“I am thrilled to welcome these impressive nurse leaders into our organization. With exceptional subject matter expertise, each new Fellow will be vital to achieve the Academy’s mission of improving health and achieving health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science,” said Academy President Linda D. Scott (Ph.D., RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN). “Induction into the Academy represents the highest honor in nursing. Earning the FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) credential is a significant recognition of one’s accomplishments and signifies the future impact they will make in collaboration with their colleagues in the Academy.” 

The newest Fellows represent 37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 14 countries. Their expansive body of knowledge will soon bolster the collective impact of over 3,000 Academy Fellows who, together, leverage their expertise to advance the Academy’s vision of healthy lives for all people. The Health Policy Conference will be taking place on October 31 – November 2, 2024, in Washington, DC. This year’s conference theme is “Courageous Transformations Towards an Equitable Future.” 

Dr. Eileen Carter is an assistant professor focused on patient safety and outcomes, infection prevention, and antibiotic resistance. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Infection Control and as a Scientific Committee Member for Making a Difference in Infectious Diseases. In 2019, Dr. Carter was named a Top 50 Reviewer by Annals of Emergency Medicine, and in 2017, she received the Implementation Research Scholar Award from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control.  

Dr. Mallory Perry-Eaddy is an Assistant Professor whose research focuses on pediatric critical care outcomes as they relate to inflammation and social determinants of health. Receiving her BSN, Certificate in Pain Management, MS, and PhD from the UConn School of Nursing, Dr. Perry-Eaddy has been with the school for many years. she is currently an active member of the International Society of Nurses in Genetics, Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators, American Thoracic Society and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. In 2022, she was named a National Institute of Health (NIH) PRIDE Functional and Translational Genomics Summer Institute Trainee, and in 2021, Dr. Perry-Eaddy was named a NIH K99/R00 MOSAIC Scholar of which she is currently funded. She is an active member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators, American Thoracic Society and the Society of Critical Care Medicine where she is an editorial board member for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 

Alumnae Mary Ann Camilleri ‘78, Christine Rodriguez ‘16, ’19, Dr. Lisa A. Wiese ’91, Dr. Jane K. Dickinson ’00, and Lisa A. Davis ‘83 were also selected as 2024 fellows, following a competitive, rigorous application process.   

“We are thrilled to welcome Eileen, Mallory and all of our UConn Nursing Alumni to this prestigious community of nurse leaders,” says Victoria Vaughan Dickson (Ph.D., RN, FAAN), Dean of the School of Nursing. “As one of nursing’s highest honors, the American Academy of Nursing induction is a recognition of the tremendous expertise of these individuals and the impressive contributions they have made throughout their careers to improve the health of individuals and communities, locally and globally.”    

The School of Nursing would like to congratulate these newest Fellows as influential nursing leaders who are advancing health equity for all.     

This is a very prominent neurosurgical section whose leaders have had great impact in neurosurgery and far beyond.  The mission of the Cerebrovascular (CV) Section is to promote and assure advancement in the diagnosis and the surgical and endovascular management of cerebrovascular disease.

In doing so the CV section serves as the forum for the exchange of ideas and information among neurological surgeons, promotes public awareness of the many manifestations of cerebrovascular disease and educate the public on recognizing the signs and symptoms as well as the treatment and prevention of cerebrovascular disease, and advance the field.

In addition the CV serves as the responsible body to apprise the Board of Directors of the AANS and the Executive Committee of the CNS of activities in this area of neurological surgery; a resource for the Board of Directors of the AANS and the Executive Committee of the CNS in conducting special studies and propose solutions to problems in this area when directed to do so by the Board and/or Executive Committee; and serves the Section to assist the AANS and the CNS in the advancement of education, research, and patient care in the area of cerebrovascular disease;

Thanks to Gulley’s foresight and others who’ve carried on his legacy since then, the diversity and beauty of the 5,000-plus trees now growing throughout UConn Storrs recently earned certification for the campus as a Level II Arboretum.

The prestigious status is bestowed through a national accreditation program assessing the variety and number of trees at a site, conservation efforts, public engagement, and other attributes that demonstrate a commitment to a thriving natural environment.

