2009 Distinguished Alumni Award: Daniel LeVine

April 26, 2009

Daniel LeVine entered the Honors Program at UConn in fall of 1974. Dan majored in mathematics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year. Subsequently, he graduated summa cum laude from UConn in 1978.

After leaving UConn, Dan continued his studies at the Division of Applied Mathematics at Brown University where he earned his Ph.D. His doctoral dissertation, “Multidimensional Scaling with Dissimilarity as a Nonmonotone Function of Distance,” explored how an algorithm commonly used in mathematical psychology could be modified in order to broaden its application. (more…)

2008-09 Faculty Member of the Year Award: Robert Gross

Dr. Robert A. Gross is the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Professor of Early American History at the University of Connecticut. A native of Bridgeport, Connecticut, he received his B.A. in American civilization from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966 (Phi Beta Kappa 1965) and Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in 1976. He taught at Amherst College, the University of Sussex, and the College of William and Mary (where he served as director of American Studies) before coming to the University of Connecticut in 2003. He is the recipient of various national awards, including fellowships from the Guggenheim, Howard, and Rockefeller Foundations, the Fulbright Program, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. (more…)

Rowe Researcher: Mesenchymal Progenitors

August 9, 2008

Spring 2008: Characterization of Mesenchymal Progenitors from Bone Marrow and Adipose Tissue

By Shawnet K. Jones, Katie Lamothe, Ivo Kalajzic and H.Leonardo Aguila

In the lab of Dr. H. Leonardo Aguila we aimed to find markers that would allow for the characterization and isolation of mesenchymal progenitors from different sources. This project focused mostly on progenitors isolated from bone marrow and adipose tissue, two sites containing cells with recognized ability to form bone. In addition this project aimed to determine if there was a differential distribution of progenitor cells amongst males and females. (more…)

Rowe Researcher: Acoustic Cues for Sound Localization

Summer 2008: Identification of Candidate Acoustic Cues for Sound Localization

By Rishi Kothari

Sound localization is an important ability for all animals for a variety of reasons, including avoiding predation and finding food. The localization of sound in animals, as well as humans, has been investigated extensively with respect to varying azimuth, but substantially less study has been done on the effects of changing the distance or elevation of the sound source. (more…)

Rowe Researcher: Osteoblast Cell Culture

Summer 2008: Optimizing Osteoblast Cell Culture for the Study of Dlx Gene Function

By Sean Ghassem-Zadeh

With the high volume of research involving in vitro studies and the need to optimize specific types of cell cultures, multiple companies have produced various Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) products that can aid cell culture processes. With numerous companies producing multiple lots of FBS, which are obtained from an isolated population of fetal calves, a further investigation is needed to determine the best product for a desired cell culture (in this case calvaria and bone marrow cultures). (more…)

Rowe Researcher: Autoimmune Uveitis

Philip Gorecki conducting research.
Philip Gorecki conducting research.

Summer 2008: Autoimmunity to Interphotoreceptor Retinoid Binding Protein

By Philip J. Gorecki, Robert E. Cone, Ph.D., and Rajwardhan Yadav, M.D./Ph.D. Dept. of Immunology & Connecticut Lions’ Vascular Vision Center University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Conn.

Autoimmune uveitis is a condition in which the immune response is directed against retinal antigens. Interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP) is an immunodominant antigen that stimulates T and B lymphocytes. Our aim was to characterize IRBP specific immune responses using a mouse model. (more…)

2007-08 Faculty Member of the Year Award: Steven K. Wisensale

April 25, 2008

Dr. Steven K. Wisensale is a professor of public policy in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. He earned his B.A. in political science and American history at Salem College in 1967, his M.Ed. in social foundations of education from Temple University in 1970, and his graduate diploma in comparative government and social welfare policy from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, in 1973. In addition, he earned his M.A. in liberal studies at Wesleyan University in 1979 and his Ph.D. in social welfare policy from Brandeis University in 1983. (more…)

2008 Distinguished Alumni Award: Bonnie Sarno Vontell

April 24, 2008

Ms. Sarno Vontell grew up in West Redding, Connecticut, and decided to pursue her undergraduate education at the University of Connecticut where she was admitted into the Honors Program. During the course of her four years at the University, Ms. Sarno Vontell was admitted to Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Alpha Theta, Mortar Board, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Societies. She was also named an Albert N. Jorgensen Alumni Scholar, a Richard L. St. Lawrence Centennial Alumni Scholar, and a Connecticut Scholar. Of the many awards that Ms. Sarno Vontell received, her crowning achievement was graduating summa cum laude as both an Honors Scholar and a University Scholar. (more…)

Rowe Researcher: Angelmans syndrome

August 9, 2007

Devorah Donnell conducting research.
Devorah Donnell conducting research.

Summer 2007: A cause of Angelmans syndrome, a form of mental retardation, in terms of Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 3A (UBE3A) expression’s impact on resistance to genotoxic stressors

By Devorah Donnell

Through the UConn Medical School’s Summer Research Fellowship Program, I conducted stem cell research in the summer of 2007 in Dr. Lalande’s laboratory in the department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the UConn Health Center. I studied a cause of Angelmans syndrome, a form of mental retardation, in terms of Ubiquitin Protein Ligase 3A (UBE3A) expression’s impact on resistance to genotoxic stressors. (more…)