Education

National Presence for UConn M.D./Ph.D. Program

Posted on September 4, 2015September 21, 2015 by Chris DeFrancesco

M.D./Ph.D. student Alex Adami shares the American Physician Scientists Association’s Research Residency Program Database at the National M.D./Ph.D. Association Meeting in Keystone, Col. (Carol Pilbeam for UConn Health)

UConn Health’s M.D./Ph.D. Program was well represented this summer at two national meetings to advance physician-scientist training, including a presentation to M.D./Ph.D. program directors and administrators by one of its students.

The National M.D./Ph.D. Association Meeting is for program directors, and students don’t often attend. But Alex Adami, a sixth-year M.D./Ph.D. candidate, was invited to this year’s conference to present the database project he spearheaded – one that quickly got the attention of M.D./Ph.D. programs throughout the country.

M.D./Ph.D. student Alex Adami in the lab (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)

Adami has long held leadership roles in the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA), the national M.D./Ph.D. Student Association, and has overseen many initiatives within APSA, serving previously as its technology chair and currently as APSA’s president-elect.

One of his APSA initiatives was the development of a database of research-intensive residency programs, those with goals of training future physician-scientists, including graduates of M.D./Ph.D. programs.

“Many residency programs targeting physician-scientists exist, but there was no easy way for a physician-scientist trainee preparing to apply for residency to find them,” Adami says. “With this project, we aim to correct that. Residency is a critical period for physician-scientist trainees, one where many become discouraged and leave the career path. By connecting more trainees to programs designed for them, we hope to reduce those losses and increase the number of physician-scientists who go on to make important advances in understanding human health.”

In addition to his presentation, Adami joined a panel of M.D./Ph.D. program and residency program directors focusing on postgraduate physician-scientist training.

“I am so proud to see our students representing UConn, not just at the national level but on the same stage as directors of M.D./Ph.D. programs and other very senior physician-scientists,” says Dr. Carol Pilbeam, director of the UConn M.D./Ph.D. Program, who was also at the meeting. “It is a testament to Alex’s leadership and accomplishments and to the caliber of student that the UConn M.D./Ph.D. program attracts.”

Further accolades for UConn at the association meeting went to Tracy Dieli, admissions coordinator and M.D./Ph.D. program administrator. Dieli received a plaque from the National M.D./Ph.D. Association recognizing 10 years of dedicated service to the program.

M.D./Ph.D. student Jeremy Grenier in the lab (Chris DeFrancesco/UConn Health)

As the directors and administrators were wrapping up in Denver, the 30th annual M.D./Ph.D. Student Conference was just beginning. Featuring presentations by internationally-prominent physician-scientists and networking opportunities between students from programs nationwide, the student conference is one of the premier gatherings of M.D./Ph.D. trainees. As part of its mission to train physician scientists, UConn’s M.D./Ph.D. program annually sponsors students to travel to the conference. This year’s representatives were Adami and fifth-year student Jeremy Grenier.

Several sessions of the conference are devoted to research presentations by current M.D./Ph.D. students. Grenier’s work in the Department of Immunology was featured during one of the poster sessions. His project examines the impact of viruses on stroke outcomes. Infection is a leading cause of mortality following stroke. Grenier is pursuing his thesis work in the laboratories of Drs. Kamal Khanna and Louise McCullough.

“I am continually amazed by the scientific achievements of our students,” says Dr. Suzanne Rose, UConn School of Medicine senior associate dean for education. “The accomplishments of students like Alex and Jeremy demonstrate our institution’s ability to foster mentorship, discovery, and excellence.”

Adami was selected to give an oral presentation on his project that explores the relationship between the host microbiota, the microorganisms that dwell on and inside of each of us, and the development of asthma.

“Asthma is becoming more and more common in every region of the world,” Adami says. “The increase in asthma has been linked to overuse of antibiotics, particularly in children, and my research supports this. Our hope is that by understanding how the microbiota interacts with our immune system, we can better treat infections in childhood without promoting the development of asthma later in life.”

