CICATS hosted students from Covenant Preparatory School and gave them a hands-on tour of Dr. Laurencin’s lab. Covenant Prep provides young men from underserved communities the foundation required to successfully pursue higher education, to develop the strength of their character and to inspire them to live with integrity as leaders committed to their communities. CICATS has had a partnership with the school for many years and this recent tour is just one of our many collaborations aimed at exposing youth science.

The Connecticut Convergence Institute hosts free science cafes with the Kavli Foundation on different scientific topics. Our science cafe series aims to engage researchers, professionals, and the broader community in an informal and productive dialogue around an important clinical or public health topic.

Title: What’s Squid Got to Do With It: Understanding How Animals & Friendly Bacteria Communicate

Date: June 8, 2018

Time: 4:30 – 6:30 PM

Location: J Timothy’s Tavern, 143 New Britain Ave, Plainville, CT (Plenty of free parking)

About this Cafe: Bioluminescence has captured the imaginations of humans throughout our history, from Artistotle speaking of “exhalations of fire from the sea” to modern movies like “Avatar.” Many animals are capable of making their own bioluminescence, including deep sea squid, mushrooms, fireflies and more, but some need a little help from their bacterial friends. The Hawaiian bobtail squid is an adorable lime-sized ball of color and light that lives in coral reefs all throughout the Hawaiian islands. They use light created by bacteria to hide against moonlight as they hunt at night. They may seem like a bizarre animal to study, but they’re helping scientist Sarah McAnulty at UConn understand how animals and their friendly bacteria communicate! Maintaining good relationships with our bacterial friends is essential for keeping humans healthy (such as good gut health), and the squid is helping us figure out how we are able to do that.

Sarah is incredibly passionate about her research and her presentation is sure to be engaging and dynamic. Attendees will also learn about the Skype-a-Scientist Program that Sarah created, which connects classrooms with researchers.

Register: Please RSVP using this link. This event is free and open to everyone.

For questions contact noehren@uchc.edu.

On May 17th staff from CICATS will present a poster about the Just Us Moving Project (JUMP) at the 2nd Annual UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media Conference. The conference theme is Digital Health at the Intersection of Academia and Industry. For more information about the event, visit the conference website.

In late April, CICATS held a Science Cafe about the philosophy of science and race featuring remarks from Dr. Melina Pappademos, UConn Africana Studies Institute, Dr. V. Bede Agocha, UConn Department of Psychology and Dr. David Embrick, UConn Department of Sociology. Over 45 members of the community came out and participated in an interactive discussion about racism and its impacts on medicine, health equity, and human experience. Thank you to all who joined us.

Stand Against Racism is a movement of the YWCA which brings together like-minded organizations that share in their vision of eliminating racism and celebrating the richness of diversity. By inviting community organizations to partner with them, they expand the impact of this vision, attracting hundreds of thousands of participants.

The annual Stand Against Racism, which took place on April 25th, encourages conversations across diverse communities in the USA. CICATS CEO Dr. Cato Laurencin was invited to give remarks at this recent event where the educational system and the future of our youth was discussed.

L-R (David Kohn, PhD – SFB Immediate Past President – Timothy mason – Cato T Laurencin, MD, PhD)

Timothy Mason, a UConn undergraduate student, recently received the Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship Award from the Society for Biomaterials (SFB). The award supports under-represented minorities in the field of biomaterials by providing an undergraduate student resources to attend the annual meeting of the Society For Biomaterials, and to become a member of the Society. The goal of this initiative is to stimulate/encourage recipients to pursue a career in biomaterials.

Mary Omotoso was also selected as a recipient of this award.

Dr. Cato Laurencin, CICATS CEO and for whom the fellowship has been named, is well known for his commitment to mentoring. He is the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentor Award, the Beckman Award for Mentoring, the Alvin F. Crawford Award for Mentoring, and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Engineering and Math Mentoring from President Barack Obama in ceremonies at the White House. To read more about this Fellowship visit the Society for Biomaterials website.

