News

Rock Stars of Regenerative Engineering

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Melanie L Burnat

By Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.

I am pleased to announce that the Regenerative Engineering Society will present the first “Rock Stars of Regenerative Engineering Conference.”

The conference is being hosted by the National Academy of Engineering at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California on December 10 and December 11, 2016.

The Regenerative Engineering Society is a new society focusing on the convergence of areas including advanced materials, stem cell science, physics, developmental biology and clinical translation for solving next generation challenges in tissue regeneration. The society recently has joined with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is now one of its communities.

The Rock Stars of Regenerative Engineering will feature seven current exciting leaders of the field who will discuss their work in an interactive fashion. Poster sessions will allow younger investigators to interact, while there are plans to bring high school students to the meal events to allow networking with them.

We are excited about this new and innovative approach to the phrase “scientific meeting.” The conference is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

The call for poster abstracts is now open. Abstracts can be submitted through https://aiche.confex.com/aiche/rsre16/cfp.cgi.

AIMBE Distinguished Leadership Panel

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Melanie L Burnat

AIMBE leadership panel On April 3rd and 4th, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) hosted its annual 2-day meeting in Washington, DC. This event represents one of the premiere conferences where the leaders in medical and biological engineering from academia, industry, and government gather for cutting-edge programming, social events, and a chance to welcome the newest AIMBE fellows. This year, AIMBE highlighted the Distinguished Leadership Panel featuring the country’s leading experts in the field to discuss AIMBE’s next 25 years. I was honored to be on the panel with a number of distinguished leaders in the field, including Dr. Robert Nerem, Dr. Nicholas Peppas, and Dr. Kenneth Lutchen. I spoke about the organization’s need to be leaders in diversity, advocacy, and the promotion of next-generation science. The event was incredibly rewarding.

Professor Edward Botchwey Inaugurates the HEAL Project Seminar Series

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Melanie L Burnat

On February 18, we were honored to have Edward Botchwey, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, as the first speaker in the HEAL Seminar Series. Dr. Botchwey delivered a talk entitled “Engineering Immunologically Smart Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine.”

Ed was one of my graduate students at Drexel who later moved with me to the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. After completing a United Negro College Fund/Merck sponsored postdoctoral fellowship at the Wistar Institute, he became an associate professor in the both biomedical engineering and orthopaedic surgery at the University of Virginia. In 2009, Ed was selected by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to receive the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). It is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

The Botchwey Laboratory at Georgia Tech takes a multidisciplinary approach for the improvement of tissue engineering therapies through study of microvascular remodeling, inflammation resolution, and host stem cells.

We look forward to bringing other innovative research leaders to speak as part of this seminar series here at UConn Health.

CICATS Celebrates Excellence in Research

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Melanie L Burnat

CICATS Celebrates Excellence in Research

CICATS Celebrates Excellence in Research Last month, the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS) held its first annual “Celebration of Excellence in Research” for its 17 Core Interest Groups (CIGs).

CIGs were developed to promote collaborative, transdisciplinary research. The CIG concept clearly accommodates the goal of disease-agnostic research, allowing the spontaneous formation of new research enterprises. Investigators from all partnering institutions are encouraged to be a part of CIGs. Current CIG research activities focus on a range of basic, clinical, and translational initiatives on: aging, biomedical engineering, multidisciplinary obesity research, cancer prevention, mental health, cardiovascular diseases, drug discovery, correctional health research, e-health and m-health technologies, injury prevention, stroke and cerebrovascular diseases, occupational safety and health, personalized immunotherapy, musculoskeletal research, sickle cell disease, women’s cancer, and health disparities.

The event celebrated and showcased the work and success of each CIGs, providing an opportunity for faculty and community-based organizations to network for collaborative research projects. It also included brief overviews of research project by CIG researchers and poster displays.

This was a very happy occasion to celebrate our researchers and the remarkable growth they have achieved thus far and will continue to achieve. These programs would not have been possible and successful without the support of our faculty, partners, affiliates, administrators and most importantly, the Connecticut Legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus.

The HEAL Project Discussion on “The Stan Simpson Show”

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Melanie L Burnat

Dr. Cato Laurencin and Stan Simpson Last month, Stan Simpson, host of “The Stan Simpson Show” on Fox CT, invited me to be a guest on his show for the second time. During the interview, I explained our current research initiative named “Hartford Engineering A Limb” (HEAL) at the Institute for Regenerative Engineering. The project’s goal is to regenerate a human knee in seven years and a whole limb in fifteen. The field of regenerative engineering is still in its infancy, and through the HEAL project, we are hoping to utilize this new approach to bring life-changing breakthroughs to patients. The interview can be seen on the web, please visit the following link:

http://fox61.com/2016/01/16/the-stan-simpson-show-more-on-uconns-heal-project/

Advisory Committee to the Director, NIH

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Melanie L Burnat

Last month, I was attending the 111th meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. This was my last ACD meeting since I was elected as a member of ACD in 2013. In an effort to ensure that NIH senior management is getting the most rigorous and experienced guidance, the NIH director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., created the ACD made up of academic and health care industry leaders. As a committee member, my duty was to make recommendations concerning program development, resource allocation, NIH administrative regulation and policy, and other specific or general aspects of NIH policy. The committee members also review and make recommendations on applications for grants and cooperative agreements for research and training for projects that show promise of making valuable contributions to human knowledge. It was truly an honor to serve as a member of the ACD. It has been a great pleasure working with Dr. Collins and all members of ACD.

