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

A procedure room in the new UConn Women's Center on the 8th floor of the Outpatient Pavilion. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)

UConn Women’s Center Opens Next Week in Outpatient Pavilion

The relocation of women’s health services at UConn Health to their new home starts this weekend. The new UConn Women’s Center opens for business Tuesday on the eastern side of the eighth floor of the Outpatient Pavilion, and will offer six primary services: Maternal-fetal medicine (high-risk pregnancies) Minimally invasive gynecologic surgery Obstetrics and gynecology Prenatal […]

July 21, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

From left: Dr. Frank Nichols, Joyce Fritz, Dr. Philip P. Smith, Josh Mills, and Chris DeFrancesco at the July bike to work event outside the public safety entrance. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)

Why You Should Ride Your Bike to Work

Once a month from May through September, Joyce Fritz puts out a breakfast spread for those who bike to work. It’s a way to combine two of her passions – baking and biking. “I’ve always loved to bike and it’s so wonderful to share this passion with other people,” she says. “Personally, I bike to […]

July 20, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

The hallway around the perimeter of the academic addition allows ample natural lighting and a first-story view.(Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health)

Academic Addition on Track for Start of Academic Year at UConn Health

A new era in education at UConn Health starts next month, when medical, dental and graduate students start using new space in the academic building.

July 14, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

This August plan to attend one of UConn Health's many planned programs or events.

UConn Health August 2016 Programs, Events

This August plan to attend one of UConn Health's many series of community events or programs it will be hosting.

July 12, 2016 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS) - UConn Health

Dr. Dawn Murphy (center) meets with clinical staff in the University Tower, including nurse case managers Andrea Torres (left) and Catherine Zimmerman (right). In her role as a transitionist, Murphy discusses patients with hospital care teams, enabling continuity when she sees those same patients in a nursing home for their post-acute care. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)

UConn Geriatrician Follows Patients to Their (Nursing) Home

UConn Health is developing a care plan in which it sends a geriatrician to a community nursing home to care for patients following their discharge from UConn John Dempsey Hospital.

June 30, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

The UConn Bookstore at UConn Health opened earlier this month. Barnes & Noble College is the new operator of all the university’s bookstores. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)

Bookstore Reopens Under New Management

The UConn Bookstore at UConn Health opened earlier this month. Additional inventory is expected to arrive over the course of the next several weeks.

June 30, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

Illustration of human body with highlighted colon, or large intestine. (iStock Photo)

UConn Health Colorectal Cancer Researchers Redefining ‘Early Detection’

Thanks to a large volume of accumulated data, high-definition microscopy, and a skilled surgeon's experience, researchers are closing in on ways to identify who’s most at risk for colorectal cancer.

June 28, 2016 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS) - UConn Health

UConn Health
Dr. Thomas Devers (standing) provides biopsies from dozens of colonoscopies a year – and demographic data from about 1,000 colonoscopies a year – to the laboratory of Daniel W. Rosenberg (left). The collaboration has led to several studies that are on track for publication. Allen Mo (right) is first author of a paper that was just accepted by a major scientific journal. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Photo)

UConn Health Colorectal Cancer Researchers Redefining ‘Early Detection’

Thanks to volumes of epidemiological data they've amassed, UConn Health researchers are closing in on ways to identify who’s most at risk for colorectal cancer.

June 24, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

UConn Health July 2016 Programs, Events

This July UConn Health will be hosting a series of programs and events. Check the online schedule to join us soon.

June 22, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco

An imaging technique now available at UConn Health is reducing the need for biopsies in patients who may have chronic liver disease.

MRI Replacing Biopsy to Detect Liver Disease

The recently installed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at UConn Health has a capability known as elastography, which measures the stiffness of the liver using mechanical waves.

June 17, 2016 | Christopher DeFrancesco