The exhibiting artists are Marsha Borden, Helena Chastel, Kathryn Frund, Phoebe Godfrey, Hugh MacDonald, Bob Pavlik, Dan Potter, and R. Douglass Rice. Open Air 2025 is open daily and will remain on view through October 6, 2025. June 19, 2025 iis the last day to visit indoor art exhibitions. Exhibitions inside the AVS Gallery will resume on September 11, 2025

The UConn Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (i.e., UConn Pepper Center), plans to submit an application for competitive renewal to the National Institute on Aging at NIH. At this time, the UConn Pepper Center Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) seeks letters of intent (LOIs) for studies to be included in the application. Studies selected for inclusion in the application will be funded contingent upon continued funding of the UConn Pepper Center. We are seeking Letters of Intent (LOIs) for 1-year pilot and exploratory studies that focus on enhancing function and independence in older adults while also advancing knowledge in the UConn Pepper Center theme of Precision Gerontology, and that will support future grant applications. We welcome a variety of research approaches, ranging from biological to clinical/behavioral to health services/community-based research. Projects focusing on cognition and behavior, host defense and immunity, voiding and continence, and mobility and falls are of particular interest. For proposed studies involving human subjects research, secondary data analysis-based projects are encouraged. Projects involving primary data collection are allowed but must be sufficiently feasible to complete within 1 year. LOIs are due by September 10, 2025 Full-time UConn and JAX faculty are eligible to apply for PESC funding. Priority will be given to junior faculty/early-stage investigators as well as established investigators pursuing aging-related research (relevant to Precision Gerontology) as a new area of research. Investigators may request up to $50,000 (direct costs) for a 1-year pilot project. Those interested in submitting an LOI are strongly encouraged to contact the PESC Co-Leaders Dr. Lisa Barry (libarry@uchc.edu) Dr. Blanka Rogina (rogina@uchc.edu) and to visit the UConn Pepper Center website to learn more about the theme of Precision Gerontology and the UConn Pepper Center Research Resource Cores. https://health.uconn.edu/pepper-center/ Those seeking to apply for UConn PESC funding must submit the following by September 10, 2025: 1. A 1-page Letter of Intent (LOI) that includes:Brief description of the Specific Aims, Significance, and Approach; Statement as to how the proposed study aligns with the UConn Pepper Center theme of Precision Gerontology; Statement of how the proposed study will utilize applicable UConn Pepper Center Research Resource Cores. 2. On a separate page, a brief budget and timeline 3. NIH Biosketch for Principal Investigator. Please send LOIs to Ms. Laura Masi (masi@uchc.edu) Individuals selected to submit full proposals will be notified by the PESC Co-Leaders.

Dr. Smita Gopinath, Assistant Professor, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Title: "Vaginal microbiome and antiviral immunity" Hosts: Dr. Wendy Mok and Dr. Sandra Weller

Food scarcity may be one of the main social destabilizers worldwide. The risks and problems of diseases caused by food scarcity at a global level are significant. Understanding and discussing consequences of societal outbreaks caused by food insecurity is of great significance.Guillermo Rosatti, Director, CT Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, UConn

Food scarcity may be one of the main social destabilizers worldwide. The risks and problems of diseases caused by food scarcity at a global level are significant. Understanding and discussing consequences of societal outbreaks caused by food insecurity is of great significance.Guillermo Rosatti, Director, CT Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, UConn

The Maker Studio offers a variety of machines and tools students can get trained to use: several 3D printers, a laser mini-engraver/cutter, Cad software, CorelDraw, 3D Carver, Janome heavy duty sewing machine, and soldering stations. At this workshop, students will, one at a time, use the Heat Press Machine to create tote bags, and while they are not doing this, they'll create string art (using a piece of wood, nails, and string to create and design) or provide a piece of canvas for storytelling through art. Open to the first 20 people who register: https://nexus.uconn.edu/secure_per/events/event_registration.php?ser=9793&rc=3825622303

Dr. Patrick Dolan Investigator and Unit Chief National Institutes of Health Host: Eric MayUsing Deep Mutational Scanning to Understand Enterovirus Capsid Function Viral capsid proteins are remarkable molecular machines. They have evolved to be robust to the environmental stresses encountered in the environment, which often includes changes in pH, salinity, and temperature, while maintaining precise mechanisms to release their genomic cargo when specific criteria are met - usually when receptors and co-receptors are presented within the right chemical environment. I'll present our work using mutational libraries encompassing all possible substitutions in the structural proteins of two prototype Enteroviruses, EV-D68 and EV-A71, to probe capsid functions involved in entry and uncoating. The results highlight specific regions that respond to chemical and biophysical changes, and identify functional sequences that may engage host factors to initiate and facilitate uncoating.About Dr. Dolan:Patrick T. Dolan, Ph.D., is an experimental virologist and computational biologist whose work focuses primarily on the evolution and host-virus interactions of positive-sense RNA viruses. In the fall of 2021, Patrick began as unit chief of the Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit at NIAID in Bethesda, MD, where he studies the forces that shape the long- and short-term evolution of RNA virus populations. Patrick earned his B.S. degree in microbiology and molecular genetics from Michigan State University, where he worked in the laboratory of Professor Yong-Hui Zheng on the antiviral function of APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases in HIV-1. Patrick earned his Ph.D. in biological sciences in 2014 from Purdue University, where he studied the form and function of the hepatitis C virus-host protein interaction network under the supervision of professor Douglas J. LaCount and co-advisor professor Michael Gribskov. Patrick then pursued postdoctoral studies at Stanford University and University of California, San Francisco, in the laboratories of professors Raul Andino and Judith Frydman where he developed methods to understand the evolutionary dynamics of enteroviruses and flaviviruses in alternative host environments.Deep mutation, insertion and deletion scanning across the Enterovirus A proteome reveals constraints shaping viral evolution (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39609576/)Structure and dynamics of enterovirus genotype networks (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39609576/)Dolan Lab Website (https://qveu.github.io/QVEU/)

The Flex MBA Program offers a flexible, self-paced hybrid learning experience designed to fit your unique schedule and career goals. With a blend of online and in-person classes, students can customize their coursework to balance work, life, and education. In-person sessions are available at our Hartford and Stamford campuses, providing opportunities for networking and collaboration. The program is open to domestic and international students who require visa sponsorship.