Dr. Wenqi Gan, Associate Professor in Public Health Sciences, will serve as Co-investigator on a new $ 3,270,965 grant awarded to Dr. Changchun Liu titled “HIV Viral Load Testing Using CRISPR Cascade Signal Amplification” This 5-year project aims to develop a rapid, affordable, and sensitive CRISPR cascade signal amplification approach to examine HIV viral load in clinical samples. This clinical examination approach will enable acute HIV diagnosis and viral load testing at home and be appropriate for resource-limited settings where HIV is most prevalent.

Dr. Gregorio, Professor, UConn’s Department of Public Health Sciences was recently awarded a $1,900,000 contract from the Connecticut Department of Public Health titled “Education-Enhanced Pipeline to a Public Health Science Corps”.  The effort is intended to increase the number and professional abilities of public health workers in Connecticut, while simultaneously fostering a statewide culture that promotes public health readiness in communities.  Activities supported by this funding include engaging with the Storrs and Regional campuses in efforts to encourage undergraduates to consider careers in public/population health by highlighting careers and academic opportunities, assisting high schools to offer courses in public health and epidemiology through UConn’s Early College Experience, and implementing a UConn Certificate on Leadership for individuals preparing to lead public health and human service organizations.

Dr. Angela Bermúdez-Millán, one of our faculty, joined fellow advocates and leaders at the Puerto Ricans Connecticut summit this past weekend. Together, they worked to create a collective agenda addressing health inequities, leadership, and other critical issues impacting Puerto Ricans in Connecticut.

Event Highlights:
Plenary panel with the Connecticut Puerto Rican and Latino Caucus
Discussions on housing, education, and environmental justice
Community-driven strategies for change

We’re proud to see UConn Public Health actively contributing to these vital conversations!

At the 2024 New England Rural Health Association Conference, our department had the privilege of leading a session titled Obstetric Life Support: Preparing Healthcare Workers to Optimize Equitable Treatment of Maternal Medical Emergencies in Rural New England. Guided by Dr. Andrea Shields, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UConn, the session highlighted the unique impact of Obstetric Life Support (OBLS) for rural healthcare. Dr. Shields shared her expertise on the critical role of OBLS in advancing maternal care, emphasizing its evidence base and adaptation to rural needs.

Highlights included:
Dr. Shields’ insights into the evidence supporting OBLS and its role in enhancing maternal care in underserved areas
Distinctions between OBLS and other obstetric emergency training programs
Preliminary findings from our ongoing study on OBLS adaptation for both prehospital and hospital-based providers
An engaging panel discussion with OBLS developers and trainers

They were proud to join Dr. Shields alongside Dr. Shayna Cunningham, Dr. Les Becker, and Dr. Rogie Royce Carandang for this impactful presentation, advancing rural healthcare in New England.

Dr. Angela Bermúdez-Millán, an associate professor-in-residence in the Department of Public Health Sciences at UConn, has built her career around direct, community-focused engagement. Her research addresses critical public health challenges like food insecurity and its related health impacts, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations.

Central to her work is a community-based participatory framework that explores the social determinants of health. One notable study examines how food insecurity affects dietary habits, emotional eating, mental health, and diabetes markers in Latinas at risk for type 2 diabetes. Her goal is to develop culturally relevant interventions that address these challenges head-on.

Bermúdez-Millán’s work also extends to promoting healthy eating in low-income children enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Through both quantitative and qualitative research, she aims to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and promote healthy weight management.

As a co-investigator on the DREAM study, she contributed to the development of a nutrition intervention for Cambodians dealing with depression, further highlighting her commitment to underserved populations.

Beyond research, Bermúdez-Millán brings her community-driven approach into the classroom. She collaborates with local organizations like the Hartford Food System and End Hunger Connecticut, enriching her courses with real-world insights. She developed and teaches the “Introduction to Interprofessional Public Health Practice,” a required course for UConn MPH students that emphasizes hands-on community involvement.

Her dedication to both scholarship and teaching exemplifies a deep commitment to addressing public health issues where they matter most—within the communities facing them.

Dr. Jenn Cavallari, Associate Professor in Public Health Sciences and Co-Director of the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW), a NIOSH Total Worker Health® (TWH) Center of Excellence, (Co-I) has been newly awarded a five-year grant in collaboration with CPWR: The Center for Construction Research and Training from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) NORA titled “Empowering Safety and Health in Construction: Uniting Foundations for Leadership and Participatory Programs” for $86,521. Dr. Cavallari is partnering with collaborators from the University of Colorado and University of Massachusetts at Lowell on this subaward.

Goal(s) and Objectives of the Project:  The project adapts CPH-NEW’s Healthy Workplace Participatory Program (HWPP) and the Foundations for Safety Leadership Curriculum for the construction workforce. The goal is to create, implement, and evaluate programs that enhance the health, safety, and well-being of construction workers. Dr. Cavallari, with her expertise in HWPP and experience in the construction industry, will provide guidance on program adaptation, implementation, assessment methods, and data analysis. This five-year project will culminate in identifying partnerships and disseminating findings to the broader construction community.

Dr. Megan O’Grady (PI), Assistant Professor in Public Health Sciences and Courtney Sheehan (Co-PI), LPC, Senior Program Director, at Community Health Resources (CHR), a community-based behavioral health provider in Connecticut, have been newly awarded a one-year grant from the University of Connecticut Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) titled “Identifying Barriers and Facilitators to Implementation of Long-Acting Injectable Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Community-Based Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)” for $10,000. Co-investigators at UConn include Dr. Morica Hutchison (Public Health Sciences) and Dr. Nate Rickles (School of Pharmacy) as well as Dr. Robin Deutsch at CHR.

Goal(s) and Objectives of the project:  This grant will investigate implementation barriers and facilitators for using long-acting injectable medications (e.g., buprenorphine) to treat opioid use disorder in certified community behavioral health clinics CCBHCs. We will analyze electronic health records from Connecticut-based CCBHC clinics to examine use of long-acting injectable medications for opioid use disorder. We will also conduct interviews with staff/providers and patients to understand barriers and facilitators to using these medications.