Human Rights Close to Home

Prerequisites: Eligible for students that are accepted and have committed to the HRCH program

Human Rights Close to Home (HRCH) offers high school student fellows leadership development through a one-year, stipend-supported program. Student fellows learn and share human rights knowledge and civic engagement skills in order to plan and implement civic actions in their own communities. Students from across the state of Connecticut are welcome to apply.

Up to twenty Connecticut high school student fellows will participate in a one-week residential leadership institute focused on human rights and civic engagement. You will explore human rights issues, considering how they relate to your own lives, and develop knowledge and skills to contribute to civic action projects in your home communities. K-12 teachers from across Connecticut will learn about human rights and civic engagement alongside you throughout the week. You will learn from HRCH staff as well as human rights faculty and staff, community based organizations, and youth activists.

After the summer institute, working in teams or individually during the school year, you will engage in a human rights-based civic action project. Receiving close guidance and supervision from HRCH staff, college student mentors (undergraduate or graduate students), and community mentors, you will learn about local human rights issues, gain practical experience, and develop valuable skills you can apply to future human rights and civic engagement work. You will return to UConn 2-4 times throughout the year to meet with the other student fellows and work on your civic action projects.

HRCH is working in close partnership with UConn Pre-College Summer (PCS). PCS will support Connecticut high school students during the HRCH Summer Institute on the UConn Storrs Campus,

Human Rights Close to Home offers high school student fellows leadership development through a one-year, stipend-supported program. Student fellows learn and share human rights knowledge and civic engagement skills in order to plan and implement civic actions in their own communities. Students from across the state of Connecticut are welcome to apply. Applications for the 2025-2026 HRCH student fellowship are due February 28, 2025. Only after accepting and committing to the HRCH program, may those eligible students enroll in this PCS course. For questions regarding the the HRCH program please see contact information here.

Sandra Sirota, EdD, is Director of Human Rights Close to Home at UConn's Dodd Center for Human Rights and Assistant Professor in Residence in human rights and experiential global learning with the Human Rights Institute. Her work explores human rights and social justice education in formal and non-formal settings in the United States and South Africa. Her current research, funded by the Human Rights Institute, focuses on how youth-led social movements may disrupt systemic racism in education. She is conducting a new research project in conjunction with Human Rights Close to Home. Sandra’s recent articles have been published in Open Global Rights, Comparative Education Review, The Journal of Human Rights, and Prospects. She serves as Book Review Co-Editor for The Journal of Human Rights and Faculty Coordinator for UConn’s Early College Experience in Human Rights.

Sandra has collaborated and consulted with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other human rights and education organizations. She is co-chair of the executive committee of the University and College Consortium for Human Rights Education. She earned her doctoral degree from Columbia University Teachers College’s Department of International and Transcultural Studies with a concentration in peace and human rights education. She completed her master’s degree in international human rights at the University of Denver Korbel School of International Studies and her bachelor’s degree in anthropology at Cornell University.

Branding & Merchandise: Logo Design and Screenprinting

In this hands-on, one-week summer course, students will dive into the exciting world of logo design, branding, and merchandise production. Participants will explore the fundamentals of creating impactful logos and brand identities, learning key design principles and creative strategies. Through engaging workshops, students will bring their designs to life using screen printing and other printmaking techniques, producing custom tote bags, shirts, greeting cards, and tags. By the end of the course, students will have developed a personal brand logo and a collection of unique, handcrafted merchandise to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.

By the end of this course, students will have developed a strong foundation in visual communication and practical design skills that will make them stand out as candidates for school applications, internships, or creative jobs.

Design a logo -Learn about branding -Learn screenprinting -Learn stamp making -Print shirts, tote bags, and merchandise tags

Logo Design Skills: Students will learn how to create a professional and visually impactful logo, gaining valuable experience in graphic design principles like balance, typography, and color theory. This skill is essential for anyone pursuing careers in marketing, design, or entrepreneurship.
Branding Fundamentals: Students will understand the importance of branding in business, learning how to craft a cohesive brand identity that communicates a clear message. This knowledge will be valuable in both academic and professional settings, especially in fields like advertising, digital media, and business.
Screenprinting Techniques: Hands-on experience with screen printing will give students the ability to transfer their designs onto physical products such as shirts and tote bags, a sought-after skill in the world of custom merchandise, fashion, and art production.
Stamp Making & Printmaking: Students will explore the art of creating stamps and other printmaking methods to produce personalized merchandise tags and greeting cards. These techniques enhance creativity and attention to detail—qualities desirable in design and creative careers.

