The Buzz Online

Jennifer Michaleas (pictured here) was named the regional VP of healthcare networks for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in NH in Manchester and will oversee all hospital, provider, and value-based contracting and network management in the market. Prior to joining Anthem, Michaleas served as executive director of network management for behavioral health at Aetna and director of contracting at NH Healthy Families.

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The University of NH in Durham received an $8 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The cooperative agreement award, one of just three of its type in the nation, aims to increase research opportunities, mentoring, training and partnerships between NH’s community colleges, four-year colleges and universities and industry. The initiative, called NH Long-term Investment to Fuel Transformative research (NH-LIFT), will provide several different opportunities—for students to pursue research experiences in areas that align with their interests; for academic and industry researchers to expand their research pursuits through external funding and accessible research infrastructure; and for the state to increase and retain a skilled workforce-ready population.

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Home health care and hospice agency Granite VNA in Concord appointed Daniel Ray, M.D., as its new hospice medical director. He previously served as the medical director for Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, where he oversaw palliative care services. He also previously held positions as a consultant physician for Teleios Collaborative Network in Flat Rock, N.C., and as a staff physician for Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa.

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Matt Mings, a former NCAA gymnast, and contestant and finalist on American Ninja Warrior, opened Seacoast Climb, a climbing facility for bouldering enthusiasts, in Rye.

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Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack is the first American institution to become an official collaborator of the new International Ratzinger Foundation. The objectives of the FIR, which is based in Madrid, include “the preservation and promotion of the intellectual legacy of Joseph Ratzinger,” who was Pope Benedict XVI, and “the dissemination of his thought and work through study, research, and teaching.” Ratzinger’s work is currently incorporated into the college’s curriculum in the Scripture course Redemptor Hominis, which is currently taught by Visiting Fellow Meghan Schofield.