SEPTEMBER 9, 2026

Dear colleagues, 

I hope you all had a summer full of joy and a bit of rest. As another promising academic year begins, I would like to review and celebrate some significant wins our community has experienced over the last few months in hopes that they will add to our momentum in the coming year. 

If you have been following along with The Abstract through the summer, some of these stories may be familiar to you. If you haven’t, I encourage you to check out prior editions conveniently archived on the UConn Research website. The OVPR team is working hard to capture and share all the news, updates, and practical information that is important to our research community, and we don’t want you to miss out. 

As always, we welcome any helpful feedback and encourage you to use our Q&A submission form to raise questions you would like to see addressed in future editions of The Abstract. 

Connecticut’s Quantum Leap 

The biggest news of the summer for UConn Research was the awarding of the NSF Regional Innovation Engine for Quantum. This award could end up being the largest and most significant in Connecticut’s history. UConn is the prime recipient, and subawardees include Yale, Southern Connecticut State University, Connecticut State Community College, ConnCORP—a non-profit dedicated to community development—and Connecticut Innovations. The State of Connecticut is a major partner, as are Connecticut industry leaders.  

The award is significant: the current phase is a $15 million, two-year award that could unlock an additional $145 million from the NSF over the next 10 years. This additional funding is contingent upon meeting current and future award milestones. This initial award also releases $120 million from the state to develop a quantum testbed in Connecticut.   

I know there are many questions in our community about the details of this award and what it means for our investigators. The team is working on a thorough communication to better explain what the award means for UConn and how our community can get involved. The most important piece for now is this award signals that the state and the federal government are ready to make Connecticut THE U.S. hub for quantum technologies.  

UConn’s Impactful Partnership with the State 

Earlier this year, Governor Lamont announced that Connecticut is receiving a $154 million grant for the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). Following the award, UConn (particularly UConn Health) has partnered extensively with state agencies to implement projects and provide evaluation services for this important initiative. A big thank you to the Innovations Institute in the School of Social Work for taking the lead on the program evaluations.  

This summer, we also learned that a collaboration between the Connecticut Department of Education and UConn’s Neag School of Education has been awarded a five-year, $10 million federal Education Innovation and Research grant to support the State’s Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success. These awards demonstrate the value of our research and scholarship to society and demonstrate that the State is increasingly turning to UConn for our expertise. 

Investments for Growth 

Lastly, the University has recently finalized plans to distribute the $35 million state investment in research. One of the initiatives supported through this state funding is Project Regenerate, which will leverage the perspectives and expertise of UConn researchers to make significant internal funding investments. Thanks to many productive discussions with University leadership, our unions, and our Research Advisory Council, we released the first Request for Program Proposals on August 24. The first deadline is September 14 at 12 noon. 

Thank you for all you do,

Lindsay J. DiStefano, Ph.D., ATC, FNATA 

Interim Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship 
UConn | UConn Health 
Professor 
Department of Kinesiology
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Department of Public Health Sciences 

The Center for Open Research Resources and Equipment (COR²E) is celebrating the opening of a brand-new additional UConn Health site of the Proteomics & Metabolomics Facility. It boasts new mass spectrometer instruments (the Bruker ProteoElute nanoLC system and timsTOF Ultra 2 mass spectrometer), which are anticipated to begin operations in a few weeks.  

The new site is located at Room L1089 in Building L, on the main UConn Health campus at 263 Farmington Ave. It will focus on expanding into low-input proteomics. 

UConn and Yale have launched a new program for training and development in the fields of nephrology, urology, and hematology. UConn PI Dr. Yanlin Wang leads the KUH Research Training Program, which is supported by a grant from the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases.  

The program answers an urgent call for more trained researchers to help advance knowledge and make breakthroughs in areas like kidney health. It also represents another tremendous collaboration between UConn and Yale, with combined expertise from both respective schools of medicine.

The OVPR is delighted to welcome Kylene Perras as the inaugural Director of Operations for the National Security Institute for Innovation (NSII).  

Kylene will focus initially on overseeing the launch of the upcoming institute. Once the NSII is established, Kylene will serve as NSII’s senior operational leader. She will be responsible for executing strategic vision, overseeing operations, and working closely with Institute leadership, the OVPR, and partners across UConn to build the infrastructure, resources, strategic partnerships and processes needed to advance NSII’s mission and support its long-term growth. 

Kylene joins the OVPR from UConn’s College of Engineering, where she has served as Assistant Dean for Operations & Strategic Initiatives. In that role, she provided leadership across a broad portfolio of operational and strategic initiatives, including oversight of the Center for Advanced Engineering Education, Engineering Technical Services, and communications, as well as efforts related to industry engagement, economic development, and major strategic initiatives. 

Kylene brings a tremendous skillset and deep institutional knowledge to her new role. She has a strong record of managing complex initiatives and experience working across academic, administrative, industry, government, and external partner communities. We are excited that she brings that experience to the NSII effort, especially as the Institute takes shape and expands UConn’s capabilities and impact. 

UConn Research is overjoyed to welcome internationally renowned quantum physicist Dmitri Kharzeev, who joins the faculty as a professor of physics in the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He brings to Connecticut a distinguished career as a quantum researcher, educator, and fellow at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. He comes to UConn directly from Stony Brook University in New York, where he was a distinguished professor of physics.

The Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, or LEAP, uses cutting-edge research from the UConn Neag School of Education and collaborators to help boost K-12 attendance after the pandemic. Now, the Connecticut Mirror reports that state leaders and national experts on school attendance have declared LEAP a resounding success.  
 
In the 2021-2022 school year, chronic absenteeism in Connecticut was nearly double what it was pre-COVID, at 23.7%. But this past school year, it dropped to 16.4% — a decrease of roughly 35,000 students. Read more about Morgaen Donaldson, the Neag School’s Associate Dean for Research, and her work on this program via UConn Today.

The UIDP Industry-Integrated Ph.D. (I-Ph.D.) Scholars Program is an NSF-supported pilot that creates a new model for STEM Ph.D. funding and doctoral education. The program brings universities and industry together to co-invest in Ph.D. students through collaborative funding, industry research experiences, and workforce development, preparing the next generation of STEM research leaders. 

 The program is cofunded by the industry partner ($100K total per student), the University, and NSF. The University must support the student in their first year, and the program will provide each student $75K per year for a student stipend, cost of education allowance, and cost of living support during years 2-4.  

The application to this program is relatively low-effort but does not require a UConn institutional official. Thus, we have no way to track these applications internally. We need to have a consolidated list of applications, and we hope to encourage more applications to be submitted. 

We created a brief questionnaire for investigators to share 1) if they have already completed an application or 2) if they are interested and would like any assistance from the Research Development Services team. 

We are pleased to launch the inaugural Business Development for the Individual Faculty Researcher (BDIFR) Program. This program will teach faculty the basics of industry engagement and help them understand how to best communicate the value of their research, help identify new industry partners to consider, and support them with outreach to diversify their funding. We hope to offer this in-person program in Farmington in the summer.

Please see this message from Julie Schwager, UConn Associate Vice President – Research Finance and Administration, for an update on UConn research service center rates. Effective October 1, 2026, most service center rates will increase by 5%. This includes COR²E (Storrs) and HCRAC (UCH) service centers. This change also applies to our animal research programs (ACS at Storrs and CCM at UCH).  

Our research service centers are subsidized by the university to keep user rates reasonable and stable. Even with this institutional support, a rate adjustment is necessary to keep pace with rising costs to maintain high service levels and ensure that UConn/UCH researchers have timely access to advanced research instrumentation and the support of highly skilled scientists and technical experts. 

As we head into the fall semester, several internal funding programs (IFP) hosted by the OVPR are currently accepting applications. More programs will be launched this fall as new programs are created by Project Regenerate.

UConn/UConn Health faculty are encouraged to periodically review the list of open opportunities on the Internal Funding Opportunities webpage. Seven programs are currently accepting submissions, including the Transformative Research Impact Award and the EMERGE Bridge Support program.  

The earliest deadline is this Monday, September 14 at 12 noon for Project Regenerate and the Urgent Seed Grant program. Several other programs have October deadlines or are accepting rolling submissions.

Please reach out to ovpr@uconn.edu with any questions. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its final rule for Conflicts of Interest and Conflicts of Commitment. The University is assessing the impact of the final rule and initiating implementation. Stay tuned for updates. Please reach out to the Research Integrity & Compliance (RIC) Financial Conflict of Interest team at fcoi@uconn.edu with any urgent questions. 

On September 1, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a continuing resolution (H.R. 6500) that delays the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from finalizing its controversial Uniform Guidance overhaul until at least December 11. UConn will continue to keep our researchers apprised of any updates that may impact our work.  

The Research Development team is hosting a series of fall workshops on topics related to grantwriting, proposal development, and telling your research story. There will be both virtual and in-person workshops. Visit the RDS Grantwriting Training Calendar for more details. 

UConn and UConn Health researchers are invited to participate in an interactive workshop exploring how research across a wide range of disciplines can help address challenges related to the health, safety, performance, and well-being of those who serve. 
 
No previous Department of Defense or VA research experience is needed. Faculty do not need to have an existing military-focused project or research idea to participate. We encourage you to bring your expertise and an interest in discovering where it might connect. 

Date: Friday, October 2 

Location: UConn Storrs Campus 

Additional event details will be provided to confirmed registrants. Register for the Service Member and Veteran Health workshop using this webform. 

UConn’s Center for Open Research Resources & Equipment (COR²E) will host an Open House and Vendor Show in the Student Union Ballroom. This event will feature over 20 core research labs from the Storrs and Farmington campuses, in addition to over 20 partnered vendors. Free lunch for all registered PIs, RAs, and GAs.

For more information and to register, email cindy.doherty@uconn.edu.  

Date: Tuesday, October 20

Event time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Location: Student Union Ballroom, Rooms 330/331, Storrs Campus 

While our heads are in the academic year before us, let’s take a minute to let our hearts remember and reflect on how our world changed on Sept. 11, 2001. A quarter century has passed, but the memories of that terrible day have not faded. Families continue to mourn the loss of loved ones – not just those who were working in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but also the intrepid first responders who risked and lost their lives. Many in our UConn community were affected, and we mourn together with them. 

On Friday, UConn will hold a series of events honoring the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, including a University-wide remembrance ceremony at the Student Union Theatre at noon. The ceremony will be livestreamed for all who cannot attend in person.  

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