Professor O'Donnell is a dedicated printmaking professor and performance artist. O'Donnell has crafted logos for many clients, including art exhibitions, food packaging, clothing brands, music festivals, and graphic novels. His expertise in both printmaking and branding offers students a unique perspective, blending artistic creativity with practical design skills. With a passion for teaching and a keen eye for detail, Professor O'Donnell guides students through the design process, helping them develop strong visual identities and professional-quality merchandise.

John O'Donnell's website: https://www.johnodonnellprojects.com/

NYT Article about his work: Domestic Discombobulation in an Odd Kitchen

Nutrition for Exercise and Sport

Prerequisites: High School Biology with a grade of C or higher

This course focuses on the inter-relationship between nutritional practices and athletic performance. Understanding appropriate nutritional recommendations in relation to exercise or sport training is important for athlete health, energy, recovery, and adaptation. Students will learn from an evidence-based curriculum to enhance their knowledge of macronutrient and micronutrient recommendations, nutritional timing strategies, and sport supplements.

Nutrition for Exercise and Sport is composed of in-class lectures and case study activities to help students translate scientific information into practical recommendations for a variety of athletes. Students will get practice reading food labels to plan out meals and snacks that support athletic performance. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to recommend healthy food choices to improve athlete health and fuel exercise performance.

Students will be able to explain the importance of nutritional timing strategies, and how food can be used to optimize athlete health and performance. Further, students will use critical thinking skills to translate scientific information into practical recommendations for a variety of athletic populations.

Dr. Jennifer Fields is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. She is a Certified Sports Nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Fields has a deep passion for educating students and athletes about the impact that nutrition can have on their health and performance. She has diverse experience as a nutritionist and strength coach, consulting with populations ranging from competitive youth athletes, to Division I collegiate athletes, to professional athletes. Dr. Fields' research goal is to optimize athlete health and performance through investigations into low energy availability, bone health, nutritional interventions, and sport science.

Dr. Fields currently teaches NUSC 1165: Fundamentals of Nutrition, NUSC 2200: Nutrition and Human Development, NUSC 4250: Nutrition for Exercise and Sport, and NUSC 5200: Macronutrient Metabolism.

Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering

The objective of the course is to provide the students with hands-on experience in artificial intelligence applications for developing biomedical instrumentation. We will study what artificial intelligence is, its current uses, potentialities, challenges, and risks, in a practical and simple way. We will explore some algorithms and mathematical models that help machines "learn" and make decisions, including decision trees, support vector machines, and neural networks. From deep learning models, which are multi-layered neural networks, we will explore the amazing applications, and how can be used for detecting diseases. The students will be able to build their own artificial intelligence models using available data and data that they will collect in a simple experiment, using a platform that does not require coding.

Students will understand what exactly artificial intelligence is, and will be able to explain the functioning of widely used machine learning algorithms. Students will be able to identify the applications of machine learning in biomedical instrumentation and its future opportunities in this field all through hands-on experiences in training artificial intelligence models.

Hugo F. Posada-Quintero,

Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering

My research includes the development of signal processing techniques, wearable instrumentation, and sensors for biomedical applications. Specifically, the aim of my research is to develop models and biomedical instrumentation for the detection and prediction of stress, fatigue, pain, emotional state, hydration status, wakefulness, cognitive performance, and heart failure, among others. We use modern mathematical tools to process bioelectrical signals obtained from different sites of the body, like the electrocardiogram, electromyogram, photoplethysmogram, and electrodermal activity, and explore the relationship between those signals and the biomedical variable being detected or predicted. Our mathematical processes are focused on the development of more sensitive biomarkers and features, and the development of multimodal algorithms (multiple signals combined). In addition, we use our novel features and train artificial intelligence tools (machine learning and deep learning algorithms) for the development of more accurate models. Furthermore, we develop novel sensors and electronic devices to better capture electrophysiological signals using portable and wearable devices.

Pre-Med: Explore the Medical Field

Medicine is a long-term commitment that requires many years of training. Given this, many students find it difficult to decide whether medicine is the right career path for them. Through this one-week long program, students will gain insight into what it is like to be a physician. Students will have an opportunity to engage directly with physicians who are passionate about their work. Simultaneously, students will get to explore the state of the art UConn Health Center which is entering an era of unprecedented growth in all three areas of its mission: academics, research, and clinical care.

