Showcasing Summer Research

For over 60 students at UConn Storrs and regional campuses, summer break was spent working alongside startup companies and performing research on topics ranging from gestational diabetes to aquaculture.

The students' accomplishments were celebrated alongside their mentors and state legislators at this year's Summer Research Day at the UConn Health campus in Farmington. The students-who participated in the Technology Incubation Program (TIP) Innovation Fellowship and Health Research Program-spent the past 10 weeks immersed in the world of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

"Emphasizing the importance of hands-on experiential learning through mentored research as part of real-world knowledge and skills development is the major thread of today's event, and the TIP and Health Research programs overall," said Dr. Caroline Dealy, director of the TIP Innovations Fellows Program and associate professor at the UConn Schools of Dental Medicine and Medicine. "The broadening of participation in the Summer Research Day this year is not only a reflection of the growing emphasis on experiential learning as a vital part of a college career, but also reveals presence of a very robust summer undergraduate research ecosystem across all of UConn's campuses, and a corresponding need for a venue where the students can share the fruits of their summer research together – which might be a future goal."

Dealy co-hosts the Summer Resarch Day with Micah Heumann, director of the Health Research Program and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at UConn.

"As UConn is a research 1 institution it is vital that we encourage all our undergraduates to participate in the research process to develop transferrable skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace today, and to demystify the research process," said Heumann. "UConn Health faculty who participate in this program report the benefits of having an undergraduate student in their lab to assist with their research. Undergraduate students can learn quickly and become a contributing member of these research labs."

The UConn TIP Innovation Fellowship pairs UConn students with University startup companies for mentored summer research fellowships in business or STEM areas, while the Health Research Program advances undergraduate research for students with interests in health and the biomedical sciences. This year, there were 20 TIP Innovation Fellows and 44 Health Research Program participants.

At the Summer Research Day, Dr. Abhijit Banerjee, associate vice president for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at UConn delivered opening remarks and encouraged students to reflect on their big takeaways from their respective programs.

"We are delighted that you chose UConn," Banerjee said. "What we're trying to do is give you the best experience as a student. The program gives you an opportunity to think out of the box, think different, and get you out of your comfort zone. As you present your findings, I'd like to ask you to consider one point which addresses what you learned from this experience. It's not just the work product, it's what you took away from the program."

Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of the School of Medicine, also delivered remarks to the students.

"I know many of you are aspiring pre health students and we are here to provide consultation as needed," Liang said. "We have an excellent group of educators here. Research and innovation is something we treasure and want to foster and promote."

Paul Parker, director of the TIP program, reflected on the recent success of UConn-founded startup company The Feel Good Lab, and how the collaboration between the company and the TIP program helped fulfill a massive order of the company's pain relief cream after an appearance on Good Morning America.

"The students get a lot of out it, and the companies get a lot out of it," Parker says about the program.

The Summer Research Day entails several short talk sessions and poster presentations from the student researchers, giving them the opportunity to show off their hard work.

Toriana Grooms, a sophomore majoring in English and Political Science, kicked off the short talks session with her presentation of Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults. Grooms, an aspiring lawyer, spent her summer as a TIP Innovation Fellow, working with Farmington biotech company QCDx.

"I learned a lot about demographic segmentation and analyzing trends, skills that I plan to take with me in my academic and professional life," said Grooms. "As a member of the special program in law at UConn, I came into the TIP program to not only surround myself in a business setting, but to expose myself to various forms of intellectual property. I got a better scope of the area of law I might one day be practicing."

During the poster session, rising sophomore and biomedical engineering student Alveena Ehsan shared her research, The Benefits of Improving Dietary Fat State of Change on Preventing Diabetes, Directly and Through Weight Loss; A Randomized Intervention Implemented in Black Churches. Ehsan was part of the Health Research Program and was able to further explore her research interests.

"Research is a slow process and it's something you have to put a lot of time into, and it's a big opportunity to gain new skills," said Ehsan. "This is a topic I've always been interested in but never really gained experience. I was able to do a lot of statistical modeling and diabetes education-both topics I'm interested in but never explored in high school or college. In these past 10 weeks I've been able to gain so much experience."

State legislators also joined to celebrate the students, learn about their summer projects, and introduce themselves to students that live in their districts. Representative Tim Ackert (Coventry), Senator Anwar Saud (South Windsor), Representative Jamie Foster (Ellington), Senator Catherine Osten (Sprague), Senator Lisa Seminara (Avon), Senator Bob Duff (Norwalk), Representative Francis Cooley (Plainville), and Representative Kerry Wood (Rocky Hill) all attended.

Representative Foster, a research scientist, stressed the importance of collaboration between scientists and legislators to influence policy and encouraged the students to get involved.

"I hope a lot of you get involved and talk to your legislators and policy makers," said Foster. "We just need to create constant spaces for cross pollination between policy makers and scientists and I can't do that on my own, so I'm asking you to barge in. Make yourself heard, make sure they understand you."

Representative Tim Ackert shared a few words of encouragement for the students, while reflecting on his wife passing of cancer.

"I'm looking to you-whatever you are going to research, whatever your process is going to be, is to be that one that helps that group find that solution so we can save the lives we typically lose."

Senator Saud Anwar, a physician, is optimistic that this cohort of UConn students will go on to make a big impact in the future of health care and research. "We have to make sure we nurture you and this place, so that this is the center of the brain of our state," said Anwar. "We have high hopes for the students of the next generation to solve the problems that we don't even know are problems yet."

"The OVPR is proud of these students who have come together to share the new findings and insights they helped produce this summer," said Dr. Lindsay DiStefano, associate vice president for Research Development at UConn. "We are also grateful for the expert faculty and staff that supported and mentored these students to help them have an immersive experience with entrepreneurship and discovery."