Deb Tomasino is a PhD student whose research interests focus on the health and well-being of older adults. She is currently completing her General Exam, and in her dissertation plans to use secondary data to examine associations between falls and individual characteristics among older adults presenting to the emergency department.
After completing her PhD coursework, Deb accepted a position as a Research Associate at Yale University with Dr. Ula Hwang. There, Deb recruited older adults across three emergency departments for the Geriatric Emergency Care Applied Research Specialization Study, a multi-site study examining five key areas of geriatric emergency care: medication safety, falls, elder mistreatment, cognitive impairment, and care transitions. Although Deb did not realize it at the time, the data she collected will now be the focus of her dissertation. After two years at Yale, Deb followed Dr. Hwang to NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where she currently serves as a Program Manager. Her work there focuses on managing deliverables and funding for two National Institute of Aging studies and multiple privately funded studies, all of which aim to improve emergency care for older adults.
Prior to pursuing her PhD, Deb enjoyed a fulfilling career managing human resources for Travelers and Aetna, as well as serving as Senior Vice President of Human Resources at a startup insurance company. After the startup company was sold and the merger was completed, Deb left Corporate America to do something new and different. She returned to UConn to complete a degree in psychological sciences and her master’s degree in HDFS. Deb credits her academic success to her mentors, Drs. Laura Donorfio, Brian Chapman, Kevin Manning at UCHC, and Ula Hwang at NYU.
Deb and her husband Joe enjoy traveling to new destinations. Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Italy are among their favorite places to visit. But their favorite pastime is spending time with family, including their son and daughter-in-law, and their daughter and son-in-law (Their daughter, Stephanie, is a UConn alum too!) They treasure time with their three grandchildren, Frederic, Nico, and Daniela, and their new step-granddaughter, Khloe – maybe there are future Huskies in the family!