UConn Health Pulse

Dr. Katherine Fleming from the UConn School of Dental Medicine's Division of Pediatric Dentistry and Dr. Michaela Matos, a UConn pediatric dental resident, join for Children's Oral Health Month. They explain what is (and isn't) a dental emergency, discuss the importance of establishing a dental home for your child, and offer tips for parents to cultivate health habits. (Dr. Katherine Fleming, Dr....

One of the founding fathers of the Alcohol Research Center at UConn Health — the longest-running NIH-funded center of its kind — is part of an international collaboration of addiction researchers out with updated findings on the social, cultural and environmental factors that influence alcoholism and harmful drinking. UConn School of Medicine Professor Emeritus Thomas Babor is a lead author of the...

The Urban Service Track incorporates prevention and primary care in underserved communities into the training of future prepares health professionals. It's a program of the Connecticut Area Health Education Center, housed at UConn Health. This summer, Urban Service Track students worked with the Hartford Department of Health and Human Services to go door-to-door in city neighborhoods to have conve...

Post-traumatic stress disorder is often associated with military combat and experiencing a traumatic situation, such as the Sandy Hook school shooting. A few weeks ahead of the 10-year anniversary of that tragedy, we discuss PTSD with UConn Health clinical psychologists Julian Ford and Rocio Chang . They explain what PTSD is and isn't, differentiate between PTSD and the somewhat newly diagnosed fo...

The American health care system is facing a shortage of primary care physicians. Preparing the next generation of providers is one of the missions of UConn Health, where the training includes hands-on experience delivering care to historically underserved populations. Dr. Bruce Gould , UConn School of Medicine professor emeritus, founding associate dean for primary care, and founding director of t...

It's likely the closest we've come to a "normal" back-to-school since 2019. So we checked back in with Dr. Erica Waddington , this time at her office in the UConn Health family medicine practice in Canton , to find out what she's telling families -- both the students and the parents who worry about them -- to help them get a healthy start to the 2022 school year. (Dr. Erica Waddington, Chris DeFra...

Spine surgeons at UConn Health are using augmented reality technology that provides a 3D rendering of the anatomy, essentially enabling "see-through" surgery. UConn Health is the first in central Connecticut with this suite of tools, which as of July 2022 is the world's largest. Dr. Isaac Moss , UConn Health's orthopedic surgery chair and co-director of its Comprehensive Spine Center , describes h...

The UConn Health tradition of students spending their last free summer bicycling cross-country to raise money for a charitable cause continues for a 17th year. Rising second-year dental student Brian Legato and medical students Julia Neri and Dustin Moore make up the 2022 Coast to Coast for a Cause team. Hear what they had to say about their adventure the day before they started it. (June 2022, Ju...

For some women, maintaining their own health can have its challenges, whether everyday things like putting family and career ahead of their own needs, or potential barriers to care related to socio-economic status. What kind of a multiplier effect has the pandemic had on those factors? Dr. Shontreal Cooper , a maternal-fetal medicine physician in UConn Health's Women's Center, shares her observati...

The No. 1 source of physicians and dentists who practice in Connecticut is UConn Health, whose schools have been graduating physicians, dentists, biomedical researchers, and masters of public health for five decades. This month we hear from Dr. Bruce T. Liang , dean of the UConn School of Medicine (and UConn Health's interim CEO and executive vice president for health affairs) and Dr. Steven Lepow...

Dr. Daniel Rosenberg , professor of medicine, Health Net Inc. Chair in Cancer Biology, and investigator in UConn Health's Center for Molecular Oncology, is on the trail of the connection between our digestive system's microbiome and colon cancer. His research has shown how walnut consumption can impact gut bacteria in a way that seems to fight off inflammation in some people. He's also investigati...

Our feet and ankles are among the most commonly injured parts of our body. There's a wide range of problems, and thankfully, with the right experts, a wide range of treatment options. Dr. Lauren Geaney , UConn Health foot and ankle surgeon and director of UConn's orthopedic surgery residency program, describes some of the advances in addressing both common and complex problems. She also discusses...

When it comes to treating stroke, initiating care ASAP, especially at a certified stroke center, can greatly improve the trajectory for survival and recovery. Regulatory bodies and other third parties have taken note of the stoke care at UConn Health, which has maintained the distinction of "primary stroke center" from The Joint Commission since first earning it in 2014. This month, two of the nur...

