Faculty
Circuit dynamics underlying pathology and treatment of compulsive behaviors and anxiety disorders
Our lab uses structural and functional MRI to study the brain changes associated with aging, and the disorders of aging
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, emphasis upon clinical application; cell:biomaterial interactions; epimorphic regeneration in mammals
Identify phosphorylations, dephosphorylations and acetylations that regulate ATM activity in vivo.
Neurophysiology of sensory-motor coordination, brain-machine interfaces.
Interdisciplinary approach to explore how the signals from the eye are transformed into meaningful percepts by the brain
We apply a multidisciplinary strategy to design and develop biologically and clinically inspired technologies that enable us to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern tissue pathology or offer protection during lung and immune injury.
The mechanisms of cross-priming of antigens during immune responses to cancer, viruses and autoimmunity
Demand adapted hematopoiesis in infection and inflammation.
Protein “quality control”, diseases associated with misfolded proteins, and drug treatments for these diseases
Tumor microenvironment, Cancer stem cells, novel therapeutics for cancer
Basic and translational investigations of the mechanisms and therapies of skin disease.
Development of targeted therapies for KRAS mutant NSCLC; Reactivation of OIS and apoptosis; Mechanisms of acquired resistance to targeted agents
Computational drug discovery
In the Carvunis lab, we study the molecular mechanisms of change and innovation in evolution.
Osteoporosis treatment and the consequences of osteoporosis in both men and women.
Basic science and translational research studying the molecular mechanisms of pulmonary vascular disease and pulmonary hypertension
The study of human tumor viruses
Our lab wants to understand how neurons wire together to form the intricate yet adaptable neural circuits that support complex brain functions. We are particularly interested in how newborn neurons form synaptic connections, and how this determines whether a neuron will survive. To answer these questions, we use in vivo 2-photon microscopy to track the structure and function of individual neurons and synapses over time in the living brain, as well as molecular genetic tools, electrophysiology, optogenetics, and behavior.
Redox signaling & autophagy in neuroprotection and neurodegeneration; mitochondrial phosphoproteomics; genetic & toxin models of Parkinson's disease
My group studies the way visual information is encoded in groups of neurons and used to guide behavior.
Artificial lungs; hemodynamics, pulmonary drug delivery; liquid ventilation; right ventricular function, critical care medicine
My group studies human memory and perception with neuroimaging, cognitive studies, and advanced analysis methods. We seek to understand how the human brain learns, remembers, and ultimately creates knowledge.
Modeling of CNS infections using induced pluripote; Modeling schizophrenia using induced pluripotents; Development of three-dimensional neuronal platform.
Steroid hormone action in neural stem cells and cancer
The metabolic regulation of T cell function, with a specific focus of those T cells that infiltrate the nutrient-poor tumor microenvironment.
HSV gene expression in productive and persistent infections
Research in the Dermody laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms of Mammalian Orthoreovirus (reovirus) and Chikungunya virus infections.
Conducts research in the areas of pharmaceutical policy and mental health, and has particular expertise in the Affordable Care Act.
Research in the Duncan lab focuses on liver development, homeostasis, and regeneration.
Synthetic Morphogenesis of Human Tissues, Human Organoids, Epigenetic Engineering, Designer Tissues, Blood Development, Synthetic Biology, Systems Biology, Cellular Ecology
My lab is interested in developing mathematical models of biological regulatory processes that integrate specific knowledge about protein-protein interactions.
We develop materials-based, engineering strategies to control the self-organization and assembly of various cell types into tissues using nanoscale fabrication and 3D bioprinting. Understanding of higher-order function in biological systems.
Cognitive and educational neuroscience of reading, language, math, and learning.
aging, metabolism, mitochondria
Immunology and Pathogenesis of Tuberculosis.