Adami is pursuing his thesis work in the immunology laboratory of Dr. Roger Thrall.

Clean Eating and Whole Foods

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Christine Kaminski

Clean eating and whole foods are buzzwords that you frequently hear about in the media or talked about in the gym. However, do you really know what the concept means? Is clean eating a passing trend or is it a healthy, sound approach to eating?

“Clean eating is not a diet or a fad,” says Lifestyle Medicine expert Brad Biskup. “It’s a lifestyle approach to eating food in its most natural state,” adds Biskup. Clean eating has been around for some time particularly among fitness, nutrition, and health conscious individuals who have been “eating clean” for years.

Biskup will present a free program about clean eating and whole foods on Wednesday, September 16, at 7 p.m. in UConn Health’s Keller Auditorium where he will discuss the principles of clean eating as well as:

How whole foods and eating clean are beneficial to your health
Reasons to avoid processed foods
How to incorporate a clean eating plan into your diet

The program is free and open to the public. Registration is required by calling 860.679.7692. The Keller Auditorium is located in UConn Health’s Main Building in Farmington. For directions, visit uchc.edu.

UConn Health’s Lifestyle Medicine Program offers individuals a way to be proactive in treating and managing various health conditions, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes by simply changing or modifying their daily habits. The program is very personalized. An individual’s specific risk factors, behaviors, and limitations are evaluated, and a lifestyle plan is developed.

Ceremony Marks Academic Building Addition and Renovation Project

Posted on August 19, 2015August 20, 2015 by Christine Kaminski

A groundbreaking ceremony on Monday marked an educational milestone for the UConn School of Medicine, UConn School of Dental Medicine, and the UConn Graduate School. The Academic Building Addition and Renovation Project will consist of a nearly 18,000-square-foot addition and several smaller renovations to UConn Health’s existing Academic and L Buildings located in Farmington.

The ceremony coincided with the start of the academic careers of 98 medical and 42 dental students who will benefit from the project.

“Today we mark an inspirational milestone in the history of UConn Health with the creation of a new academic addition for all of our schools. Welcome to our future,” said Dr. Suzanne Rose, senior associate dean for education for the UConn School of Medicine. “What will take place in this building in the years to come will impact the patients and lives of our communities in Connecticut and beyond for decades to come, and in immeasurable ways as young women and men learn to become scientists, dentists, and physicians,” added Rose.

Ground-breaking-Academic-Entrance — Dr. Steven Lepowsky, Chad Floyd, Dr. Suzanne Rose, Dr. R. Lamont MacNeil, Dr. Bruce Liang, Francis Archambault, Dr. Barbara Kream, and Dr. David Gregorio. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Photo)

The Academic Building Addition and Renovation Project is a component of Bioscience Connecticut that was championed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and approved by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2011. “Our sincere gratitude to the governor for his vision and effort for Bioscience Connecticut which this is a part of,” said Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of the UConn School of Medicine. In addition to various building projects, Bioscience Connecticut calls for a 30 percent increase in the UConn Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine class sizes.

Dr. Steven Lepowsky, senior associate dean for the UConn School of Dental Medicine, concluded the ceremony by addressing the new medical and dental school students who attended the event by saying, “This project is all about you. This is all about ensuring that we provide our students with state-of-the-art facilities to get the best possible education.”

White Coat Ceremonies Welcome UConn Medical and Dental Students

Posted on August 18, 2015August 27, 2015 by Chris DeFrancesco

UConn School of Dental Medicine students recite the Dentist's Pledge during the 2015 White Coat Ceremony, August 14, 2015.
2015 UConn School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
Dr. Michael Goupil presents a white coat to a new dental student.
2015 UConn School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
UConn School of Medicine students recite the Hippocratic Oath during the 2015 White Coat Ceremony, August 14, 2015.
2015 UConn School of Dental Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
2015 UConn School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
2015 UConn School of Dental Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
2015 UConn School of Dental Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
2015 UConn School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
2015 UConn School of Dental Medicine White Coat Ceremony.
Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of the UConn School of Medicine congratulates new medical students during the 2015 White Coat Ceremony.