Earning the accreditation also underscores UConn’s stewardship of its environmental resources and the inextricable link between the wellness of the campus and that of those who learn, work, and visit there – all of which are among the many elements emphasized in UConn’s 10-year Strategic Plan.

The Storrs campus is a living laboratory where people can enjoy and learn from nature, and can become part of the University’s history by participating in tree-plantings, Earth Day Spring Fling events, tree tours, and other activities.

In fact, the guided and self-guided tree tours include stops at some of the trees that remain from Gulley’s time on campus, including the oldest: a Camperdown Elm planted in 1895 and still standing on the northwest corner of the Great Lawn.

“The landscaping at UConn, particularly the trees and shrubs, are notable features contributing a great deal to the uniqueness of our campus. This diverse collection of woody plants is important in teaching as well as being a handsome addition to campus,” says Gregory Anderson, a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Anderson is also co-chair of the UConn Arboretum Committee, which spearheaded the accreditation application process and manages the tree inventory on campus. The committee comprises faculty, staff, UConn retirees, and others who team with University Planning, Design, and Construction (UPDC); the Office of Sustainability; Facilities Operations; and other individuals and departments.

The committee and its partners received word recently that the University’s application for Level II Arboretum Accreditation had been approved by The Morton Arboretum, which administers the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program.

To achieve Level II status, UConn had to show it has more than 100 species on campus. That was easy: It has more than 425 species with more than 90 unique genera, including various kinds of maples, oaks, birch, pine, and others.

It also had to show that the University maintains a current, reliable inventory of the collections; has at least one person responsible for it as part of their job; and offers enhanced educational and public programming.

In fact, most of the trees in UConn’s core campus are identified and tagged with a unique number linked to a GIS database, providing information that the public can view about each tree’s species, the planting date if known, and other details.

“It is a special honor to be a steward of our campus landscapes and a distinct pleasure to be in a role that presents such unique opportunities to advocate, prioritize, and help administer various activities that support our beloved arboretum in Storrs,” says Sean Vasington ’99 (CAHNR), University Landscape Architect and Director of Site Planning for UPDC.

“This accreditation was only possible with support from our Provost and other leadership, our Arboretum Committee chairpersons and its members, our tree warden, our arborists, and several others whose collective efforts helped realize a shared vision,” he adds. “The recognition is well-deserved and long overdue, and UConn now stands united with over 700 other accredited arboreta from at least 40 different countries around the world.”

The accreditation also comes as UConn celebrates its 11th year designated as a “Tree Campus USA” from the Arbor Day Foundation.

The UConn Arboretum Committee was established in the mid-1980s by Anderson and the late David Schroeder, Professor Emeritus and former head of the Department of Natural Resources Management.

The committee and its members are the latest in a long line of people and groups to have embraced Gulley’s vision in the 130 years since he started planting trees on the Great Lawn.

Among the most notable people to advance the work on campus were UConn professors Kenneth Bradley (1914-2003), who spent decades procuring rare trees from sources worldwide to plant on campus to add diversity and beauty; and Sidney Waxman (1923-2005), who developed more than 40 different cultivars of dwarf pines during his career that became popular landscape elements in suburban lawns worldwide.

In fact, those dwarf pines were among the many species that UConn could reference in its application for arboretum accreditation.

The campus also includes more than 160 trees of special interest, and are considered notable either because they are memorial trees; species that aren’t common in the region; state champion trees due to their size or other attributes; “class trees” planted by members of graduating classes, or trees on UConn’s self-guided tree walk.

“The Arboretum is a living laboratory supporting the academic mission and strategic vision of our top research university,” the accreditation application reads. “It is an asset of great beauty and scientific interest to the University community, the citizens of Connecticut, and to all visitors of our quintessential New England college campus.”
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Annual class tree plantings and other activities associated with the UConn Arboretum are supported by philanthropy, in-kind services, and volunteer efforts. To donate, please consider a gift to the Campus Beautification Fund.

