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

Dr. Cato Laurencin, of the Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering and Sports Medicine Department and Dr. Anthony Alessi, of the Neurosport Department attended the CES MMA 58 Fight at the Connecticut Convention Center last Saturday. Dr. Laurencin serves as the Commissioner of Boxing for the State of Connecticut and Dr. Alessi showcased his expertise as the ringside doctor for the fight. Previously, Dr. Laurencin served as a ring side boxing physician for professional boxing in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. He has been a physician for the USA Boxing Elite Men’s Team and serves on the National Medical Advisory Board for USA Boxing. He continues to interlace his passion for boxing with his mastery in sports medicine.

Dr. Laurencin recently traveled to Vail, Colorado to speak at the 5^th Annual Vail Scientific Summit. The year’s theme focused on advances in regenerative medicine and is considered a summer highlight for some of the top scientists, researchers, surgeons and clinicians in the fields of regenerative, translational and orthopaedic medicine. Dr. Laurencin moderated the session focused on innovative technologies.

The annual event hosted by the Steadman Philippon Research Institute, started in 2015 and has continued to grow each year attracting physicians and scholars from a wide variety of fields of medicine and research. This year’s range of discussion topics include aging, bone regeneration, spine and vertebrae issues, muscle, cartilage, ligament and tendons.

Dr. Laurencin, an International Advisory Board Member, traveled to Beijing and Dalian, China to moderate the 2019 Chinese Biomaterials Congress and International Symposium on Advanced Biomaterials. The event was held in conjunction with:

• The 5^th China-US Joint Forum on Regulation, Standards and Innovation of Biomaterials;
• The Annual Meeting of Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering-Biomaterials Branch and
• The forum on Translation of Orthopedic Biomaterials and Implantable Devices.

As an invited guest speaker, Dr. Laurencin facilitated the flow of the event for the following lectures:

• The Ambulatory Kidney to Increase Vitality (AKTIV): The Intersection of Biomaterials, Medical Devices, Translation, Regulation and Commercialization
• Progresses on the Reform of Medical Device Evaluation System in China
• New Perspectives on ISO 10993-1 VS FDA (2016) and ISO 10093-23
• Progress of China Medical Device Standardization Administration

The Chinese Biomaterials Congress is held every other year. It is the biggest national biomaterials meeting in the world. The last congress in 2017 in Nanchang, China attracted over 2,500 attendees from academia, industry, clinical research institutes and governmental agencies.

The goals of the forums are to promote the international collaboration in the biomaterials field, and to create favorable opportunities for products and companies to enter the market of partner country. The discussion topics cover regulatory, standards, academic and clinical perspectives, regulatory science and industrial innovations.

Researchers at UConn Health have developed a new framework to improve the quality of healthcare by identifying and addressing unpredictable medical events before they emerge.

The new medical events preparedness strategy, Surprise Anticipation and Recognition Capability (SARC), is adapted from an established military strategy of the U.S. Navy. SARC is the brainchild of Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, CEO of the Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering at UConn Health. Laurencin recognized the demand for a SARC structure due to the nation’s medical practice evolving from a reactive to a proactive paradigm.

“The new SARC framework will be instrumental in healthcare quality improvement as it relates to preparedness and avoiding the negative effects of unexpected events,” says Laurencin.

According to Laurencin, the goal of SARC is to not only react to information provided to us, but to analyze, assess and prepare for circumstances that may arise unexpectedly, in effect, surprise.

At the heart of the SARC framework are the following three recommendations:

1. Reduce the number of surprising events through planning.
2. Develop strategies that establish resilience when confronted with surprise.
3. Improve capabilities to coordinate a timely and effective response when unimagined circumstances occur.

“We are excited to implement this new structure and assess the beneficial outcomes that SARC will provide to the medical community.” says Dr. Randall C. Morgan, Executive Director of the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute. SARC is a new strategy for the medical community to begin to consider, and provides the tools to mitigate even the extreme and low probability phenomenon, and provide a new paradigm for improved healthcare.

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