The Classes of 2019 from the UConn School of Medicine and UConn School of Dental Medicine have received their student white coats, the symbolic start to their academic careers at UConn Health.

Dr. MacNeil, dean of the UConn School of Dental Medicine, addresses the incoming dental class at the 2015 White Coat Ceremony. (Blagoje Filipovic/UConn Health Photo)

Joined by family members Friday, 98 medical and 42 dental students took part in the traditional White Coat Ceremonies that are the culmination of student orientation for the new classes.

“The white coat has become health care’s symbol of compassionate and scientific patient care,” says Dr. Michael Goupil, associate dean for students at the UConn School of Dental Medicine. “The White Coat Ceremony represents the faith and trust the faculty has for the entering students to carry out their responsibilities for the welfare of their patients.”

The students represent the 47th entering classes for both schools.

“I’m really excited about today,” says medical student Pooja Patel. “Everyone I’ve met is incredibly nice and helpful. I’m just excited to start classes and get to know everyone better.”

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which supports efforts to foster humanism in medicine, provides support for the UConn School of Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony.

“I feel honored, because I’m a first-generation college student,” says dental student Richard Jimenez. “This represents, so far, one of my greatest accomplishments. Ten years ago I would never have seen myself here today.”

Jimenez comes from the Pacific Northwest and had never been to the Northeast before coming to UConn to study dental medicine.

As is tradition, after receiving their white coats, the new dental students recited the Dentist’s Pledge, and the medical students recited the Hippocratic Oath.

Class of 2019 Dental School Profile

42 students (55% women)
Average age: 24
55% Connecticut residents, 21% other New England residents
25 undergraduate school programs represented – 21% UConn, 7% other Connecticut schools
17% are underrepresented minorities
71% majored in science as undergraduates

Class of 2019 Medical School Profile

98 students – includes seven M.D./Ph.D. candidates (56% women)
Average age: 23
87% Connecticut residents
45 undergraduate school programs represented – 35% UConn; 9% other Connecticut schools
18% are underrepresented minorities
88% majored in science and/or health-related topics as undergraduates

CME Accreditation a First for UConn School of Medicine

Posted on August 12, 2015July 12, 2018 by Chris DeFrancesco

For the first time, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education has awarded the UConn School of Medicine accreditation with commendation.

The distinction puts UConn’s medical school in a select group, as only 35 percent of American CME organizations have commendation status. It’s the ACCME’s highest level of accreditation.

“This reflects our state-of-the-art educational programming with educational and compliance rigor from our CME office,” says Dr. Suzi Rose, senior associate dean for education. “We are committed to excellence in education across the continuum of medical education and to fostering a culture of high quality educational offerings that promote lifelong learning, active learning and innovative educational pedagogies and programming.”

The ACCME oversees all continuing medical education for physicians and nurse practitioners for the entire country. There are an estimated 2,000 ACCME-accredited entities, academic and non-academic, that are credentialed by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education.

Dr. Leighton Huey, Christine McNally, Amy King and Barbara Caron led the UConn Health CME office in preparation for the ACCME’s site visit, including a review of all programs approved for granting accredited CME credit as part on an intensive self-study.

“The main issues involved in the review were having the Office of Community and Continuing Medical Education assure that each department or division or course where continuing medical education is involved based its educational offerings on the educational needs of its learners, and that the educational programs are free from commercial bias,” says Huey, professor of psychiatry and associate dean for community and continuing medical education.

The accreditation with commendation from the ACCME is good through July 2021.

CME accredit certificate — The UConn School of Medicine earns a six-year accreditation with commendation for the first time.