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., with NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.

Unveiling HEAL

Posted on December 12, 2015December 7, 2023 by Melanie L Burnat

I was pleased to announce the launch of Hartford Engineering A Limb (HEAL) on Veterans Day at the Connecticut Science Center. The goal of this potentially revolutionary scientific project is to regenerate a new joint in 7 years and a limb in 15 years. Aimed at helping wounded warriors as well as others who have lost limbs or experienced nerve damage, HEAL is run by UConn Health’s Institute for Regenerative Engineering.

We have teamed up with top regenerative engineers who are dedicated to advancing their fields and developing future therapies for patients living with musculoskeletal defects or limb injury or loss. Senior HEAL Team investigators include Drs Lakshmi Nair and Yusuf Khan of UConn Health, Dr. David M. Gardiner of the University of California Irvine, professors at Harvard University, Columbia University, and Sastra University in India. The HEAL project will be further supported by 10 dedicated research fellows and a collaborative team of scientists and clinicians in biomedical engineering, stem cell sciences, molecular biology, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery and rehabilitation medicine from across the UConn Health campus.

I thank everyone involved in the press conference for their phenomenal work organizing this event over the past weeks. I appreciate all the speakers who shared their expertise and insights on the HEAL project. I also thank the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation, and the Connecticut Legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus for their continuing support of our research programs.

India National Academy of Sciences

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Melanie L Burnat

I am happy to announce that I have been elected a Foreign Fellow of the India National Academy of Sciences. I am one of only two Foreign Fellows elected this year, and the first from the University of Connecticut and UConn Health.

The citation reads “for his pioneering work in the field of material sciences.” I was recognized as a world leader in polymer-ceramic composites, and recognized for his contributions in tissue generation and bioengineering.

Election to the India National Academy of Sciences is a tremendous honor. I feel so fortunate to have had the support of all my colleagues, my students and the organizations I have worked with. My election is a tribute to their support.

The National Academy of Sciences in India was founded in 1930 and it is the oldest Science Academy in India. It is located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. The main objective of the Academy was to provide a national forum for the publication of research work carried out by Indian scientists and to provide opportunities for exchange of views among them.

IRE Student Receives NIH Supplemental Grant to Promote Diversity

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Melanie L Burnat

I am pleased to announce Paulos Mengsteab, a graduate student in the Institute for Regenerative Engineering, has received funding from a NIH/NIAMS supplemental grant which will support his Ph.D. studies. This supplemental grant to our current NIH R01 grant, “A Translational Approach to Ligament Regeneration,” evaluates the efficacy of surface modulation of a previously established 3D braided biomimetic tissue-engineered scaffold.

The Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research Program supports the NIH’s efforts to diversify research fields. Specifically, it recruits individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, those with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. The program fosters improvements in the quality of educational environments, broaden perspectives in research priorities, and improve the nation’s capacity to address and eliminate health disparities.

Paulos graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2013. While studying for his degree, Paulos founded a student organization called ‘Step In’ which worked with the Columbia Public Schools in closing the educational achievement gap among races by encouraging underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students, through applied learning modules, to participate in the STEM fields. Paulos was also selected to participate in the Ronald E. McNair Scholar’s Program and was awarded funding to conduct research under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed Sherif El-Gizawy’s. After graduating, he was awarded the NIH Post-Baccalaureate Education Program Fellowship at the University of Washington, where he conducted research in the Biomedical Engineering Department under the supervision of Dr. Doek-Ho Kim. His primary research project at University of Washington focused on primary cardiomyocytes contractile behavior in response to dynamic nanotopography surfaces. In Fall 2014, Paulos joined the Institute for Regenerative Engineering as a Ph.D. student enrolled in the Biomedical Engineering program at the University of Connecticut.

Wayne State University President Receives Laurencin Lifetime Research Award

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Melanie L Burnat

I am pleased to announce M. Roy Wilson, president of Wayne State University, is the recipient of the 2015 Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., Lifetime Research Award. Dr. Wilson received his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School and his Master of Science in epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. Dr. Wilson is an accomplished researcher focused on glaucoma and blindness in West Africa, the Caribbean, and urban communities in the United States. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Ophthalmological Society, and the Glaucoma Research Society.

Dr. Wilson received the award during the opening ceremonies of the National Medical Association’s 113th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly, held at Detroit’s Cobo Center. The Laurencin Lifetime Research Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated more than 20 years of consistent, long-lasting contributions to benefit African-Americans, reducing health disparities through recognized research and inquiry. Dr. Wilson’s extraordinary career has been dedicated to improving the health status of minority populations in his role as a master physician and surgeon.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, I thank Dr. Wilson for his many efforts and resulting accomplishments.