportive psychotherapy. He sees patients in Farmington, at both the new Mood and Anxiety Clinic in the main building and at Adult Psychiatric Outpatient Services office, 10 Talcott Notch Road. He also is medical director of psychiatry emergency services. Blumenshine’s training includes a psychiatry residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center and an M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Janice Oliveri, primary care (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Dr. Janice Oliveri, a member of the UConn School of Medicine faculty since 2000, is now part of the UConn Health primary care practice, seeing patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. Her clinical interests include preventive care, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and common dermatologic problems, and she offers office-based procedures such as joint injections and skin biopsies. She completed an internal medicine residency at UConn Health after earning her M.D. from the University of North Carolina.
Vivan Huynh is nurse practitioner, also in the primary care practice in the Outpatient Pavilion. She sees general medicine patients for chronic conditions, sick visits, urgent care, and preventive health. Huynh is an advanced practice registered nurse in adult gerontology primary care and is licensed to prescribe medications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Fairfield University and a doctorate of nursing practice from Quinnipiac University. She is fluent in Vietnamese.
LEFT: When possible, removing a window is preferable to smashing it. RIGHT: But that’s not always possible. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)
As construction of the new hospital building gets closer to completion, UConn Health firefighters are putting some of their focus on how to take the building apart.
With a two-story mock-up created by the contractor to showcase a portion of the tower no longer needed, the UConn Health Fire Department used it as an important training opportunity.
Firefighters Michael Alger and Brian Little breach a wall to find metal studs. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)
“It’s almost identical in construction to the new hospital,” says Capt. John Kowalski. “It gives us a chance to go over the construction of the building so we know what we’re dealing with if we ever have to gain access, or for ventilation and rescue if we need it.”
That may involve taking out a window or cutting through a wall or roof, using a combination of power tools, brute force, and brain power to gain entry.
The exercise was as much about learning about the structure itself as it was about tactical training.
“Going into to this, we knew there were different materials, like metal and masonry in the walls and metal decking on the roof,” Kowalski says. “This helps us find out what kinds of issues we may encounter and how we can be prepared for them in a real event.”
All firefighters are trained to save lives first and preserve property second. The UConn Health Fire Department has the additional priority of business continuity – enabling the clinical operations to continue when possible.
Ideally if a window needs to go, it can be removed intact rather than smashed. On this building, the firefighters learned that was an option for some windows, but not for all of them.
Still, the destructive nature of this exercise makes it a popular one.
“I never have trouble finding volunteers for this,” Kowalski says.
Firefighter David Demarest scrapes away at insulation. Cutting in a triangular shape can help maintain a wall’s structural integrity. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)Firefighter Brian Little tests the masonry. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)Lt. Wendell Cote supervises as a firefighter David Noyes saws into the metal skin of the exterior. The nearby window was removed intact. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)The mock-up also provides an opportunity to cut through the roof. (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)
Employees express their creativity in the Pumpkin Paloozza contest. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
More than 800 employees, students, residents and volunteers turned out Thursday for the third annual UConn Health Fall Festival.
Even though the event was moved indoors because of cooler, cloudy conditions and the threat of showers, it did not dampen the spirits of those in attendance. They enjoyed the fall festivities along with some tasty treats served by administrative leadership including Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, interim executive vice president for health affairs.
Carmel apples are among the offerings at the UConn Health Fall Festival. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
Pumpkin Paloozza, the much-anticipated pumpkin decorating contest, proved to be a crowd favorite once again. Each year the competition gets better and better, and this year’s entries did not disappoint. From an intricate UConn-blue train ride to a crazy green techno gourd–and much more–all the pumpkins were true works of art. Attendees kept commenting on how difficult it was to vote which ones should get best in show.
The Fall Festival was presented by the UConn Health Department Human Resources, which extended a special thanks to administrative leaders for their support, to the many volunteers, and to the departments of Education Technology & Multimedia Services, Food and Nutrition, and Facilities Management for producing another successful event.
2015 Pumpkin Palooza Winners
First Place: “UConn Health Express” – Kim Young, Karen Morris, Sally Hatzenbuhler, Deb Daversa, Immunology
Second Place: “Franken BOT” – Sheryl Rosen, Tina Encarnacion, Kristin Wallace, Education Technology & Multimedia Services
Third Place: “Baby Roast” – Rosalinda Pavano, Dariene Dubois, Stacey Fostervold and Jim Behme, Clinical Simulation
Honorable Mentions
“Pharmacy Chic” – Gauri Prabhu, Pharmacy
“Pumpkin Clock” – Kathy Lodovico, Department of Medicine
Created by the Society For Biomaterials, this fellowship will support underrepresented minorities in the field of biomaterials, by providing an undergraduate student the resources needed to attend the annual meeting of the Society For Biomaterials and to become a member of the Society. The goal of this initiative is to stimulate/encourage recipients to pursue a career in biomaterials.
The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship includes registration, airfare, hotels, transfers, and meals. Awardees also will receive complimentary membership in the Society For Biomaterials and assigned a graduate student mentor to guide them through the annual meeting and to help them pursue their advanced degree and career goals.
The fellowship is named for Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, founding director of the Institute for Regenerative Engineering; founding director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical, and Engineering Sciences; and CICATS director. He is also the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery; professor of chemical engineering, materials science and engineering, and biomedical engineering; and the eighth designated University Professor in UConn’s History.
Laurencin is well known for his commitment to mentoring. He is the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentor Award, the Beckman Award for Mentoring, the Alvin F. Crawford Award for Mentoring, and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Engineering and Math Mentoring from President Barack Obama in ceremonies at the White House.
An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering, Laurencin is the recipient of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award. In the Society For Biomaterials, Laurencin has served as a meeting opening keynote speaker, chair of the Special Interest Group Committee, and has received both the Clemson Award for Contributions to the Literature and the Technology Innovation and Development Award from the Society. He is an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering.
Additional information about the Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship and the application is available at http://bit.ly/CTLtf.
Top: “Star Wars” depicts computer animation of the uptake of fluorescent protein nanoparticles (green objects) by cancer cells. Left: “Crystal Rose” is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a 50 micrometer high self-assembled micro-flower made from barium carbonate and silica. Right: “‘Enzyme’ Stained Glass is an SEM eimage showing the random pattern of panes formed by lysozyme/DNA complex, with colors added to enhance the image. (Images courtesy of the Kumar Research Group)Challa Kumar
The newest art exhibit on display in the lobby and mezzanine in the UConn Health main building is native to the University.
“Art in Nanonchemistry,” an exhibit by Kumar and two of his graduate students, will be on display through Dec. 10.
About the Artists
Caterina Riccardi
Kumar says he’s interested in promoting the intersection of art and science. He, along with students Caterina Riccardi and Bobbi Stromer, used high-powered electron or optical microscopes to capture nature at the nano level and create images otherwise not visible to the naked eye.
Riccardi is working for a Ph.D. in chemistry, wrapping enzymes in polymers. As an undergraduate at Wheaton College, she took classes in the studio arts in addition to chemistry and Italian studies. She says she enjoys bridging the gap between art and chemistry.
Stromer, also pursing a Ph.D. in chemistry, is investigating protein chemical modification synthesis to more stable proteins for use in sensing, industrial catalysis and imaging.
The UConn Health Art Advisory Committee invites viewings from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Bobbi Stromer
UConn Health’s collection of fine art serves to enhance the environment and promote the sense of a caring community for patients, visitors, staff and students. Art is selected, acquired and exhibited by the UConn Health Art Advisory Committee. To view a selection of the permanent collection visit: http://auxiliary.uchc.edu/art/exhibit.html.