UConn Med Students Complete Milestone Cross-country Bike Trek

Posted on August 5, 2015August 6, 2015 by Chris DeFrancesco

The 2015 Coast to Coast for a Cure riders at the beach in Madison, Connecticut — The 2015 Coast to Coast for a Cure is complete upon arrival to the Connecticut shoreline in Madison. (Photos from coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com)

In what has become an annual tradition at the UConn School of Medicine, a few rising second-year students spend their last free summer bicycling across the country.

Every summer the group changes, but the mission stays the same. They ride to honor the dying wish of Lea Economos, who was only 28 when she lost her 10-year battle with leukemia.

The riders make their approach for their UConn Health homecoming. (Photo from coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com)

Last week, when Erin Gombos, Carolyn Tusa, David Lam, Tom Presti and Alex Blanchette reached UConn Health after 3,700 miles over 53 days, then continued on to the shore in Madison, it marked the 10^th successful completion of Coast to Coast for a Cure.

“Although we were the people doing the pedaling, there were so many people that made this trip possible,” Blanchette says. “We would like to thank everyone that we met on the trip, everyone that offered us food, gave us shelter, showed us kindness; everyone that listened to our story and everyone that shared their story with us.”

Economos’s family created Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research to carry out her wish – that others could be spared the hardship she faced. The 2015 Coast to Coast for a Cure, like the nine previous rides, raised money exclusively for Lea’s Foundation.

The Hartford nonprofit has been a philanthropic supporter of UConn Health, most notably with a $1.25 million pledge that led to the creation of the Lea’s Foundation Center for Hematologic Disorders within the Carolle and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at UConn Health.

From foreground: Erin Gombos, Alex Blanchette, David Lam, Tom Presti and Carolyn Tusa enjoy a stop at Niagra Falls July 27. (Photo from coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com)

“America always seemed infinitely large,” Gombos says. “When the trip started, it was about taking things one day at a time and finding joy in small things. For example, I became breathless by some of the views. Seeking help from team members who were going through the same things as me also helped. As the trip went on, America became a finite and even more beautiful place. The trip left me even more impressed with our country.”

This year’s ride started in Seattle, unlike previous years, which started on the shore of San Francisco Bay, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. The 2015 team followed a path that kept them in the northern states, through Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, past the Great Lakes into Michigan and into Canada for a few days. They re-entered the United States near Niagra Falls and continued through New York State and into Massachusetts before reaching Connecticut.

The riders provided a near-daily account of their trip on a blog, complete with photos: coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com.

“When we crossed the border into Connecticut, the welcome sign had a wonderful poster attached to it with a congratulations to our team,” Presti wrote in the blog on the second-to-last day. “This really made it real that we were finally home.”

From left: Erin Gombos, Alex Blanchette, David Lam, Tom Presti and Carolyn Tusa find a sign welcoming them to Conneticut July 31. (Photo from coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com)

An injury forced a sixth student, Alex Tansey, to withdraw a few days into the trip.

Also unlike previous years, the traditional last leg of the trip, from Farmington to the Connecticut coast, was completed the same day as the UConn Health homecoming, Saturday, Aug. 1.

“Lea’s Foundation would like to extend their congratulations to the five UConn medical students who completed the 2015 Coast to Coast bike ride,” says Jaime Trajcevski, a member of the foundation’s board of directors. “They raised over $30,000 and the foundation couldn’t be prouder of all their efforts! Job well done!”

Coast to Coast for a Cure has raised more than $275,000 for Lea’s Foundation since it started in 2006.

“I am so honored to have been able to participate in Coast to Coast and I hope to translate the lessons learned into my career as a future physician,” Gombos says. “Riding across the country had been a dream of mine. What a cool and unique experience!”

