To further facilitate collaborations between UConn and internationally renowned experts, it was our great honor to host Ronald W. Rousseau, chair of the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Rousseau, the Cecil J. “Pete” Silas Endowed Chair, delivered a talk entitled “Chirally Pure Pharmaceutical Products: The Role of Crystallization” in the Department of Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engineering at Storrs. His research focuses on separation processes and has resulted in more than 200 publications. Dr. Rousseau has received numerous awards including the prestigious Warren K. Lewis Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Clarence G. Gerhold Award from the AIChE’s Separations Division and the AIChE’s Forest Products Award. He is a fellow of both AIChE and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It was an honor having Dr. Rousseau at UConn, and we look forward to collaborating with him in the future.

I am happy to report that the University of Connecticut submitted an Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) application last week. This is the largest organized grant effort in the history of the university with over 150 faculty members participating throughout the region.

The CTSA program supports a national consortium of medical research institutions that are transforming the way biomedical research is conducted. Its goals are to accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, to engage communities in clinical research efforts, and to train a new generation of clinical and translational researchers.
As the Principal Investigator for the grant, I would like to thank and acknowledge everyone who has been involved in this application for their phenomenal work during the past several months in getting this grant successfully completed and submitted. Especially, I would like to thank the CTSA executive leadership group, the sector directors, core leaders, and my administrative staff listed below. It was a great pleasure working with you in putting together this fine proposal.

Co-Investigators, and CTSA Executive Leadership Group:
Canalis, Ernesto, Co-Investigator
Hesselbrock, Victor M., Co-Investigator
Hurley, Marja, Co-Investigator
Kuchel, George, Co-Investigator
Liu, Edison, Co-Investigator
Oncken, Cheryl, Co-Investigator
Srivastava, Pramod K., Co-Investigator

Sector and Key Core Directors, Co-Directors, and Associate Directors:
Agresta, Thomas, Co-Director, Biomedical Informatics Division
Babor, Thomas, Director, Tracking & Evaluation
Barry, Linda, Associate Director, Pilot and Collaborative Translational and Clinical Studies
Chapman, Audrey R., Co-Director, Clinical Research Ethics
Cherniack, Martin, Co-Director, Gateway
Demurjian, Steven, Co-Director, Biomedical Informatics Division
Ford, Julian, Co-Director, Regulatory Knowledge and Support & Clinical Ethics
Grady, James, Director, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Resource
Knaus, William, Director, Biomedical Informatics Division
Lalande, Marc, Chair, Scientific Advisory Board
Liang, Bruce, Co-Chair, Scientific Advisory Board
Makoul, Gregory, Co-Director, Community Engagement, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
McCullough, Louise, Co-Director, Clinical and Translational Resources and Services (CTRS)
Nair, Lakshmi S., Associate Director, Gateway
Oncken, Cheryl, Director, Pilot and Collaborative Translational and Clinical Studies
Ruaño, Gualberto, Co-Director, Community Engagement, Hartford Hospital
Schensul, Jean, Co-Director, Community Engagement, Institute for Community Research
Skolnik, Paul, Director, Gateway
Steffens, David, Director, Clinical and Translational Resources and Services (CTRS)
Weller, Sandra, Co-Director, Pilot and Collaborative Translational and Clinical Studies
Wrensford, Granville, Director, Education, Training, and Career Development
Yasnoff, William, Associate Director, Biomedical Informatics Division

CTSA Core Administrative Staff:
Burian, Linda, Regulatory Specialist
Donaldson, Trisha, CICATS Administrative Officer
Schwager, Julie, Director, Research Services
Serra, Debra, CICATS Administrative Program Coordinator
Steciak, Cheryl, CICATS Administrative Coordinator

I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Tao Jiang, CICATS Investigator Advocate and Assistant Professor of Medicine, has been appointed to the faculty of the Institute for Regenerative Engineering. Dr. Jiang received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1999 and an M.S. in Materials Science in 2001, both from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

He then went on to pursue his doctoral degree and received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. His doctoral research, under my supervision, focused on the design, development, and evaluation of novel hybrid scaffolds from natural polymer chitosan and synthetic polymer PLGA for bone-tissue engineering.

Dr. Jiang joined Zimmer, Inc., one of the world’s leading medical device companies, as a senior research scientist immediately after obtaining his Ph.D. At Zimmer, he played a variety of leading roles in evaluating and exploring cutting-edge technologies for the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues including bone, cartilage, ligament, and tendon. In addition, he played a key role in developing Chondrofix Allograft for cartilage repair. Fully launched in the U.S. in 2011, it was the first Zimmer biological product developed in-house.

Dr. Jiang has over 20 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Biomaterials, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Acta Biomaterialia, and PNAS, as well as many conference presentations. He has six issued/pending patents and invention disclosures.

At the University of Virginia, Dr. Jiang was awarded the 2008 Faculty Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies. At Zimmer, he received a Zimmer Publication Award from the chief scientific officer and a Zimmer Impact Award from the company.

Dr. Jiang serves as a peer reviewer for a number of high-impact scientific journals including Biomaterials, Carbohydrate Polymers, and Materials Science and Engineering.

Dr. Jiang’s research interests include advanced biomaterials, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and therapies for musculoskeletal diseases.

Speaking for all of the Institute faculty, we are excited to have him join us, and we look forward to working with our newest faculty colleague.

In early June, I was honored to give a keynote address at the World Biomaterials Congress in Chengdu, China. During my talk, “Hierarchical Nanostructures for Tissue Regeneration,” I highlighted the elegant work done by the Institute for Regenerative Engineering, including my students and fellows. The symposium, Hierarchical 3-Dimensional Structures for Tissue Regeneration, was chaired by my former graduate student, Professor Justin Brown from the Department of Bioengineering, Pennsylvania State University. In addition, Dr. Lakshmi Nair, Dr. Sangamesh Kumbar and Dr. Meng Deng, also from the Institute, gave talks during the symposium. This was my first visit to Chengdu, I was deeply impressed by its natural beauty, as well as its historical and culture treasures. I so appreciated the hospitality provided by the planners. I also want to thank Professor Xingdong Zhang, chairman of the 9th WBC organizing committee, for arranging a wonderful conference.

I am very happy to report that we just received research award for our recent NIH/R21 exploratory/developmental research grant application to develop next generation bone grafts. The innovation of the proposal is the use of calcium peroxide combined with polymeric matrices for engineering bone tissue. The co-investigators team includes Dr. Yusuf Khan and Dr. Kevin Lo from the Institute for Regenerative Engineering. Also, I would like to highlight my outstanding fellow, Dr. Bret D. Ulery, for his tireless effort putting together this grant application. I also thank NIH for their long-term support on our research program at the institute.