KC
Kevin Connolly
  • Biology
  • Class of 2017
  • Enfield, CT

Kevin Connolly Wins Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award

2017 Apr 10

Kevin Connolly '17 of Enfield has been named a recipient of the 2017 Henry Barnard Distinguished Student Award. The 29th annual Henry Barnard awards banquet, held on April 4 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT, recognized 12 outstanding undergraduates from Connecticut's four state universities - Central, Eastern, Southern and Western.

The Barnard Awards program is the premier academic recognition event of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System (CSCU) and is sponsored by the CSCU Foundation. To be considered for the award, a student must have at least a 3.75 GPA, a record of community service and be nominated by their respective university president.

Connolly, a Biology major and member of Eastern's Honors Program, carries a 3.88 GPA. His research is in the area of collagen production, aligning with his career interest in becoming a plastic surgeon. Collagen is a protein that supports healthy skin. Connolly hopes his research will prevent surgery and the risk of invasive injection procedures.

Biology Professor Barbara Murdoch allowed Connolly to formulate and perfect his own research, and for that, he is grateful. "Dr. Murdoch has always been in my corner. She's been my mentor for four years, and I really owe her a lot," said Connolly. "In my thesis project, I manipulate signals to skin cells in order to produce the maximum amounts of collagen through cross-talk interactions."

Biology Professor Elizabeth Cowles, who taught Connolly in two classes and observed him for three years, said, "Kevin's work and research in Dr. Murdoch's lab have demonstrated his keen intellect, his perseverance and his ability to think critically. Kevin developed a creative, challenging and state-of-the-art project that will contribute to the knowledge of cell communication and perhaps have clinical relevance."

Motivated by Murdoch, Professor Emeritus Michael Gable, his advisor Professor Patricia Szczys, and nationally recognized neurobiologist and Eastern alumnus Marc Freeman, Connolly has won several scholarships to fund his academic research. He has conducted research with other biology students in California and Nevada, traveled to several countries and will participate in a field course in Costa Rica this summer. He has presented his research at local and regional professional biology conferences, including the Eastern Colleges Science Conference and the Northeast Regional Honors Conferences, both in Pennsylvania.

Outside of the laboratory, Connolly is involved in a number of on-campus leadership roles, serving as president of the Honors Club; as vice president of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society; as an officer of the UNICEF club; and as a member of the Tri-Beta Honors Society for biology majors.

Connolly also demonstrates his passion for science by helping Professor Murdoch organize and implement her annual Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Project. One of his most cherished experiences is volunteering at the Johnson Memorial Cancer Center in his home town of Enfield. The experience "has placed me in a deeper, more profound sense of compassion and empathy that I did not know existed beforehand. Knowing that I have helped them is one of the most rewarding feelings I have ever experienced in my life."

Connolly is applying to graduate programs in biomedical science, with plans to earn his master's and doctoral degrees.

Hartford native Henry Barnard was one of the principal forces in creating the American public school system in the 19th century, serving in the Connecticut General Assembly before becoming superintendent of schools in Connecticut and principal of the New Britain Normal School in 1850. He became the first U.S. commissioner of education in 1867.