Her attitude is becoming more common everywhere as more people are living after a cancer diagnosis. Though populations are growing and ageing, and cancer incidence is therefore rising, it’s also true that the likelihood of surviving is greater than before.

And identifying as a survivor, rather than a “victim,” matters. Studies show that it’s associated with better health outcomes.

Didi’s optimism is inspiring when you consider the challenges women like her face: a weak health system, high out-of-pocket medical costs, cancer stigma, and a highly patriarchal society that increases women’s vulnerability.

In 2020, Nigeria reported an estimated 124,815 new cancer cases and 78,899 cancer deaths, mostly from breast, cervical and prostate cancers. The country is projected to experience an increase in cancer incidence by 2040.

The growing population of people who have had cancer makes it important to understand their experiences. What is it like to be a cancer survivor in Nigeria? Does identifying as a survivor rather than as a victim make a difference? Can the survivors’ quality of life be improved?

These were the questions my colleagues and I – gerontology and public health researchers – had in mind when we conducted the study that Didi took part in.

Breast cancer survivors

For our study of what it means to be a female cancer survivor in Nigeria, we took a qualitative descriptive research approach. We interviewed 30 women in Abuja who had had cancer (29 had been diagnosed with breast cancer and one with skin cancer). They were aged between 29 and 55; 16 were married; 19 had children; 29 had tertiary education.

The women in the study were recruited through a partnership with an organization that offers psycho-social support to cancer survivors. This meant they felt comfortable enough to share their experiences.

We analyzed what they told us to identify themes.

Three key findings emerged:

• cancer can be stigmatizing
• women made sense of their experience in diverse ways
• identifying as a cancer survivor can be empowering.

The Nigerian women reported that they had encountered negative attitudes from others. One said: “I have been mocked … laughed at … embarrassed.” Another said she had not been given her job back after her cancer treatment was complete. She also said her husband treated her unkindly after her mastectomy. Stigma can result in social isolation, loss of livelihood and fear of seeking help.

All the study participants identified as survivors, but for different reasons. They mentioned strength, hope, self-esteem, having a positive outlook on life, and maintaining a sense of control. For some, their religious faith gave them this identity. One said that seeing herself as a survivor enabled her to stick to her medical treatment. Care and support contributed to this identity for some: “Since when I joined (a support group), I see myself as a cancer survivor. I’m going to make it no matter what, I know that I’m going to make it.”

The women shared their thoughts about the future and looking beyond their cancer diagnosis. Many showed great resilience as their responses reflected hope for a better future, beyond cancer.

Overall, although some of the women in the study spoke of their negative experiences, they reported that identifying as cancer survivors gave them a positive outlook. This was in line with other studies that found that identifying as a cancer survivor can be empowering.

These qualities are particularly significant in Nigeria, where some people diagnosed with cancer may see it as a death sentence or refuse chemotherapy and surgery because they think those treatments can kill.

Cancer is extremely disruptive: it involves treatment and changes to relationships, careers and lifestyles. It can have a huge impact on future goals. The way people choose to make sense of all this is the difference between being a “survivor” and being a “victim”.

Choosing to identify as a cancer survivor in Nigeria is choosing to have a voice or an active role. It may empower a person and make them more resilient.

Still, there is a need for support and for Nigeria to reduce the burden of cancer through its national plan.

Originally published in The Conversation.

A trial attorney, Beebe has dedicated countless hours to supporting Connecticut youth who participate in in 4-H, a program administered by UConn Extension with UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR).

“Mr. Beebe knows how to talk to new 4-H members so they can discover their abilities. He makes it his mission to foster their participation and development, and he encourages them to try new things, to engage with other 4-H youth, and in time they grow into the shining stars they are meant to be,” Mary Ellen Welch, UConn Extension educator and Extension Council liaison.

Beebe’s involvement with 4-H began at the age of eight growing up on his grandfather’s dairy farm, and he is the first to tell you how much 4-H impacted his life. Since the mid-1990s’ he has served as a 4-H volunteer and has dedicated his life to supporting the positive development of young people through his leadership of the New London County 4-H Foundation which oversees the New London County 4-H Camp.

