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

Dr. Keving Becker showing patient a brain image

High-Profile Brain Tumor Therapy Trial Chooses UConn Health

An immunotherapy derived from the polio virus has shown improved survival rates in early-phase trials in patients with an aggressive type of brain tumor known as glioblastoma. UConn Health will be one of a select few sites in the U.S. for the second phase, which will pair it with the cancer immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda).

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Podcast: Changing MS Patients’ Trajectory

The UConn Health Multiple Sclerosis Center's director and clinical care coordinator explain how the elite care of an MS center can minimize disease progression and delay the onset of disability.

EMT and provider with a patient in the ED

Winter in the Emergency Department: Careful With that Snowblower

Add potential COVID-19 cases to the list of what the providers in the UConn John Dempsey Hospital ED are seeing this time of year, along with winter’s common health hazards from snow removal and injuries from winter sports.

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Podcast: Cranial Nerve and Brain Stem Disorders

The co-founders of UConn Health's Cranial Nerve and Brain Stem Disorder Program explain how they harnesses an elite combination of experts across multiple specialties to treat the most complicated conditions.

infant being bottle fed

Optimizing Nourishment in the NICU

The Connecticut Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the UConn John Dempsey Hospital is offering a high-tech tool for moms to ensure their infants get the most out of breast milk and formula feeding.

Dr. Imitola speaking to patient in exam room

National Multiple Sclerosis Society Honors UConn MS Center Director

Dr. Jaime Imitola, director of UConn Health’s Multiple Sclerosis Center, is the only health care provider to receive a 2020 Inspiration Award from the National MS Society.

Kimberly Hayes with pipette in clinical lab

Spotlight on Services: ‘The Lab’ at UConn Health

The chair of UConn Health’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine provides an inside look at the contributions of the clinical laboratory and the employees who’ve been keeping it running during the pandemic.

Dr. Imitola with model patient

Global Leadership in Multiple Sclerosis and the COVID-19 Vaccine

The director of UConn Health’s Multiple Sclerosis Center, Dr. Jaime Imitola, is part of a group of international experts that just came out with recommendations about the COVID-19 vaccine in the MS population.

Dr. David Banach gets vaccinated for COVID-19 by staff nurse Jennifer Pickert on December 15, 2020.

UConn Health’s Dr. David Banach Explains the COVID-19 Vaccine

UConn Health's Dr. David Banach talks about the COVID-19 vaccine - what it does, what to expect when getting it, and what might come next.

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Podcast: Healing With Our Own Cells

“It’s not a drug, we’re just taking your own components… You are only receiving your same cells and it all happens in the same visit.” —Dr. Allison Schafer Some bone, joint, tendon and ligament injuries are now treatable using what’s known as an orthobiologic approach. It’s when the patient is injected with a therapy derived […]