In addition, students will have an opportunity to gain guidance from UConn's Pre-Med academic advising staff. Moreover, students will be provided supervised transportation from the UConn Storrs campus to the UConn Health Center in Farmington. Students will return to the Storrs campus at the end of each academic day.

The UConn Pre-College Summer Pre-Med: Explore the Medical Field course will be taught by various doctors, professionals, and consultants from UConn Health. UConn Health is a vibrant, integrated academic medical center that is entering an era of unprecedented growth in all three areas of its mission: academics, research, and clinical care. A commitment to human health and well-being has been of utmost importance to UConn Health since the founding of the University of Connecticut Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine in 1961. Based on a strong foundation of groundbreaking research, first-rate education, and quality clinical care, we have expanded our medical missions over the decades. In just over 50 years, UConn Health has evolved to encompass more research endeavors, to provide more ways to access our superior care, and to innovate both practical medicine and our methods of educating the practitioners of tomorrow.

Each session will have a lead physician.

Shobhana Pathani, M.D

Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine

Lead Physician: Session 1, 4, and 5

Dr. Shobhana Pathani is a hospitalist physician at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She completed her training in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts. She has a deep passion for teaching as well as mentoring residents and medical students which she explores through her work as a faculty member at the University of Connecticut. In addition, she plays an active role in the success of an annual university summer program centered around providing high school students with exposure to a career in medicine.

Jin W. Kim, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine

Lead Physician: Session 3

Dr. Jin Kim is a hospitalist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at UConn Health and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He also serves as Medical Director of Nocturnists, being a part of the medical staff since the inception of the nocturnist program at John Dempsey Hospital, where he plays an active role in the development of the night rotation teaching curriculum.

He received his undergraduate degree at Tufts University and his medical degree at the University of Connecticut. He then completed his Internal Medicine residency at Baystate Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine, serving as Associate Chief Resident in his final year, before moving back to Connecticut to take on his current hospitalist/nocturnist role. He has an ongoing enthusiasm for his role in teaching and supporting medical residents, medical students, and pre-med students, finding each stage of training to be vital in career direction and professional development.

Agnest S. Kim, M.D., Ph. D.

Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Non-invasive Cardiac Imaging and Echocardiography Lab
Director, Cardio-Oncology Program

Dr. Kim provides care to patients with a wide range of cardiovascular illnesses, including coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and cardiomyopathy. She has expertise in advanced non-invasive cardiac imaging, including echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiac MRI, and vascular ultrasounds. She has a particular interest in the cardiac care of cancer patients.

Dr. Kim received her bachelor’s degree at Yale College. She received her medical degree from Vanderbilt University. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital. After residency, she completed a fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at Yale-New Haven Hospital, during which she also obtained a Ph.D. in investigative medicine.

Debapriya Datta, MD, FCCP

Professor of Medicine
Director, Critical Care Clerkship, UConn SOM
Associate Program Director, UConn Pulmonary-Critical Care Fellowship Program
Director, PFT laboratory, CPET Program & PERT Program, UConn Health

Dr Datta is a pulmonary, sleep medicine and critical care medicine physician at UConn Health. She has completed her medical training including residency and fellowship at UConn Health Center. She treats patients with a wide variety of pulmonary disorders as well as patients with critical illnesses admitted to the ICU. Her clinical interests include dyspnea evaluation, exercise physiology, pulmonary embolism and ventilator weaning and ICU outcomes.

She is actively involved in teaching medical students at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine during their clinical rotations in the ICU, hospital floors, and outpatient clinics. She also works closely with trainees- medicine residents and pulmonary–critical care medicine fellows. She is passionate about medical education and has won several teaching awards. She is also involved in medical outcome research and has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international scientific meetings to her credit.

George Y. Wu, M.D., Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Hepatology Section, and Herman Lopata Chair in Hepatitis Research

University of Connecticut Health Center.

He graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Rochester, and received an M.D. and Ph.D. (biochemistry) from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He trained in internal medicine at Harlem Hospital, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and received subspecialty training in digestive diseases at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has been a pioneer in the field of targeted delivery of biological substances specifically to liver cells, hepatocytes. He developed the concept of targeted rescue, targeted gene delivery, an immunocompetent model for HCV infection, and most recently targeted delivery of mitochondria. He has received numerous awards and prizes including the American Liver Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award, and an American Gastroenterological Association/Industry Research Scholar Award, American Liver Foundation Research Prize, American Gastroenterological Association-Gastroenterology Research Group Young Scientist Award, and a Chinese American Medical Society Scientific Award, was elected a Fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association, and the American Association for the Study of liver Diseases. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians, and was a Fulbright Specialist. He has received 10 patents, and founded two startup companies to commercialize inventions. He has published more than 210 peer-reviewed articles, and edited 12 books. He is the comprehensive editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology, and series editor for the Clinical Gastroenterology series published by Humana/Springer Press.

Jennifer P. Kanaan, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director of critical care point of care ultrasound

Site Director, Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship

Dr. Kanaan received her bachelor's degree in biology at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. She returned to her home state to attend UConn medical school. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Rhode Island Hospital, Brown School of Medicine. Following a year at locum tenens where she worked in Alaska, California, and Arizona, she completed a pulmonary and critical care fellowship at New England Medical Center, Tufts School of Medicine. After graduation, she worked as an attending physician at Danbury Hospital and transitioned to UConn in 2007.

As an Associate Professor in Medicine, Dr. Kanaan divides her time between clinical care and teaching. She is passionate about bringing ultrasound to the bedside and has developed an ultrasound curriculum for pulmonary and critical care fellows as well as hospitalists. She directs a statewide ultrasound course for physicians.

Outside of medicine, she is a mom of four children. Her hobbies include cooking, travel, and sports.

Kevin A. Braghirol, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Dr Kevin Braghirol is an academic Hospital Medicine physician at UConn Health. He went to UConn for undergraduate studies and medical school. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the site director for the inpatient Internal Medicine rotation at John Dempsey Hospital for the 3rd and 4th year UConn medical students. When he is not seeing patients or teaching, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Nikki, and golden retriever, Larry.

Rebecca Andrews, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Associate Program Director, Categorical Internal Medicine
Lead Physician Internal Medicine Associates, Farmington

Dr. Andrews received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA before relocating to Connecticut for medical school at the University of Connecticut. She remained at the University to complete a residency including a chief medical resident year. Upon completing her residency, she practiced at a community health center where she served as the medical director and a member of the company’s QA/QI team.

She joined the faculty at UConn in 2009 and divides her time between clinical care and teaching. She is a Professor of Medicine and practicing Internal Medicine Primary Care physician with focuses on health prevention and high quality chronic disease management; chronic pain and safe opioid prescribing; women’s health; LGBTQ+ care; and healthcare policy. She has been recognized for her clinical care as one of Hartford Magazines Top Doctors. Dr. Andrews is the Director of Ambulatory Education and an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. As such, she is involved in the daily activities of the resident ambulatory clinic, mentoring, teaching, and increasing the quality of delivered care. She has developed several curricular innovations such as the office based medicine track, a business of medicine course, and a women's health track for future primary care. She is the director of the specialized primary care training tracks within the residency program. She serves as the physician lead for the Patient Centered Medical Home, the Connecticut Comprehensive Pain Center, and Internal Medicine Associates in Farmington. She is also currently serving as the Governor of the CT Chapter for the American College of Physicians and Co-Chairs the Opioid Task Force at UConn Health.

At home, she is a mom of two kids and has a long list of hobbies including creative writing, running, and photography.

Leadership Style and Skill Development

Leadership Style and Skill Development is a course designed specifically for high school students enrolled in UConn's Pre- College Summer program. Throughout the course, students will engage in group discussions, lectures, leadership development activities, class projects, a challenge course, and hear from guest speakers. The course’s aim is to create and enhance awareness of student’s personal leadership strengths, unique styles, values, identities, as well as group dynamics and effective communication. This course will challenge students to think of their personal styles, as well as to think critically about their role as leader in the current and future spaces.

Tiffany Hoxie, MSMOL (She/Her)

Assistant Director of Leadership and Organizational Development

Tiffany Hoxie began her journey in education 18 years ago, working primarily in Youth Development and Early Childhood Education. Tiffany holds an associate degree in early childhood education and a bachelor's degree in child studies. Invested in the non-profit sector while in college, Tiffany climbed the ladder to Director of Education with the Boys & Girls Club organization, where the passion and desire for working with underserved and often unseen communities was born. This is also the time when the seed for leadership and organizational development was planted.