Aside from camp, Beebe oversees approximately 60 teens and a dozen adult volunteers as the 4-H Teen Ambassador program leader. Over the last 25-plus years, the Teen Ambassador program has provided life skills and leadership development for countless teens throughout Eastern Connecticut and beyond. These youth also comprise much of the teen leadership and junior staff at the 4-H camp in the summer months.

“Throughout my time in 4-H, Don Beebe’s name has been synonymous with the New London County 4-H Camp. You cannot go a day during the summer without seeing Don at the camp at one point or another. His dedication to the camp and more importantly the campers is truly inspiring to me and many other teens who hope to someday have a leadership role in making this program a success,” Sawyer B., teen ambassador.

Beebe helps hone the leadership skills of youth in positive ways through the Teen Ambassador program too. He empowers youth by promoting the skills necessary to be successful members of the community. Through leadership opportunities at camp, these youth learn to meet challenges and find creative solutions through their interactions with campers and other staff members.

Beebe always tries to empower youth to have a say in their own path. Whether it is encouraging a camper to try a new activity or challenging teens to put newly learned skills into action, Beebe always entrusts youth with the ability to determine their own path.

An example of this happens each fall when Beebe enlists youth from the Teen Ambassador program to work with adult leaders to create a series of family-friendly, interactive experiences and stage performances at the Big E in West Springfield, MA. The youth facilitate the process and various shows on the stage in the New England Center building. This day is a testament to Beebe’s support as he helps youth gain confidence to actually be on stage leading fairgoers in line dances and camp songs as well as interacting with the public to participate in the educational activities throughout the day.

As a trial attorney, Beebe has a deep appreciation for what makes 4-H special. He is very focused on ways to protect that. Over the last several years, Beebe has been part of an ongoing conversation among 4-H camp leadership on ways to continue to make children feel safe at camp. This might be through providing more inclusive environments where all youth feel like they can just be themselves or constantly evaluating the risk management of camp facilities and staff needs.

By ensuring that the camp continues to meet obligations to retain American Camping Association status, Beebe strives to guarantee that all the places he’s responsible for are available, safe, and welcoming to all young people.

The New London County 4-H Foundation, which oversees the camp is a non-profit organization and must raise funds to continue its mission of outreach to the families of New London County. The primary fundraiser that keeps the camp running outside of camper fees is the annual foundation auction each April. Beebe and a dedicated crew of adult and youth volunteers work tirelessly for months to collect donations, organize items, and facilitate the auction to help ensure the camp’s continuation.

Beebe is also an integral member of the New London County Agricultural Extension Council which helps to support 4-H and other UConn Extension programs in New London County. Each year he donates weeks of camp to the Council to raise funds to support their ongoing priorities and participates in the annual Extension volunteer advocacy trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with legislators and other program leaders.

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The 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Biomaterials was held at the World Biomaterials Congress in South Korea on May 29, 2024.  The Cato T. Laurencin Travel Fellowship recipients were Valentina Cespedes from University of Texas at Dallas and Daphna Fertil from Lafayette College. The fellowship includes registration, airfare, hotel, transfers, and meals to the 2024 World Biomaterials Congress

Studies conducted by the National Science Foundation and others have concluded that African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Native Alaskans are disproportionally underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Their underrepresentation represents a barrier to excellence in these fields.

Dr. Laurencin has worked in areas of inclusion and equity throughout his career. His work includes creating and establishing programs involving students through high school, college, graduate, fellow, and faculty levels. He created and established the M-1 Mentoring Program at UConn with funding from the CT Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus which provides protected time for faculty mentoring those underrepresented in STEM. Laurencin has received Diversity and Inclusion awards from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Society for Biomaterials. Laurencin created the IDEAL pathway, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism, and Learning, as a plan to achieve justice and equity. Various organizations are looking to adopt the IDEAL Pathway as they work to create and enhance systems to promote a more just society.

Laurencin is a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UConn. He is the Chief Executive Office of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, an Institute created in his honor. He earned a B.S.E in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, an M.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Medical School, and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from MIT.

The mission of CAPS is the advancing of educational equity by increasing access to higher education and transformative experiences that support retention and graduation for students who are first-generation to college, from low-income households, and from other underserved populations.

