Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)

Chris DeFrancesco has been writing for UConn Health since 2007. He is a proud graduate of UConn’s journalism program. As an undergraduate in Storrs he was one of the play-by-play voices of UConn men’s and women’s basketball on WHUS-FM, a writer for the Daily Campus, and a campus shuttle bus driver. He’s been a freelance writer, editor of two weekly newspapers (Bloomfield Journal and Windsor Locks Journal), and most notably a reporter and anchor on WTIC NewsTalk 1080. He is a four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters Association Walt Dibble Award for Personal Excellence in Radio. His work also has earned recognition from the Connecticut pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Chris is an elected officer in his union (UHP Local 3837) and serves on the board of the Newington Children’s Theatre Company, Connecticut’s longest-running youth theatre program. He lives in Newington with his wife, Caroline, daughter, Audrey, and their dogs, Spot and Alex.


Author Archive

Tackling the Opioid Crisis in Collaboration

UConn Health is working with Community Mental Health Affiliates to carry out a recently launched intervention program that focuses on vulnerable populations by removing barriers to treatment and resources.

COVID-Stroke Link Goes Back to 2020 UConn Health Biopsy

It is widely accepted that COVID-19 can increase the risk of stroke, even in those who otherwise normally would not be in a higher-risk group. One of the first pieces of scientific evidence of that association comes from a UConn Health case, explained in the journal "Operative Neurosurgery."

Monkeypox negative result area checked with red highlighter blood test tubes on blue background with copy space.

Monkeypox: A Brief Introduction

How is it transmitted, treated, and prevented? What is the risk, how contagious is it, and how sick can it make us? UConn Health’s Dr. David Banach explains

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin in white coat with anatomic model

Regenerative Engineering Society Names Award for Founder Cato T. Laurencin

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers Foundation and the AICHE Regenerative Engineering Society have established an award in honor of the society's founder.

President Joe Biden takes off a mask as he enters the Rose Garden to deliver remarks on COVID-19 at the White House on July 27, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Insight on President Biden’s COVID-19 ‘Rebound Positive’

UConn Health’s Dr. David Banach explains how a fully vaccinated and boosted person could test positive, negative, and positive again for COVID-19 within a 10-day span

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin

Biden Administration Appoints Dr. Cato T. Laurencin to Selection Panel

Laurencin has been reappointed to the National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) Nomination Evaluation Committee.

Cyclists hold up their bikes on the Atlantic shore

’22 Coast to Coast Comes Home

Dustin Moore, Julia Neri, and Brian Legato, the students making up the UConn Health’s 17th Coast to Coast for a Cause team, pedal for seven weeks and more than 3,000 miles to complete this year’s cross-country bicycle tour for charity.

University Tower building shot

High Honors for Kidney Failure, Stroke Care at UConn Health

U.S. News & World Report Names UConn John Dempsey Hospital a ‘High Performing’ Hospital for stroke and kidney failure.

Student presenting poster

Live Poster Session Returns at Biomedical Science Research Day

The 39th annual UConn Health Biomedical Science Graduate Student Research Day enabled students to showcase their work in-person for the first time in three years.

The UConn Health Pulse Podcast logo.

Podcast: What if Your Surgeon Had X-Ray Vision?

Dr. Isaac Moss, who recently performed the first augmented reality spine surgery in central Connecticut, explains this high-tech "see-through" surgery.