The UConn Health Brain and Spine Institute , an elite collaboration of experts in areas including neurology, neurosurgery, neuro-radiology, and comprehensive spine, continues to grow. Two of its members, Dr. John Greenfield , neurology chair, and Dr. Ian McNeill , neurosurgeon who specializes in spine abnormalities and disorders, describe how this high level of coordinated care ensures patients wh...

An elite national research collaborative to shape the future of geriatrics to help older adults maintain their independence now includes UConn Health. The UConn Center on Aging recently won a $7 million grant to become one of 15 "Pepper Centers" of excellence to advance the newer field of precision gerontology. Drs. George Kuchel and Richard Fortinsky from the UConn Center on Aging explain what's...

Perhaps the pandemic hasn't been as hard -- from a mental health perspective -- on older adults has we first feared it might? In fact, we have reason to believe older adults have coped as well as any other age group, or perhaps more so. Dr. David Steffens , UConn Health chair of psychiatry and geriatric psychiatrist, and second-year UConn medical student Tia Kozar have been studying this, and what...

Kids and parents alike are sure to have questions as they prepare for a new school year that figures to have the characteristics of pandemic learning at least to start. Dr. Erica Waddington at UConn Health's family medicine practice in Canton offers her perspective on back-to-school time as a physician who sees both parents and kids — sometimes from the same family.  (Dr. Erica Waddington, Chris D...

This month we're on location at the Horsebarn Hill Sciences Complex in Storrs, talking with the co-directors of the UConn Institute for Sports Medicine . Laurie Devaney , UConn physical therapist and athletic trainer, and Dr. Matt Hall , UConn Health sports medicine physician, explain what they and their colleagues can do for athletes to prevent/reduce injury risk, treat injuries and help them rec...

Within the Connecticut Area Health Education Center (CT AHEC) , housed at UConn Health, students in the Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars Program not only are learning an interprofessional method of delivering care. These Urban Health/AHEC Scholars also are spreading awareness of this evolving approach to health professions training and patient care. UConn dental student Basant Sallam, UConn nursi...

Smartphone use is a big part of our lives, and the pandemic has magnified that, particularly for teens and adolescents. What effect could all that screen time have on these younger, still developing brains? Dr. Jayesh Kamath from UConn Health's mood and anxiety disorders program joins Carolyn and Chris to discuss his research in the area, including how some preliminary findings could help inform t...

World Voice Day carries on virtually this year, with Dr. Denis Lafreniere and Starr Cookman from the UConn Health Voice and Speech Clinic and a live performance from special guest Javier Colon! (Dr. Denis Lafreniere, Starr Cookman, Javier Colon, Chris DeFrancesco, April 16, 2021) 11 tips for safer choral singing: Maximize ventilation; sing outside when possible Wear masks when singing Maintain at...

This month we talk about something we often take for granted -- talking (or singing). Dr. Denis Lafreniere and Starr Cookman from the UConn Health Voice and Speech Clinic discuss voice disorders and the importance of maintaining good vocal health as they prepare to celebrate World Voice Day April 16. ( Dr. Denis Lafreniere , Starr Cookman, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, April 2021)

Multiple sclerosis can strike at a relatively young age and can lead to disability later in life. While not curable, it is treatable, and with the right combination of early diagnosis, expert intervention, and patient empowerment, people with MS can minimize their disease progression and delay the onset of disability. This month, MS Awareness Month, we hear from two members of the UConn Health Mul...

Neurological disorders are wide-ranging and include many that are rare and therefore difficult to recognize and treat. Once diagnosed, the individual care plan often requires specialists from across several disciplines. It's why Dr. Ketan Bulsara, chief of UConn Health's Division of Neurosurgery, and Dr. Daniel Roberts, ear, nose and throat surgeon, started the Cranial Nerve and Brain Stem Disorde...

As UConn Health administers the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to health care providers and other front-line staff, Dr. David Banach , UConn Health's hospital epidemiologist, and Dr. Kim Metcalf, UConn Health's primary vaccine coordinator, join Carolyn and Chris to discuss how UConn Health is serving as a leader in the fight against the pandemic and to explain the significance of the vaccine...