“The idea for this event was to bring all our programs together to build community and show CAPS pride,” says Kimberly Gorman, the associate director of CAPS and Director of Student Support Services.

All five of UConn’s campuses were represented, reflecting a growing CAPS presence on the regional campuses.

The event also celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the Federal Government’s TRIO program, which is designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  The CAPS programs of Upward Bound, McNair Scholars, and Student Support Services are part of TRIO.

Participants in the event began the day with speakers and presentations in Gampel Pavilion, followed by group photo opportunities, and then a lunch with food trucks, a carnival, and other fun activities.

“It’s nice for everyone to come together, especially those in high school,” says Zaria Jarvis ’26 (CLAS), a McNair Scholar through the CAPS program who is currently performing a summer research program in preparation for graduate studies. “Each CAPS program has different opportunities and the high school students can see what we are all working on.”

Jarvis, a physiology and neurobiology major who was raised in Bloomfield, is interested in attending medical school.

Komla Amezouwoe ’26 (CLAS) was born in Togo, but raised in East Hartford, and appreciates what the CAPS program has meant for him.

“I am a first-generation student, and there were a lot of things I was nervous about when I first came to college,” says Amezouwoe, who is currently serving as a leader in the CAPS Summer Bridge Program and took part in the CAPS College/SSS. “They have been here for me for whatever I needed and have given me great support.”

Amezouwoe is a communication major, and wants to pursue a career in sports management. He has already studied abroad in Ghana and the Czech Republic.

“You need to take advantage of the opportunities that CAPS gives,” says Amezouwoe. “You have to take risks and bet on yourself. There are a lot of things to do on campus and you can’t be scared of getting out of your zone and chasing something.”

The high school students who attended the event got a chance to see the campus up close and look at what their future might hold.

“I’ve been taking college classes the past two summers and so I have already experienced the workload,” says Fernando Flores, who will be a junior at the Norwich Free Academy (NFA) this fall. Flores is part of the Upward Bound/Conn CAP program at UConn Avery Point.

Flores has taken classes in human rights and physics during his CAP experience.

“I will be the first in my family to go to college, so that is my number one goal,” says Flores, who was born in Puerto Rico.

Lourdie Tilus will be a first-year student at UConn this fall after graduating from NFA and took part in the Upward Bound/ConnCAP program and is currently part of the Summer Bridge Program. She will be majoring in psychology.

“The CAPS programs are fantastic and a lot of work,” says Tilus. “They make you feel better about yourself and help you build connections with other people.”

Orders were pouring in, leaving Gresh and his small team scrambling to get merchandise packed up and ready to ship out on Monday.

“We were getting 20 calls an hour and hundreds of emails,” says Gresh, founder and CEO of The Feel Good Lab. “We almost sold out.”

The path to producing over-the-counter pain relief products, and recent rush of success, was neither straight nor easy for Gresh. The 37-year-old grew up in Ellington and seemed destined to become a pharmacist like his grandfather, father, and uncles.

But Gresh decided to take a different route. After watching his father’s disillusionment over the proliferation of opioids for the treatment of pain, he broke with tradition – and out of the family business – to study mechanical engineering at UConn.

Gresh’s first taste of entrepreneurship was through a senior design project he did at UConn. The program offered engineering students the opportunity to take MBA courses in the School of Business and create their own product. The all-terrain wheelchair developed by Gresh and his partners won funding, a patent, and a competition at Yale, but the second they hit obstacles, his partners gave up.

Gresh spent the next decade in the aerospace industry, working jobs at Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney, and later consulting, but still yearned for an entrepreneurial endeavor. A fateful conversation at dinner one night with his father and younger brother helped crystalize an idea for one.

After selling his pharmacy business in 1999, his father, Gene Gresh, opened a compounding pharmacy and functional medical practice. Partnering with doctors and other healthcare providers, he worked to diagnose the source of a patient’s pain and makes custom compounds tailored for their individual needs.  Listening to his dad talk about developing a remedy for one such patient, suddenly changed the way he saw the pharmacy profession.

