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

Can C-sections Influence Evolution?

A UConn Health Center obstetrician-gynecologist suggests there are human evolutionary implications to the advent of cesarean section as a reasonably safe delivery method and the subsequent rise in the rate of C-section births. Specifically, Dr. Joseph Walsh believes the rise in C-sections may be both a cause and effect of the trend toward higher birthweight […]

Cardiologist Discusses Heart Rhythm Irregularities

Heart arrhythmias can come in different forms and be signs of problems ranging from a nuisance one can live with to a cardiac emergency. Dr. Christopher Pickett, co-director of the Heart Rhythm Program at the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, says an arrhythmia can affect people of almost any age, often without regard to genetics. […]

Advanced Technology for Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center Patients

An advanced cancer treatment is now available to UConn Health Center patients, thanks to the generosity of philanthropists and longtime university supporters Carole and Ray Neag. High-dose rate brachytherapy temporarily delivers a high radiation source, or radioactive seed, to a tumor site. The speed and precision of this robotic therapy enables treatment on an outpatient […]

February Events at the UConn Health Center

Following is a rundown of UConn Health Center events in February: Free Hospital Maternity Tours Saturday, February 5, 3:30 p.m., UConn Health Center, Main Lobby A representative will guide you through labor and delivery, postpartum, and the nursery at John Dempsey Hospital. Children and grandparents are welcome. The free tours are held every other Saturday. […]

New Basic Science Researchers Join Health Center Faculty

Three highly accomplished scientists have recently joined the Health Center. “Their credentials are impressive and diverse – and we look forward to their contributions in many areas throughout the Health Center,” says Dr. Cato T. Laurencin, vice president for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. Irina Bezsonova, M.S., Ph.D., is an assistant […]

Lieberman Receives Prestigious Urist Award

The Orthopaedic Research Society has presented Dr. Jay Lieberman, director of the New England Musculoskeletal Institute, with the Marshall R. Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research. Lieberman, professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and a nationally renowned total joint replacement surgeon, accepted the award January 15 at the ORS annual […]

Cardiac Imaging Study Shows PROMISE

The Pat and Jim Calhoun Calhoun Cardiology Center has been invited to be a test site for a groundbreaking clinical trial. The National Institutes of Health is studying the use of cardiac imaging to diagnose problems associated with chest pain, the most common clinical cardiology problem. The PROspective Multicenter Imaging Study for the Evaluation of […]

UConn Cardiologists Uncover New Heart Attack Warning Sign

Dr. Bruce Liang led research on a protein fragment that is a likely biomarker for heart attack.

Meet the Health Center’s First Newborn of 2011

Dr. Jay Bolnick delivered the first baby born at the Health Center in 2011. Farmington Patch reports Maisen Kamryn Baxter was born just after 2 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces. See the full story and more photos at http://farmington.patch.com/articles/farmingtons-new-years-baby-happy-and-healthy.

UConn Cardiologists Uncover New Heart Attack Warning Sign

Health Center cardiologists have identified a protein fragment that when detected in the blood can be a predictor of heart attack. Their research, led by Dr. Bruce Liang, director of the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center, is published in the January 11 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It found […]