The Connecticut Convergence Institute’s Just Us Making Produce (JUMP) Program has expanded its aerponic garden and healthy lifestyle education initiatives in partnership with the Wilson-Gray YMCA Youth and Family Center in Hartford. Last week, the YMCA unveiled their UConn Health Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering Community garden. The garden, one of several gardens implemented by Dr. Helen Wu and staff at the Convergence Institute, is run in conjunction with the staff and members at the YMCA. The program aims to address the rise in food insecurity in Hartford as a result of the pandemic. The gardens provide access to fresh vegetables that may not otherwise be available at local stores.

According to Valenica Williams, Executive Director of the Wilson-Gray YMCA Youth and Family Center, “This is our way of providing resources in what we consider a neighborhood of a food desert: lack of affordable, fresh, healthy options for our families. So with our partnership with UConn’s Convergence Institute, we are able to provide fresh produce and an educational resource piece where we teach from seed to the table how to create a healthier lifestyle.”

In 2018, The Connecticut Convergence Institute partnered with the Aetna Foundation to create a community engagement partnership, entitled: “The Connecticut Community Health Science Initiative”, with the goal being to improve the quality of life for those who are underserved in our state.  Under this initiative, the Institute created its landmark healthy lifestyle community program, JUMP, or Just Us Moving and Just Us Making Produce. The JUMP Program employs an experiential learning model that gets community members involved in a meaningful way. JUMP not only teaches individuals the importance of balanced eating, but it also stresses the importance of an active lifestyle while fostering the idea that health can be achieved at any size.

The JUMP-YMCA programming is the fourth community partnership established in the Hartford area. Last year, gardens were created at the Urban League of Greater Hartford, as well as the Parkville Senior Center, and Parkville Elementary school. The JUMP Program hopes to continue to expand with new partnerships with other Hartford based community organizations. If you are interested in bringing the JUMP Program to your organization, contact Karishma Pinto at kapinto@uchc.edu.

New Grant to Train Future Scientists in Regenerative Engineering

Awarded to the Connecticut Convergence Institute

The novel doctoral T32 Program, Regenerative Engineering of Musculoskeletal Tissues: A Convergence Doctoral Training Program has been funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases NIAMS (T32 AR079114) for 5 years (2021-2026). The T32 Program goals are to educate, support and enhance the training of individuals dedicated to careers as independent clinical translational and basic scientists in regenerative engineering.

The program offers inter-disciplinary research training at the University of Connecticut (UConn) combining the fields of biomedical science and engineering. Faculty at the Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering who led this grant were Dr. Cato Laurencin (Principal Investigator), Dr. Gualberto Ruaño (Co-Investigator), and Dr. Lakshmi Nair (Co-Investigator).

Regenerative Engineering is defined as the Convergence of advanced materials science, stem cell science, physics, developmental biology and clinical translation for the regeneration of complex tissues and organ systems. Musculoskeletal regeneration is a field ripe for an inventive approach based on convergence to address challenging issues, advance technology and further fundamental knowledge for therapeutic applications. At the center of the Convergence approach is the understanding that new solutions in regeneration will take place through an ‘un-siloed’ approach.

The T32 Program will enroll 2 Ph.D. or dual degree students per year and support each for 2 years of Graduate School. The students will be drawn from graduate programs at UConn Health and UConn Storrs. The students will apply for T32 support at the end of Year 1 of their graduate programs to be supported for Years 2-3. The T32 Program will offer trainees a broad level of expertise in research and instruction based on the research, educational, and clinical experiences of the biomedical and engineering faculty who serve as preceptors. Trainees will become experts in regenerative engineering and its foundations to work towards the alleviation of human disease and musculoskeletal injuries by means of tissue regeneration.

The T32 Program has preceptorship commitments from 20 distinguished faculty across UConn departments (including Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology, Computer Science, Genetics and Genome Sciences, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Oral Health, Orthopedic Surgery). This eminent group of investigators, who are well funded and published, will provide the primary research training and serve as role models for doctoral trainees.

Regenerative Engineering welcomes ideas and research across a gamut of disciplines. The Program strengths include its interdisciplinary and collaborative research in biomedical science and engineering, interactions with diverse trainees and faculty, training in contemporary research methodologies, and experienced preceptors. T32 Program administration through the Connecticut Convergence Institute will provide the experience to recruit diverse trainees, including minorities, and implement the curriculum.

Disorders of the musculoskeletal system with advancing age or due to injury and trauma are among the most debilitating to the human body and costly to the healthcare system with disability. Novel treatments will require convergence of molecular, cellular, and organismic research through interdisciplinary integration of biomedical science and engineering. This T32 Program is based on the unique concept of training Ph.D. candidates in the realm of scientific convergence applied to the field of regenerative engineering to enable fundamental and translational discoveries

The Innovation and Inventorship Science Cafe took place on Friday, September 29th at the Lyceum in downtown Hartford. Facilitated by Dr. Lakshmi Nair, a panel consisting of Dr. Greg Gallo, Dr. Mostafa Analouri, and Mr. Paul Parker discussed their roles in the process of innovation and invention at UConn, as well as the programs and services available in their offices. Over 60 faculty members, researchers, students, engineers, clinicians, and staff attended the event. Through engaging conversation and audience questions, the Science Cafe was well-received and generated positive feedback from attendees.

The event was made possible through the support of faculty and staff, the Office of the Vice President for Research at UCONN, and especially, The Kavli Foundation.

In the May 8 edition of the Hartford Business Journal, staff writer John Stearns highlighted the CICATS Science Cafe concept and how it played a role in funding the research of Dr. Pramod Srivastava.

Science Cafes, which are hosted by CICATS’ Core Interest Groups, are informal events designed to engage the public with interactive discussions in the topic area of the host CIG, and increase opportunities for collaborative research. To learn more about CIGs or Science Cafes, please click here or contact Dr. Kevin Lo.

Here’s the full article from the Hartford Business Journal.