“If you can have that much of an impact on a person’s life, it made me think it was a worthy pursuit,” Gresh said. “I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and work with my family on things I could create. I realized it was all right in front of me my whole life.”

After dabbling in it as a side business for two years, Ryan Gresh launched The Feel Good Lab in 2016 and quit his work in engineering to run it full-time.  His team currently consists of two pharmacists, his dad and younger brother Michael, and four summer interns.  The company is part of TIP, the state’s largest tech incubator, offered through Technology Commercialization Services.

In the early years, Gresh and his partner at the time sold their plant-based products mostly on Amazon, a decision that taught them some painful lessons. Shortly after quitting their jobs, and raising a glass to their new venture, Amazon accidentally banned the product.

Six weeks later they got back on the site, shaken but more aware of the importance of a diverse sales strategy. More setbacks followed, but unlike the all-terrain wheelchair venture in college, Gresh dug in and kept pushing this time. When QVC told them the network was getting out of OTC product marketing, Gresh persisted for over a year until QVC relented.

“We fought and they gave us a shot,” he says. “We didn’t just succeed: we reinvigorated the category. Now I’ve been on QVC almost 30 times.”

The Feel Good Lab is one of the few soft science ventures based at TIP. Being in the same building as start-ups bringing cancer drugs, home diagnostic technology, and veterinary medications to market, has been good thing for his company, Gresh says.

“When you walk people through here, they can see into the different labs and companies working toward different goals”, he says. “Some of them are developing lifesaving treatments. Some of my fellow entrepreneurs here have even become investors.”

Being based at UConn has also provided networking opportunities that have fueled the company’s growth. One such connection was with UConn basketball player Cam Spencer. The fan-favorite Husky liked the product so much that, after being drafted into the NBA, he invested in The Feel Good Lab.

But for Gresh, helping people doesn’t stop at customers. He serves on the advisory board for UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and volunteers as a mentor for NetWerx, a signature program offered by the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Gresh is still pinching himself at being featured on GMA. The exposure, he says, will help the company rely less on investors. This time, however, he knows better than to start popping champagne corks. Not making a big deal about the wins makes it easier to endure the losses, he says.

“Being an entrepreneur is hard,” says Gresh. “But when you do something that you are really passionate about, nothing deters you. Building up that resilience and perseverance is so important.”

Gresh is always interested in connecting with the UConn community and others looking to network. You can find him on LinkedIn or email him at ryan@thefeelgoodlab.com.

Eventually the turtle brought Jesse back to the boat. But the ride never ended.

Even as Jesse’s parents were yanking their delinquent out of the water, he was sputtering, “Now I know what I want to do with my life. I want to study sea turtles.” Of course they laughed. “They were like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so cute.’ I mean, they didn’t discourage it. No, no,” says Senko. “But they were thinking, Yeah, that’s today.”

Two decades and three university degrees later, Senko is still obsessed with sea turtles. His signature laser focus, though, has shifted from the sea turtles themselves to the fishers who unwittingly tangle sea turtles and other bycatch in their gill nets.

Read on for more.

The Sartor Lab primarily studies the role of epigenetics in substance use disorders (SUD) and addiction behavior, investigating both mechanistic pathways of the disease as well as potential pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder (OUD) and opioid withdrawal symptoms.

“The summer research programs provide students with invaluable opportunities to delve deeply into a project, as there are no classes and few meetings to interfere with the experiments,” Sartor highlights.

Seyednejad, a second year pharmacology and toxicology Ph.D. student, was awarded the Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS) Graduate Summer Fellowship. This award is offered to UConn graduate students who contribute to projects related to brain and cognitive science research.

Seyednejad’s work studies the epitranscriptomic mechanisms that underly cocaine use disorder. Specifically, he is focusing on identifying substance-induced post-transcriptional changes to RNA using a novel mass spectrometry based approach. He hopes that his work can be used to shed light on the understudied field of epitranscriptomic modifications and their contribution to the addiction phenotype, as well as to pave the way for identifying novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of cocaine use disorder.

