News

Winner of the first-ever Tao Rising Stars Award

Posted on by Xintao Wei

Winner of the first-ever Tao Rising Stars Award

February 25, 2026

We are pleased to announce the winner of the first-ever Tao Rising Stars Award - Dr. J.D. Beaudoin, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences. The Tao Rising Stars Award recognizes a junior faculty member who has outstanding potential to be the next nationally recognized research star from UConn Health.

Dr. Beaudoin's laboratory specializes in RNA structure-function and translational control. As a junior faculty member, Dr. Beaudoin has already achieved independent NIH funding and has published in high-impact journals. He also has displayed a clear commitment to trainee education and mentorship.

More details can be found here.pdf

Newly Endowed Chairs and Professors at UConn School of Medicine

Posted on by Xintao Wei

Newly Endowed Chairs and Professors Celebrated at UConn School of Medicine

January 28, 2026

Transformative research of UConn medical school faculty Danielle Luciano, Pedro Mendes, Sarah Feldstein Ewing, Guangfu Li, Patrick Murphy, and Xiaoyan Guo, being generously supported by philanthropic donations to UConn’s medical school through the UConn Foundation.

Xiaoyan Guo, Ph.D. joined the School of Medicine in 2022 in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences. Guo’s Lab is actively investigating how mitochondria cross talk with the rest of the cell in health and diseases using CRISPR-based functional genomics. Her lab aims to identify potential therapeutic targets for these diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

More details at UConn Today

New Vice President of the Gerontological Society of America

Posted on by Xintao Wei

New Vice President of the Gerontological Society of America is from UConn

January 13, 2026

Blanka Rogina, M.S., Ph.D., of the UConn School of Medicine has been newly elected vice president of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Rogina will serve a 1-year term in this national leadership position, beginning January 2026.

Rogina serves UConn School of Medicine as professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences and is an affiliated investigator of the UConn Center on Aging. Her research focus is to identify and characterize molecular mechanisms of aging and to find key players that contribute to extended healthspan and longevity—placing her squarely as an expert in gerontology. 

More details at UConn Today