Biomaterials Forum, the official newsletter of the Society For Biomaterials recently featured an article on the Cato T. Laurencin Travel Fellowship and highlighted a few success stories from previous winners. The Fellowship supports underrepresented minorities in the field of biomaterials by providing an undergraduate student the resources to attend the Annual Meeting of the Society For Biomaterials and membership in the Society. The goal of this fellowship is to stimulate and encourage recipients to pursue a career in biomaterials. Read the full article.

The Society For Biomaterials is a multidisciplinary society of academic, healthcare, governmental and business professionals dedicated to promoting advances in all aspects of biomaterial science. SFB is the oldest scientific organization in the field of biomaterials and has enjoyed tremendous growth and success over the years.

SFB supports those in the field of biomaterials by bestowing a number of awards annually to deserving tenured and non-tenured faculty and students, as well as nominating eligible individuals to the status of Fellow, Biomaterials Science and Engineering. Fellows foster advancements of the biomaterials field and support its professional development as a practical and intellectual endeavor. Dr. Laurencin earned his fellowship status and was recognized for his outstanding contribution to biomaterials research, education, and service.

On Saturday, September 21^st employees and students from The Connecticut Convergence Institute volunteered their time to participate in the 2019 PCDC Health Fair and Walk-A-Thon at the First Cathedral in Bloomfield. The institute supported the event as a bronze sponsor, and in addition, provided healthy snacks for all attendees.

Volunteers kicked off the 8:30 a.m. outdoor walk-a-thon by handing out pedometers and sponsored the pre-walk warm up. Later in the morning volunteers headed over to the First Cathedral and hosted a vendor table at the health fair. The table provided healthy lifestyle information along with information on the institute and of course, giveaways. The health fair offered “breakout” sessions, which intended to increase attendees physical activity. The CT Convergence Institute facilitated two breakout sessions featuring Zumba with Sistah Anyango and a pedometer step tracking activity with Dr. Helen Wu. The highly successful event attracted hundreds of people who left the event with healthy lifestyle knowledge and food, giveaways, and increased step count.

Thank you to the First Cathedral and PCDC for allowing us to partner with you on such a wonderful and engaging health oriented event!

Just Us Moving Program in the State of Connecticut 

The goal of the Just Us Moving Project (JUMP) is to improve diabetes control by reducing the hemoglobin A1C levels of people in African/Black and Hispanic/Latino American communities by encouraging increased physical activity and targeted dietary changes. By promoting and tracking daily physical activities, the information learned in our study can help other African and Hispanic Americans who have diabetes.

You may be eligible if you:

• Are 18 years or older
• Have type 2 diabetes
• Are African American or Hispanic American

Your participation in this 12-week study is completely voluntary and you will be reimbursed for your time.

Register Here

For more information please contact Megan Wing at

Email: wing@uchc.edu

Call: 860-679-5192

Study approved by UConn health IRB:19-206S-1

Principal Investigator: Cato Laurencin, MD, PhD

Department: Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering

On September 14^th The Connecticut Convergence Institute and essential community partner, Emanuel Lutheran Church of Hartford gathered over 70 community members to partake in a free JUMP (Just Us Moving Program) event.

The event began with a short presentation by Dr. Helen Wu, Associate Professor from UConn Health, who discussed the importance of increasing step count and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Followed by the presentation, the one-of-a-kind Sistah Anyango of FLYY Fitness engaged the crowd with a 25 minute high-energy Zumba class. Her teaching style accommodated all ages, from children to elderly. The events’ eldest participant was an impressive 93 years old! Followed by the guided movement segment, participants revitalized with a buffet style healthy lunch provided by The Kitchen at Billings Forge. Attendees left the event armed with healthy lifestyle information, a sweat provoking workout, giveaways and full stomachs.

Thank you to the Aetna Foundation for making this wonderful event possible!

The Pillar Community Development Corporation (PCDC) is a non-profit organization established in 1994 to serve the needs of families in the Greater Hartford Metropolitan community. PCDC’s mission is to foster and promote the growth, development and well-being of individuals, families, and communities in Connecticut, the United States, and around the world. They accomplish this mission by supporting enrichment programs that provide targeted life changing experiences that focus on children and families, education, health and wellness, and economic and community development. The Connecticut Convergence Institute values PCDC as a loyal JUMP and Heath Café partner, and will continue to maintain a symbiotic relationship supporting one another.

Dr. Kevin Lo recently attended the 2019 EFRI-REM Mentoring Meeting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The meeting focused on collaborating with EFRI-REM PI’s, Co PI’s, Directors and Mentors regarding implementing mentor-oriented activities at home institutions. Over the course of the one and a half day event, Dr. Lo discussed REM-focused mentoring issues and the importance of facilitating mentor training exercises. Dr. Lo wrapped up the event with a presentation on The Connecticut Convergence Institute’s REM program and highlighted the success of various mentees, and the challenges of mentoring.

The Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) program aims to mentor students from diverse backgrounds to prepare them for careers in STEM-related disciplines. The program recruits high school students, undergraduate students, and teachers in professional development to provide them with skills including communications, scientific writing, and collaboration, while providing a high quality research experience.

Each summer, participants in the REM program are welcomed at UConn Health for research training. Participants learn the basic aspects of research including research problem identification, experimental design, and execution. Our laboratories have researchers at all levels (post-docs, grad students, undergraduate and faculty members) so there is an opportunity to learn from a variety of scientists.

Dr. Laurencin was recently invited to provide the keynote speech at a joint seminar between the Clara Luper Department of African and African-American Studies and the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. The annual joint lecture series unites community engagement and healthcare technology. Dr. Laurencin’s presentation titled “Success is What You Leave Behind” discussed new directions in the field of Regenerative Engineering and his work in building a new scientific community around convergence.

Following his speech, he met with students and faculty, networked key campus leaders, and shared his thoughts on the opportunities that potentially lie ahead for the collaboration between the two departments and the surrounding community.

Guleid Awale, a graduate student of the Connecticut Convergence Institute, recently received a NIH Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research Programs in collaboration with CT Convergence Institute members Dr. Cato Laurencin, Dr. Thanh Nguyen, and Dr. Kevin Lo. This award provides additional support to students from underrepresented backgrounds in conducting research within the fields of biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences. The supplement grant will provide the funding for student stipends, laboratory materials, and travel to professional development workshops and conferences. The research efforts will complement the work conducted under Dr. Thanh Nguyen’s parent grant focusing on the development of bionic self-stimulated cartilage. View the in-depth research here.

Just Us Moving Program

The goal of the Just Us Moving Project (JUMP) is to improve diabetes control by reducing the hemoglobin A1C levels of people in African/Black and Hispanic/Latino American communities by encouraging increased physical activity. By promoting and tracking daily physical activities, the information learned in our study can help other African and Hispanic Americans who have diabetes.

You may be eligible if you:

• Are 18 years or older
• Have type 2 diabetes
• Are African American or Hispanic American

Your participation in this 12-week study is completely voluntary and you will be reimbursed for your time.

Register Here

For more information please contact Megan Wing at

Email: wing@uchc.edu

Call: 860-679-5192

Study approved by UConn health IRB:18-101S-6.1

Principal Investigator: Cato Laurencin, MD, PhD

Department: Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering