{"id":106475,"date":"2015-01-22T09:11:27","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T14:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.today.uconn.edu\/?post_type=school-college-post&p=105028"},"modified":"2016-01-07T15:29:15","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T20:29:15","slug":"uconn-clas-alums-shine-among-states-rising-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2015\/01\/uconn-clas-alums-shine-among-states-rising-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn CLAS Alums Shine Among State\u2019s Rising Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do a Connecticut assistant attorney general, a local traffic reporter\/talk show host, a brewery owner, and the president and CEO of a biotechnology startup have in common?<\/p>\n

They\u2019re among the nine young UConn alums named to Connecticut Magazine\u2019s 2015 \u201c40 Under 40\u201d list, which honors the state\u2019s \u201cbest and brightest among Generation Next.\u201d<\/p>\n

The diverse roster includes artists, community leaders, entertainers, farmers, philanthropists, and more.\u00a0Four of the nine individuals named are alumnae\u00a0of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n

The named UConn alumni demonstrate \u201cthe caliber, depth, and breadth of what our alumni are doing out there,\u201d says Montique Cotton Kelly, executive director of the UConn Alumni Association. \u201cTo have such representation across majors and disciplines is what UConn is all about. We couldn\u2019t be more excited to see their names on this list.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Nicole Wagner \u201907 (CLAS), \u201913 Ph.D., 30, West Hartford<\/i><\/h4>\n
Scientist\/CEO LambdaVision<\/i><\/h5>\n

On one end of the spectrum is Nicole Wagner \u201907 (CLAS), \u201913 Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow who completed both her undergraduate degree and Ph.D. at UConn. Wagner is the president and CEO of LambdaVision, a biotechnology company founded through the UConn Ventures fund that is developing a protein-based retinal implant to cure certain types of blindness.<\/p>\n

\"Nicole
Nicole Wagner \u201907 (CLAS), \u201913 Ph.D. (Photo courtesy of Connecticut Magazine)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While earning her B.S. in molecular and cell biology, Wagner worked in the lab of Professor of Chemistry Robert Birge<\/a>, with whom she founded the company in 2009. When she first joined Birge\u2019s lab, Wagner says, she planned to become a medical doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got involved in the lab, my passions changed,\u201d she says. \u201cI started really enjoying the research part of things. The retinal implant project was a great opportunity to blend my interests in medicine, vision, and research.\u201d<\/p>\n

The founding of the company, which is part of UConn\u2019s Technology Incubation Program, has not only allowed Wagner to pursue her passions, but also given her an opportunity to be a leader and learn more about the business end, she says.<\/p>\n

With the completion of a recent \u201cproof-of-concept\u201d experiment and two new grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health, Wagner and her team are advancing toward their goal of restoring vision to patients.<\/p>\n

As for the \u201c40 Under 40\u201d nod, it\u2019s icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly very exciting, definitely a big surprise to me,\u201d Wagner says. \u201cI\u2019m honored to be on the list. It\u2019s a good feeling for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Other UConn CLAS alumni\u00a0who made the list include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

\"Teresa
Teresa Dufour \u201901 (CLAS) (Courtesy of Connecticut Magazine)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

Teresa (LaBarbera) Dufour \u201901 (CLAS), 34, New Haven<\/i><\/h4>\n
Traffic reporter, \u201cGood Morning Connecticut\u201d\/ host, \u201cConnecticut Style\u201d<\/i><\/h5>\n

Why she\u2019s on the list: The vibrant Dufour is a daily double threat: After providing thousands of commuters across Southeastern Connecticut with the latest traffic updates on \u201cGood Morning Connecticut\u201d from 5 to 7 a.m., she switches gears and is back on the air at 12:30 p.m. with \u201cConnecticut Style,\u201d where she shares the better parts of Connecticut life, including fashion, health, beauty, and food.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Julie
Julie Meehan \u201905 (HDFS) (Courtesy of Connecticut Magazine)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

Julie Daly Meehan \u201905 (HDFS), 31, Hartford<\/i><\/h4>\n
HYPE executive director\/director of investor engagement and digital media<\/i><\/h5>\n

Why she\u2019s on the list: Meehan works for the MetroHartford Alliance, which is the leading business and economic development organization in Connecticut\u2019s capital region. Meehan is also executive director of the Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group. In 2014 Meehan was promoted, via the addition of a second role, and is now responsible for developing social media strategies to strengthen all the MetroHartford Alliance initiatives, including the Connecticut Health Council and the Connecticut Insurance and Financial Services Cluster.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\"Kate
Kate Lindsay \u201905 (CLAS), \u201908 JD (Courtesy of Connecticut Magazine)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n
\n

Kate Lindsay \u201905 (CLAS), \u201908 JD, 36, Hartford<\/i><\/h4>\n
Attorney<\/i><\/h5>\n

Why she\u2019s on the list: In addition to her caseload as an attorney with Bracewell & Giuliani, Lindsay has taken on pro bono work and worked with survivors of domestic violence. The lifelong state resident and UConn grad has also been a part of clinics to provide legal services to the homeless of Hartford, as well as efforts for fair housing and immigration.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Learn about others on Connecticut Magazine’s <\/i>2015 “40 Under 40” list with ties to UConn.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four alumnae of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences were named to Connecticut Magazine\u2019s 2015 \u201c40 Under 40\u201d list, which honors the state\u2019s \u201cbest and brightest among Generation Next.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":106856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1858],"class_list":["post-106475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 08:31:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108178,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106475\/revisions\/108178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/106856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106475"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=106475"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=106475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}