It's fitting that a lecture series named for a family affected by genetic issues featured the scientist who led the development of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The UConn Foundation welcomed Melissa J. Moore, Moderna's chief scientific officer, to campus Sept. 30, to receive the Herbert and Esther Bennett Brandwein Award and give her talk, "mRNA as Medicine." Read more about the visit and the philanthropy that made it possible.

Students in the Skeletal Biology and Regeneration (SBR) Area of Concentration in the Biomedical Science Graduate Program, which includes labs from both our dental and medical schools, celebrated their research achievements Sept. 30 with a poster presentation and awards ceremony. Learn more about the SBR program, including who presented and who received an award.

Thank you for the question, which I’ve shared with Lakeesha Brown, our HR VP, and Karen Buffkin, our executive director of employee relations. As they explain, this matter is specific to the UHP contract, which covers about 2,800 of our employees. The new collective bargaining agreement eliminates the Tier 1A classification. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Tier 1A positions have always been classified as hourly and eligible for overtime. Under the prior agreement, these positions were treated as salaried with comp time earned at a time-and-a-half rate in lieu of overtime. The new language aligns UHP job classifications with the two FLSA categories. Tier 1 is FLSA salaried and exempt from overtime, and Tier 2 is FLSA non-exempt eligible for overtime. Those employees in Tier 2 are hourly and will punch in and out to record their work day. Employees transitioning from Tier 1A to Tier 2 will be grandparented into the Tier 1A vacation accrual rate. Additional details and instructions on how to punch in and out will be sent directly to affected UHP members.

If you have any additional questions about the contract changes please seek out your union representative. Thank you for the opportunity to clear some of this up, as it’s likely many others have similar questions.

National Mammography Day is Friday, Oct. 21, and we're encouraging everyone to keep current with the recommendations for this potentially life-saving screening. On the 21st, in addition to offering mammograms from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., we'll have refreshments and giveaways in the Women's Center (8th floor east, Outpatient Pavilion). Help spread the word to the women who are important in your life! Let them know to call 860-519-4128 to schedule, even if they believe they're underinsured.

Are you on track to receive the preventive care services required for you and your family under the Health Enhancement Program? Waiting too long to schedule your appointments could put you in danger of missing the Dec. 31 deadline and put you in a higher premium category for your health coverage. Check your HEP portal to see where you stand and stay in compliance.

Phishing is when attackers try to trick you by getting you to click on a link to a malicious website or provide personal information such as usernames and passwords. Key factors in identifying phishing may include:

If you receive a suspected phishing attempt, please report it! We can’t help unless we know about it.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Watch Lifeline for additional tips throughout the month, and learn more about phishing and get other tips from the UConn Health IT Security Team. —Dennis Leber, CISO