Before his studies here at UConn School of Pharmacy, Seyednejad received a Pharm.D. from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. He has had a handful of peer reviewed publications in the field of pharmacology and toxicology and has presented on his work at numerous conferences and symposiums. Seyednejad is a representative of the UConn School of Pharmacy Dean’s Student Liaison Committee and a mentor for undergraduate researchers in the Sartor Lab as well.

Lehane, a second year pharmacology and toxicology Ph.D. student, was also awarded the IBACS Graduate Summer Fellowship. Lehane’s project investigates the potential for (2R,6R)-Hydroxynorketamine (HNK) as a novel pharmacotherapy for the treatment of OUD. The Sartor Lab has previously identified HNK as an effective agent for alleviating opioid withdrawal symptoms, and Lehane’s current project is aimed at further investigating the specific mechanisms involved in HNK therapy.

Before starting his graduate studies, Lehane received a Bachelor of Science in physiology and neurobiology from the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a minor in psychological science. During that time, Lehane assisted in behavioral neuroscience research in which he acquired skills in both addiction behavior research and behavioral genetic testing. Upon entering the School of Pharmacy, Lehane has contributed as a teaching assistant for multiple courses, and he was selected for a pre-doctoral fellowship in 2023.

Cruceta Ramirez, a Pharm.D. student, was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) award by the UConn Office of Undergraduate Research, which financially allows students to continue engaging in research projects during the summer months. Cruceta Ramirez also contributes to the HNK research project, specifically focusing on the functional effects of HNK within the hippocampus of mice brains during opioid withdrawal.

Previously, Cruceta Ramirez has also been awarded as a McNair Research Scholar and a CAPS Research Scholar at UConn. In addition to her research endeavors, Cruceta Ramirez serves as an active member of the School of Pharmacy Diversity Committee, the Student Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (SPPAG), the Dominican Student Association (DSA), and the First Gen Society.

Silveira, a junior pathobiology student, was named a McNair Research Scholar and CAPS Research Scholar at UConn for his additional contributions to the HNK project in the Sartor Lab. Silveira’s research specifically examines the effects of HNK on neuroinflammation in opioid addiction using animal models, which could also pave the way for further research investigating HNK use in other neuroinflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s or depression.

Outside of his research, Silveira has been dedicated to giving back to his community, both locally and internationally. Last summer, Silveira served as a UConn Medical Brigade Volunteer in Athens, Greece, where he focused on providing accessible health care to locals. Closer to home, Silveira serves as the treasurer of the UConn Brazilian Student Association (BraSA), an academic engagement mentor for La Comunidad Intelectual Learning Community, and a Mentoring, Educating, and Transforming to Achieve Success (METAS) peer mentor for the UConn Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. Silveira also participates in intramural soccer at UConn.

Vaglivelo, a fourth year Pharm.D. Candidate, was awarded the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Gateway to Research Award for his research investigating the behavioral effects of adulterant fentanyl and xylazine in animal models, as well as the efficacy of alpha-2 agonists clonidine and lofexidine in the treatment of OUD and opioid withdrawal. A recent UConn Today story captures more extensive details of the award and Vaglivelo’s accomplishments.

Patel, a junior neuroscience student at Bowdoin College in Maine, was awarded under the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program by the National Science Foundation. This program, intended for undergraduate students who are interested in learning more about a Ph.D. program, allows students to apply for research positions at other universities with more extensive research programs and funding than their home institution. Patel wanted to work in the Sartor Lab because of her interest in behavioral epigenetics, which parallels some of the work she has done at Bowdoin College.

Nonetheless, Patel’s work certainly deviates from the lab’s typical focuses of OUD and addiction; she is investigating a potential link between HNK and the treatment of glioblastoma, a brain and spine cancer. The Sartor Lab does not specialize in cancer research, so Patel has worked throughout the summer to establish this kind of work within the lab, which she mentions has been a learning moment for everyone. She hopes that this work, while it is likely a standalone project in the lab, will help guide further research as the lab investigates how HNK works.

“I am thrilled to work with so many bright and motivated students,” says Sartor. “They bring much enthusiasm and fresh perspectives to our research projects.”