UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2012
Undergraduate Major(s): Molecular and Cell Biology
Currently Employed By: Dentist
Updates: Graduating dental school in May 2016 and starting a one year general practice residency at Danbury hospital in Danbury, CT.
Author: Hoffmann, Jessamy
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Kristina Dortche
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2015
Undergraduate Major(s): PNB
Currently Employed By: UConn Health, Research Assistant
Updates: I will be beginning medical school in fall 2016. I am currently deciding between the University of Connecticut, University of Chicago, Columbia, Yale, and University of Pennsylvania.
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Patrick Cooper
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2012
Undergraduate Major(s): Individualized (Pre-Dent)
Currently Employed By:
Updates: Off to Boston Children’s / Harvard for pediatric dental residency July 2016
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Leonela Villegas
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2012
Undergraduate Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Currently Employed By: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Fourth Year Medical Student
Updates: I am currently in my fourth year of medical school and will be matching into Pediatrics on March 18th! I am couples matching with Diego Aviles, who is going into Ob/gyn. It has been a long and stressful (yet exciting!) interview process, but we are excited to see where we end up training for the next 3-4 years 🙂
We have been traveling a lot since 4th year is the best year! We have been in Virginia, Connecticut, New Orleans for Mardis Gras, Miami, Jamaica, Thailand (end of March), and will be headed to Europe in May with my family!
Rowe Researcher: Self-Healing Double Network Hydrogels
Self-Healing Double Network Hydrogels
March 2013-2016
Investigators: Dr. Thomas Seery & Omar Allam, UConn Chemistry and Institute of Material Science (IMS), and the Jin Group, Chemistry Department at Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Hydrogels are gels in which the polymer chains that constitute them are hydrophilic and thus readily absorb water. Theoretically, hydrogels have a wide array of applications, however, they display poor mechanical properties, which limit their use. My research aims at i) synthesizing hydrogels with a unique double network structure in order to improve their mechanical properties (in particular, their toughness) and ii) characterizing the physical properties of these new hydrogels to determine their suitability for possible biomedical applications. If this new structure for hydrogels exhibits superior mechanical properties, it will provide an opportunity to test possible applications such as artificial cartilage, contact lenses, and scaffolds for delivering medicine.
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Klair Lubonja
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2015
Undergraduate Major(s): Molecular and Cell Biology
Currently Employed By: National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on Aging, IRTA Research Fellow
Updates: During the transition period between the end of my undergraduate experience and prospectively entering medical school, I will be working at the National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute on Aging (B.R.C., Johns Hopkins Medical Center), as an IRTA Fellow. Under the direction of Dr. Ranjan Sen, Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology, and in collaboration with Dr. Edward Lakatta, Chief of the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences, I am currently working on a new research venture involving the ARA 290 anti-inflammatory protein. My role is to compare immune status and gene expression in vivo/in vitro in ARA 290 treated rats with control rat models.
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Allison Baylis
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2009
Undergraduate Major(s): Physiology and Neurobiology
Currently Employed By: Lawrence Messina, DDS, PC, Associate Dentist
Updates: I am currently working in West Haven, CT as an associate dentist in a private practice office on Long Island Sound. We are a family dental practice focusing on oral health as part of the overall health of the patient with an emphasis on preventative care. I began practice here in July 2015 and I am so happy to be working in my home town- I see friends and family as patients daily! I am always happy to have students come visit me to shadow so please contact me if you are interested. I am also available to help with dental or professional school applications.
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Ana Cerda
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2013
Undergraduate Major(s): Biology and Psychology
Currently Employed By: New England Center for Children, Special Education teacher
Updates: I started graduate school this fall. I am working on my Master’s in Counseling Psychology as well as continuing my full time position at the New England Center for Children (NECC) working with children that have Autism. At NECC, I work as a special education teacher implementing applied behavior analysis interventions in a residential school setting.
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Kristina Dortche
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2015
Undergraduate Major(s): Physiology and Neurobiology
Currently Employed By: UConn Health, Research
Updates: I am currently doing research at the UConn Health Center in the Center for Vascular Biology. I will be in this position until June 2016. I am also applying to medical school for the 2016 cycle.
Rowe Alumni Spotlight: Leonela Villegas
UConn Year of Graduation (Undergraduate): 2012
Undergraduate Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Currently Employed By: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Medical student
Updates: I am currently in my fourth year of medical school at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN! Time flies and it’s crazy to think that four years have gone by so quickly. I am applying in Pediatrics this September and can’t wait to start the interview process in the winter!