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
Garden Has Roots in the Community
A vegetable garden in Hartford is a collaboration between the Health Center and community partners.
July 26, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
Medical School Alum Returns to Support Health Career Opportunity Programs (HCOP)
A graduate from the UConn School of Medicine class of 1991 has established an endowed scholarship for graduate students. Dr. Peter Lopez, now an orthopaedic surgeon in Tampa, was back on campus to deliver the keynote address at the July 22 closing ceremony for three Aetna Health Professions Partnership Initiative programs. The HPPI programs come […]
July 25, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
Coast to Coast for a Cure Cyclists More Than Halfway Home
Three medical students who are spending the summer cycling across the country to raise money for leukemia research have made it to the Central time zone. Rising first years James Alex, Greg Hebert and Tom Williams are pedaling their way through the Midwest, more than halfway through the 4,000-mile Coast to Coast for a Cure […]
July 21, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
Arciero Honored for Contribution to Sports Medicine Education
Dr. Robert Arciero of the UConn Health Center’s New England Musculoskeletal Institute has been honored by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine for his contribution to sports medicine education. The George D. Rovere Award recognizes an orthopaedic sports medicine specialist who has demonstrated excellence in the education of his peers in the most current […]
July 20, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
High Marks for Geriatrics Rank Dempsey Among ‘Best Hospitals’
Led by its geriatrics specialty, the UConn Health Center’s John Dempsey Hospital has earned a place in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2011-12 Best Hospital Rankings. Overall, Dempsey ranks third among Hartford metro-area hospitals, and is the only Hartford metro-area hospital identified as “high-performing” in geriatrics. Along with education and research in geriatrics, elder […]
July 19, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
2011 UConn Cancer Research Golf Tournament to Support Technology Upgrade
Back for its 34th year, the 2011 UConn Cancer Research Golf Tournament tees off Monday, August 1, at the Tumble Brook Country Club in Bloomfield. This event, organized by a committee of volunteers in conjunction with the UConn Foundation, has raised more than $1.5 million for cancer research, prevention and education over its history. Proceeds […]
July 13, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
With Army Grant, Rowe Proceeds Cautiously with Bone Regeneration Research
Dr. David Rowe has good reason to believe in stem cell therapy to repair human bones. He’s just not convinced yet. “The primary focus of this is to use various sources of human stem cells, both embryonic and adult, and see if we can make them make bone and correct a defect,” Rowe says, referring […]
July 8, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
Health Center Physician Solves TV Anchor’s Dad’s Medical Mystery
A Florida man is pain-free and playing 18 holes of golf again, thanks in part to a UConn Health Center physician who never touched him or even met him. In January, Dr. Kanwar Singh of the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center was discussing a new minimally invasive treatment of peripheral arterial disease during an […]
July 1, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
New England Musculoskeletal Institute Bone Repair Research Makes Cover
Researchers from the New England Musculoskeletal Institute have come up with a way to speed up and enhance bone repair, and their work is featured on the cover of the May 2011 journal Molecular Therapy. This new approach involves obtaining stem cells from bone marrow, genetically engineering them with a virus that carries a bone formation […]
June 29, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)
Auxiliary Remembers Celeste LeWitt, Presents Scholarships
In the art gallery that bears her name, the UConn Health Center Auxiliary paused its annual meeting for a moment of silence in memory of Celeste LeWitt. LeWitt had an active role with the Auxiliary in establishing the Health Center’s art collection, which to date has more than 1,500 pieces and continues to grow. She passed […]
June 23, 2011 | Chris DeFrancesco '94 (CLAS)