For the third year in a row, CICATS was pleased to host an interactive table at the Urban League of Greater Hartford’s Young Professionals Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Career Expo. This event was designed to provide hands-on, exploration and interaction for Greater Hartford students (elementary school, middle school and high school) with professionals in S.T.E.A.M fields. It was also designed to create a pipeline of students with a strong focus on diversity, who can continue on to be leaders within these fields. The event aligns with CICATS mission of increasing the number of underrepresented minority students in the educational pipeline.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 7th Annual Meeting took place in Washington, DC earlier this month. Dr. Steven L. Suib, of UConn, was formally inducted as a Fellow by NAI President, Paul R. Sanberg and the U.S. Commissioner for Patents, Andrew H. Hirshfeld. Inductees received a signature trophy and medal at the time of their induction.

Additionally, Dr. Lakshmi Nair attended the meeting on behalf of the UConn NAI Chapter, which is supported by CICATS. The UConn NAI Chapter displayed an informative table and established connections with other chapters across the country.

For more information about NAI visit their website.

Several CICATS staff and UConn-affiliated students and faculty attended the YWCA Hartford Region’s In the Company of Women Luncheon in mid-April. The YWCA Hartford Region is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Their mission aligns with CICATS efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities, as well as our work mentoring the next generation interested in STEM fields. At the luncheon the YWCA announced their new Executive Director, Adrienne Cochrane, who CICATS worked with for many years in her previous role at the Urban League of Greater Hartford.

The Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS) at the University of Connecticut has announced the selection of seven new Pre-K Development Award Scholars. CICATS Pre-K Scholar Award Program is a two-year interactive program designed to equip junior faculty with the knowledge and competencies to effectively apply for an NIH Research Career Development Award (K award) as well as become leaders in clinical and translational science.

The primary goals of the Pre-K program include developing skills to write a successful K award, promoting collaborative learning with CICATS investigators and research staff, and selecting the optimal mentorship team to support a successful research career.

“Developing a K Career Development Award Application can be confusing and overwhelming for junior investigators,” said Dr. Lisa Barry of the UConn Health Center on Aging, who serves as a co-director of the program. “The Pre-K program addresses these challenges by guiding Scholars through each element of the application process, such as finding mentors and writing the career development plan.  Scholars also benefit by receiving feedback and support from a cohort of peers who are going through the same process.”

The 2018/2020 Pre-K Scholars are:

• Stephanie Gernant, PharmaD, MS, UConn Pharmacy, Research Title: Improving MTM Delivery through Community Pharmacy Workflow Re-Design.
• Eliane Dutra, DDS, MSD, PhD, UConn Health Orthodontics, Research Title: Anabolic Responses of Intermittent PTH Treatment in the Mandibular Condyle.
• Jenna Bartley, PhD, UConn Health Center on Aging, Research Title: The Effect of Metformin on Influenza Vaccine Responses and T Cell Function in the Elderly Significance.
• Jeffrey Pella, PhD, UConn Health Psychiatry, Research Title: The Costs and Benefits of a Teacher Delivered Intervention for Pediatric Anxiety.
• Minjung Kim, PhD, UConn Health Cardiology, Research Title: Mobile Adherence Evaluations in Heart Failure Care Management.
• Insoo Kim, PhD, UConn Health Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Research Topic: Smart Sensing Platform for Upper Limb Prosthesis Monitoring and Functional Evaluation.
• Alexander Hogan, MD, MS, CCMC Pediatrics, Research Topic: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Decreasing Late Asthma Readmissions.

This will be the third cohort of Pre-K Scholars since the program began in 2013. “The CICATS Pre-K program has helped tremendously in providing the time and resources in order for me to submit a NIH K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award,” said Dr. Kevin J. Manning of UConn Psychiatry who is a graduating Pre-K Scholar. “I have really valued the guidance and feedback from my CICATS peers and instructors through the submission process.”

The Pre-K Scholar Award Program is at the core of CICATS work. “Increasing the number of researchers applying for NIH K and other awards is critical to the mission of CICATS and results in increased collaboration and groundbreaking scientific discoveries,” said Dr. Cato Laurencin, CEO of CICATS. CICATS Pre-K Scholars are awarded 30% protected time as well as funding for travel to national conferences.