Even though the pedaling has stopped, it’s not too late to make a pledge. Those who wish to support the 2015 Coast to Coast for a Cure can do so through leasfoundation.org,

250 Graduate From UConn Health Summer Enrichment Programs

Posted on August 4, 2015August 27, 2015 by Chris DeFrancesco

Adobor Zakir — The Aetna Foundation, which provided an additional grant to expand the Health Disparities Clinical Summer Research Fellowship Program at UConn Health, makes it possible for undergraduates like Hamza Zakir (left) and Akorfa Adobor to get a head start on their pursuit of careers in health care. (Photo by Mukhtar Suleiman)

Nearly 250 students graduated from summer enrichment programs offered by the Aetna Health Professions Partnership Initiative (HPPI) at UConn Health last week.

The students, ranging in age from adolescent to young adult, took part in offerings designed to introduce them to, engage them in, and prepare them for the scholastic track needed to pursue careers in medicine, dentistry, research, nursing, pharmacy, and other health fields. The program seeks to create an educational pipeline for students from populations that historically are underrepresented in these disciplines.

“I learned that knowledge of both medicine and culture are intertwined in providing the best care, and that there is no substitute for empathy,” says Hamza Zakir, a UConn undergraduate who took part in the Health Disparities Clinical Summer Research Fellowship Program. “But most importantly, the program helped motivate me from within. It helped me really believe that I can make the difference. For that I can’t be more thankful.”

Alexxus Hall, a University of Saint Joseph junior, says the Health Disparities Clinical Summer Research Fellowship Program “has allowed me to meet so many great people and make so many different connections. I am very happy and pleased that I spent the summer participating in such a wonderful program that I know will benefit me in the future.” (Photo provided by Alexxus Hall)

Zakir worked with Akorfa Adobor, a junior at Quinnipiac University, this summer, producing the poster presentation “Engaging Patients in the On-Site Training and Assessment of MyCare Patient Portal: Internal Medicine.”

Adobor says her experience “exposed me to the realities of modern health care, as well as the complexity of medicine. The scientific part, although largely emphasized, is only part of the picture. A good physician must be a humanitarian and an excellent communicator. Medicine is an art form that I hope to someday practice.”

The Aetna Foundation, a longtime supporter of the Health Career Opportunity Programs (HCOP) at UConn Health, recently awarded an additional $80,000 to expand the Health Disparities Clinical Summer Research Fellowship Program.

Another health disparities fellow, Rebecca Zapf-Pedraza, says shadowing physicians showed her income is no barrier to being able to deliver top-quality care to all patients.

“I learned ways in which physicians impact the lives of their patients outside of the office, such as prescribing vegetables and food coupons as well as making sure DCF is properly caring for the children it protects, and am now even more driven to pursue an M.D./Ph.D.,” says Zapf-Pedraza, who plans to graduate from Central Connecticut State University in December with a biology degree.

That was one of 10 summer enrichment programs that concluded Friday:

Great Explorations (27 middle school students)
Jumpstart 9 (36 incoming high school students)
Jumpstart 10 (31 rising high school sophomores)
Junior Doctors Academy (22 rising high school juniors)
Senior Doctors Academy (10 rising high school seniors)
High School Student Research Apprentice Program (10 high school students)
Bridge/Pre-college Academic Enrichment Program (28 incoming undergrads)
College Enrichment Program (2 undergraduates)
Medical/Dental Preparatory Programs (48 undergraduates)
Summer Research Fellowship Program (14 undergraduates)
Health Disparities Clinical Summer Research Fellowship Program (19 undergraduates)

The Summer Research Fellowship Program is what enabled Oluwatoyin Akinnusotu, a UConn undergraduate going into his senior year, to spend this summer working in the neuropeptide laboratory of professors Elizabeth Eipper and Richard Mains.

“I was able to create a hypothesis, test it out with data, and see what my conclusion was,” Akinnusotu says. “I really liked the problem-solving aspect of the entire process in my research. And it’s helped me build my resume and my application. Research is a very important aspect of the medical school application. [This fellowship] also helped me form connections here at UConn Health.”

