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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On behalf of the CT Convergence Institute, we are proud to announce that Dr. Lakshmi Nair recently received the first NIH R01 grant since the formation of the institute early this year. The grant focuses on “Novel Injectable Analgesic Delivery System for Musculoskeletal Pain Management.” As the Principal Investigator, Dr. Nair enlisted a team of renowned experts to assist her with this research project. The Investigative Team is as follows: Dr. Cato Laurencin, Dr. Kevin Lo, Dr. Joseph Walker and Dr. Kyle Baumbauer. Read more about the research here.

The National Institutes of Health R01 grant provides support for health-related research and development based on the mission of the NIH. The Research Project (R01) grant is a prestigious award made to support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing the investigator’s specific interest and competencies and is the gold standard for an established investigator in medical schools.

Drs. Wu and Ruano represented The Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering at the 2019 Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities Connecticut Health Equity Conference held in the Massey Auditorium at UConn Health. With over 150 attendees, Dr. Wu and Dr. Ruano discussed “The JUMP Program for Moving the Community to Healthier Lifestyles.” Furthermore, Dr. Ruano addressed the impact of genetics on resilience genes and Dr. Wu discussed the importance of how increasing daily physical activity can lead to significant health benefits. Among the group of presenters, were four other industry experts that brought light to the following topics:

• Creating Access to Care for Migrant Farm Worker Populations
• Addressing Health Disparities for People Living with Mental Health Conditions
• What Does Health Insurance Have To Do With It?

The mission of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities is to eliminate discrimination through civil and human rights law enforcement and to establish equal opportunity and justice for all persons within the state through advocacy and education.

The Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Initiative provides awards to undergraduate institutions across the country to implement and study innovative approaches to engaging and retaining students from diverse backgrounds in biomedical research.  In 2014, the National Institute of Health (NIH) granted 10 five-year BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) awards.  The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was one of the 10 core institutions to receive the award which led to the formation of the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity: Southwest Consortium of Health-Oriented Education Leaders and Research Scholars (BUILDing Scholars) program. Under the UTEP BUILD award, there are 13 research partners, with UConn being the only academic institution in the Northeast.

The fourth cohort of BUILD Scholars recently completed their summer research experiences and in conclusion of the program, presented their research findings.

The names and final presentations of our BUILD Scholars are as follows:

Isaac Gandara– Lab of Anne Delany- “Evaluating Beta Catenin and Formin-Like 2 RNA as MicroRNA-29 Targets in Osteoclasts”

Diana Moreno– Lab of Leslie Caromile- “Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Dependent Health Disparities in Prostate Cancer”

Nickolas Ortiz– Lab of Rajkumar Verma- “Role of Kalirin in Post-Stroke Dementia”

Priscilla Parada– Lab of David Steffens- “Susceptibility to Cognitive and Emotional Interference in Late Life Depression”

Margarita Romero– Lab of Carol Pilbeam- “Prostaglandin E2 Regulation of RANKL Driven Serum Amyloid A3 Expression in Bone Marrow Microphages”

Dr. Laurencin recently attended the National Medical Association Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii. The National Medical Association (NMA)’s Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly is acclaimed as the nation’s foremost forum on medical science and African American health. Each year, African American physicians and other health professionals from across the country convene to participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, discuss health policy priorities, and to share experiences through networking opportunities.

During the opening ceremonies Dr. Laurencin proudly presented the 2019 Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Research Achievement Award to Dr. Griffin T. Rodgers, the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Rodgers has been a pioneering research investigator since 2007, and is widely recognized for his contributions to the development of the first effective—and now FDA approved—therapy for sickle cell anemia and was a principal investigator in clinical trials to develop therapy for patients with sickle cell disease.

The Cato T. Laurencin M.D., Ph.D. Lifetime Research Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated more than 20 years of consistent, long-lasting contributions to benefit African Americans and to reduce heath disparities through recognized research and inquiry. The individual may be a physician, a career researcher or a distinguished educator who has enhanced the field of research and made it possible for young researchers to be successful.

Jordan Bernard, a student in the High School Student Research Apprentice Program at UConn Health conducted six weeks of research in the CT Convergence Institute lab. Under the direction of Dr. Cato Laurencin, Jordan summarized his six weeks by presenting his research findings on Nailing the Foundation: Regenerative Engineering Approach to Traumatic Nail Injuries.   

The High School Student Research Apprentice Program is for 11th and 12th grade students interested in medicine, dental medicine or biomedical research. The program provides students with a research experience in one of the basic science or clinical laboratories and provides an earned stipend. As part of the program, all students are required to present their research at the High School Student Research Apprentice Program Symposium at the end of the six weeks.

The Connecticut Convergence Institute would like to wish Jordan all the best in the next stages of his educational career!

During the past seven weeks many students eager to learn attended The Connecticut Convergence Institute Summer Seminar Series. The Summer Seminar Series offers free weekly seminars to all who are interested in pursuing careers as scientists as well as scholars in the fields of biological and biomedical sciences. The one hour academic enrichment seminars are led by UConn faculty members and have impacted over 300 individuals in the past four years. This summer’s topics included:

• Scientific Writing & Presenting at Scientific Conferences
• Translational Research
• Preparing for Medical and/or Graduate School
• Publishing in Academic Journals
• Wet Lab: Basic Science Techniques
• Preparing a CV and Personal Statement
• Research Ethics and the Role of the IRB

Thank you to all the UConn faculty that helped make these seminars a success. We look forward to hosting these wonderful seminars each summer!

On Friday, July 19^th the Connecticut Convergence Institute hosted an educational Health Café titled Mental Resilience: Addiction at the First Cathedral in Bloomfield. The event’s topic was handpicked by community members and attracted over 60 attendees eager to learn more. Dr. Surita Rao, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UConn Health provided the keynote speech which was followed by a buffet style dinner along with giveaways for all who attended.

Thank you to the Aetna Foundation for sponsoring such an important event, and to everyone who participated.