Tiffany achieved a Master of Management and Organizational Leadership in 2015, and that time, the pivot into higher education and entrepreneurship occurred. She pursued an entrepreneurial path that focused on “quality educational services from baby and beyond”. Additionally, she was the Assistant Director of Early Childhood and Child Studies programs at a state university, and currently serves as the Assistant Director of Leadership and Organizational Development at UConn. In this role, she teaches UNIV courses, facilitates career and leadership workshops, and serves as a support for students.

In addition to her role at UConn, she is an adjunct professor at external colleges, focusing on courses related to childhood education as well as business. Tiffany is passionate about ensuring that all students have access to a quality and equitable education.

Pharmacy: Being a Medication Expert & Beyond

Where will you be in five years? That’s a hard question to answer, especially for high school students. UConn’s Pre-College Summer Pharmacy: Being a Medication Expert & Beyond course can help students figure it out. No matter what area of pharmacy you pursue, the underlying theme of pharmacy practice is to help people live healthier lives. Whether it be in a community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy or the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacists play a major role is assisting patients, clients and other health professionals in the proper use of medications to provide the best outcome for patient health.

A career in pharmacy is diverse and rewarding, with opportunities for patient care, scientific research and innovation. Our Pharmacy: Being a Medication Expert & Beyond session will provide students with an overview of the many career opportunities available to graduates of pharmacy programs and the path that they must follow to achieve their goals.

This course will incorporate interactive lectures, hands-on learning activities, learning key pharmacy skills, making drug products, hearing guest lectures and going on field trips to see innovative pharmacy practices! You will get a chance also to meet a few key pharmacy leaders and learn their journeys to successful careers.

Keep an open mind when deciding on what career or major option is right for you. There are so many specialties and opportunities available for pharmacists including working at pharmaceutical companies, state and federal agencies, insurance companies, uniformed services, hospital practice, community practice and academic pharmacy just to name a few. Pharmacists hold a unique knowledge and skill-set that is greatly valued by other health care providers and the public.

Students will be able to identify key roles of pharmacists in different parts of the healthcare industry, recognize how the profession has changed in recent years, compare how pharmacy is practiced around the globe, determine what skills are needed to be a pharmacist and give many examples of how pharmacists have changed patient outcomes.

Share greater knowledge of the healthcare professions and how pharmacy compares with other professions.
Communicate more effectively in college admissions essays how their interests fit with the changes in the health professions and pharmacy in particular.
Describe specific areas of interests in healthcare that interest them and why they are of interest.
Map out a strategic plan of how they will learn more about their specific healthcare interests through shadowing and networking.
Identify the exciting and rewarding aspects of how pharmacists can impact patient care.

Nathaniel ("Nate") Rickles is an Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs and Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. He received his B.S. in psychology and chemistry from Dickinson College, Pharm.D. from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, M.S. and Ph.D. in the Social and Administrative Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nate also completed a psychiatric pharmacy practice residency and is board certified in this area. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association. He came to the UCONN School of Pharmacy in 2016. He taught previously at Northeastern University (Boston, MA) and Long Island University (Brooklyn, NY).

His primary research interests are to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention programs that improve community pharmacist communication with patients and/or other team members to subsequently improve medication adherence and patient safety. His research on medication adherence has explored measurement of adherence, factors affecting medication adherence, and interventions to improve adherence. Nate also explores educational methods to improve the teaching of communication skills. His primary teaching interests involve courses on communication skills, health promotion, cross-cultural health care, and research methods. He has published approximately 45 peer-reviewed publications, invited to present at more than 40 local, national, and international meetings, and presented 50 peer-reviewed posters or podium presentations at local, national, or international professional meetings. He had led and/or co-led several national, state and local research grants and continues to actively be involved in grants and publications. Nate was the lead editor on the third edition of the textbook Social and Behavioral Aspects of Pharmaceutical Care.

Take action for human rights in our Connecticut communities and beyond

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Agnest S. Kim, M.D., Ph. D.

Debapriya Datta, M.D., FCCP

George Y. Wu, M.D., Ph.D.

Jennifer P. Kanaan, M.D.

Kevin A. Braghirol, M.D.

Narinder Maheshwari, M.D.

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