The first-generation American, son of Nigerian parents, aspires to be a neurosurgeon, and is considering UConn for medical school.

“This type of research exposure is so crucial to our mission,” says Dr. Marja Hurley, associate dean for Health Career Opportunity Programs and Aetna HPPI founding director. “We are grateful to the Aetna Foundation and all our funding sources for their continued support.”

Other funding sources include:

Connecticut Collegiate Awareness and Preparation Program, Office of Higher Education
Connecticut State Legislative Fund
The Hartford
William and Alice Mortensen Foundation
John and Valerie Rowe Health Professions Scholars Program
UConn Foundation, Friends of the Department of Health Career Opportunity Programs
UConn Health

Hurley says the Health Career Opportunity Programs have sent more than 400 participants to medical school, dental school, graduate school, or other health professional schools.

Frank Monney, a senior at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, shares his findings from the Summer Research Fellowship Program with Dr. Marja Hurley. “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, but I didn’t believe in myself enough to do that. But as soon as I came here I then decided I was going to do what really, really want to do, which is be a physician. This program gave me some amazing clinical exposure, and some amazing time in research,” Monney says. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)

Cruising Cross-country to Combat Leukemia

Posted on July 22, 2015April 4, 2018 by Chris DeFrancesco

leukemia survivor Apgar Village, Montana — David Lam (left) and Alex Blanchette meet a leukemia survivor and his dog in Apgar Village, Montana. (Photo from coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com)

Five UConn medical students who are pedaling their way back home from Seattle this summer are in the Eastern Time Zone, having covered nearly 2,800 miles.

Through six weeks, Erin Gombos, Carolyn Tusa, Alex Blanchette, David Lam and Tom Presti were in Clare, Mich. They update their progress daily on their blog.

They and a sixth student, Alex Tansey, all going into their second year, make up the 2015 UConn School of Medicine team of riders for the 10th annual Coast to Coast for a Cure cross-country bicycle trek, which has raised more than $250,000 for the Hartford nonprofit Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research.

Tansey, who had to withdraw from the trip because of injury, joined Gombos and Lam on a radio interview that aired June 7 as part of the team’s pre-trip awareness and fundraising efforts.

On road in Michigan — David Lam (red helmet), Tom Presti (dark grey helmet), Alex Blanchette (yellow), Erin Gombos (light grey) and Carolyn Tusa make their way through Michigan six weeks into the 2015 Coast to Coast for a Cure. (Photo from coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com)

Five weeks in, Blanchette checked in with a radio update from the road in Michigan, between Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.

For medical students, the summer between year one and year two generally is regarded as their last free summer, as the typical medical school schedule does not include a summer break after years two and three.

Michigan campsite — A campsite on the Coast to Coast for a Cure trail in Michigan. (Photo from https://coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com/)

Proceeds from Coast to Coast for a Cure go toward assisting patients and their families, and help support clinical trials for leukemia patients. To make a pledge for this year’s ride, visit leasfoundation.org.

To follow the students’ day-to-day progress and see photos from their journey, visit coast2coastforacure.wordpress.com.

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National Media Spotlight on UConn’s Migrant Farm Worker Clinics

Posted on June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 by Carolyn Pennington

Univision producer Emilce Elgarresta and Dr. Bruce Gould, founder of the migrant farm worker clinics, during the video shoot at Thrall's Tobacco Farm in Windsor. — Univision producer Emilce Elgarresta and Dr. Bruce Gould, founder of the migrant farm worker clinics, during the video shoot at Thrall’s Tobacco Farm in Windsor.

The UConn Migrant Farm Worker Clinics received national media exposure this week after being featured on the Spanish language Univision Network (watch video). The segment was part of a series of reports that aired during Univision’s special Health Week campaign June 6-13.

