Farmington UConn Scholar Earns Prestigious Research Grant

FARMINGTON, CT — A Farmington resident and University of Connecticut student shares a familiar name with another UConn legend.

But this student is known for his work in the lab instead of the hardwood, and he's about 36 years younger than Connecticut's all-time leading men's basketball scorer.

Christopher Smith of Farmington, a 2024 Farmington High School graduate, recently completed his freshman year in Storrs as part of the Honors Program.

After a rigorous application process, he was awarded the Holster Scholar Research Grant to spend his summer at work in a lab.

He was chosen among nine finalists following multiple rounds of applications.

The Holster Scholar Program is available to UConn first-year Honors Program students.

This summer, he will conduct the study with participants at the Skoe Lab on the Storrs campus to research the impact of music on the brain biomarker protein BDNF, which is involved with keeping the brain youthful.

Essentially, he's studying whether the magic of music really can slow the passage of time.

Smith is a dual-degree student at UConn, majoring in both physiology and neurology (PNB) and music performance.

For his work, Smith was awarded $4,000 to spend his summer conducting research at UConn.