The migrant farm worker clinics are organized and run by health profession students involved with the Connecticut Area Health Education Centers (CT AHEC) Program at UConn Health. The students, along with physician advisors and volunteer interpreters, help provide medical and dental screenings for the hundreds of migrant workers who come to Connecticut each growing season.

The lifesaving care they provide caught the attention of Univision producer Emilce Elgarresta. She contacted Dr. Bruce Gould, UConn Health’s associate dean of primary care who started the mobile health clinics in 1997. Elgarresta said she wanted to do a story about the clinics because she was very impressed and moved with Dr. Gould’s commitment to help the farm workers.

“Migrant farm workers are among the most economically disadvantaged and most medically vulnerable groups in the United States having little, if any, access to health care or medication,” says Gould. “The clinics are a way to provide them much needed medical care while teaching students that caring for the poor and vulnerable is part of the gift of being a health care provider.”

Filming — Univision video shoot during a UConn Migrant Farm Worker Clinic at Thrall Tobacco Farm in Windsor.

A few weeks later, Elgarresta flew to Connecticut from Miami and she and her crew spent two days in Connecticut taping the story. The segment highlighted the clinic held recently at the Thrall Tobacco Farm in Windsor where workers from Puerto Rico and Mexico took advantage of the free health exams.

Hannah Kotler, a second-year medical student and one of last year’s clinic coordinators, and Dr. Kenia Mansilla, a family medicine physician in Hartford and a longtime clinic volunteer, were interviewed in Spanish for the segment.

The story is part of a yearly campaign by Univision, the fifth largest television network in the U.S., to provide their audience with information about timely health care topics and disease prevention. The stories are aired across the network’s news and entertainment shows, as well as their radio networks, webcasts and town hall broadcasts.

The UConn Migrant Farm Worker Clinics operate annually from June to October and provide services to more than 400 migrant farm workers at nine farms and greenhouses throughout the state. The clinic engages pre-health professions students including high school and college students, as well as health professions trainees and residents.

The Connecticut Area Health Education Center Network (CT AHEC) is a federal and state funded program supporting primary care workforce development. CT AHEC is located within the University of Connecticut’s Center for Public Health and Health Policy at UConn Health in Farmington, Conn.

Northeastern Glenn Symposium Attracts Top Researchers

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Carolyn Pennington

From left, Drs. Stephen Helfand and Nicola Neretti from Brown University and Blanka Rogina from UConn Health at the Glenn Symposium on May 27. — From left, Drs. Stephen Helfand and Nicola Neretti from Brown University and UConn Health’s Blanka Rogina.

The first Northeastern Glenn Symposium on the Biology of Aging was held at UConn Health’s Cell and Genome Sciences building on May 27. The symposium was sponsored by the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, which sponsors research in the biological mechanism of aging. Colleagues from Brown, the Einstein College of Medicine, Harvard, MIT, Quinnipiac, UConn and Yale met for the one-day event to share the latest information about aging research.

The symposium was spearheaded by Mark Collins, the director of the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, and Dr. Nir Barzilai, the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair in Aging Research from the Einstein College of Medicine. Drs. Barzilai and Blanka Rogina, associate professor of genetics and genome sciences at UConn Health, organized the meeting.

Rogina said the interest in the symposium was remarkable and resulted in a packed program consisting of 19 oral presentations and 22 poster presentations. More than 130 scientists ranging from principal investigators to undergraduate students attended the event.

Dr. John Sedivy from Brown University moderating a session during the Glenn Symposium held at the Cell and Genome Sciences building at UConn Health. — Dr. John Sedivy from Brown University moderating a session during the Glenn Symposium held at the Cell and Genome Sciences building at UConn Health May 27, 2015.

“It was great to see such enthusiasm and so many labs attending and participating,” said Rogina, who hosted the meeting. “I was happy to see the leaders in aging research from the top universities in the Northeast attending the symposium. It was an exciting day with excellent presentations and a great success.”

The next symposium will be held at Yale University next May.