Kaposi’s sarcoma-associate herpesvirus (KSHV), AIDS-related malignancies, Cancer metabolism, Angiogenesis, Innate immunity, Microbiota, microRNAs, Genomics Epigenetics, RNA epigenetics, high-throughput screening (drug and genomic), systems biology
Genetics of aging, reproduction, lipid metabolism, immunity, protein homeostasis, age-related disease biology
Neural circuits in the basal ganglia involved in motor control and disease
Pain continues to be a major health problem with tremendous financial, social and psychological costs. Conservative estimates put the cost of pain to the US economy well into the hundreds of billions of dollars per year as a result of associated medical expenses and lost wages with a significant minority of Americans suffering from persistent or recurrent pain syndromes throughout the most productive years of their lives. Just one pain syndrome, migraine headache, directly impacts 20% of the adult population. Yet, there remain few if any effective therapies devoid of serious side effects that are currently available to treat pain, particularly persistent or recurrent pain associated with syndromes.
The clinical features of a number of pain syndromes serve as the organizing focus of research in the Gold laboratory. These observations include the following: 1) many pain syndromes are unique to a particular part of the body such as the head in migraine, the temporomandibular joint in temporomandibular disorder (TMD), or the colon in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); 2) many pain syndromes such as migraine, TMD and IBD occur with a greater prevalence, severity and/or duration in women than in men; 3) many pain syndromes are associated with changes in the excitability of primary afferent neurons; 4) there are time-dependent changes in the mechanisms underlying pain syndromes; and 5) the type of injury, (i.e., inflammation or nerve injury), are differentially sensitive to therapeutic interventions. These observations led to specific hypotheses that are tested in ongoing studies in the Gold laboratory. These include 1) characterizing the mechanisms underlying inflammation-induced changes in the evoked Ca2+ transients in sensory neurons, 2) characterizing the mechanisms underlying the initiation of migraine attacks, 3) characterizing the influence of estrogen on the excitability of spinal and trigeminal ganglion neurons, 4) characterizing the role of changes in inhibitory receptors, in particular GABA, in injury-induced increases in sensitivity, and 5) identification of ways to maximize the therapeutic utility of local anesthetics. The ultimate goal of these studies is to identify novel targets for the development of therapeutic interventions for the treatment of pain.
Neurophysiology of basal ganglia system related to psychiatric disorders.
Combining NMR spectroscopy w/Biophysics, Biochem&Chem to investigate cellular processes at the molecular & atomic levels in relation to human disease
Our research focuses on vertebrate eye development, disease modeling and regeneration utilizing the zebrafish as a model system.
Understand the causes of diseases with disruptions between the immune system and the microbiota, such as Crohn’s Disease and Environmental Enteropathy.
The Hatfull lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh studies the molecular genetics of the mycobacteria and their mycobacteriophages.
Studying signaling proteins and receptors of the TGF-beta family, deciphering the molecular adaptations that the signaling proteins, single-pass transmembrane receptors, downstream effectors, and multitude of extracellular and intracellular modulators.
My lab investigates the cognitive and neurobiological bases of how human listeners use sound. This involves study of speech communication, auditory perception, attention, and learning.
Identify renal progenitor cells, determine their role in patterning the embryonic kidney, and relate these events to kidney regeneration.
The neural basis of flexible auditory perception and behavior; novel neurotechnologies for restoring hearing
Multi-level translational studies of neurovascular and metabolic brain health with focus on aging and sex-specific differences.
Prefrontal cortex; interneurons; Novel pharmacology; Alcohol use disorders & affective disorders
Plasticity of neuronal circuits during development and in pathology, focusing on the central auditory system
Signal Transduction.
The role of the Akt kinase in NF-kB and T cell activation.
Role of TIM proteins in T cell activation.
To understand how skin resident immune cells (e.g. dendritic cells, T cells) interact with specific pathogens
My research interests are in nano-optics and nano-electronics: materials & devices; hierarchical integration of nanoscale structures into systems for multifunctional operations.
Develop and translate multi-modal ultrasound imaging technologies that are based on a fundamental understanding of how sound and light interact with soft tissues, and are capable of assessing their mechanical, compositional, and biological characteristics.
Cellular, structural and molecular studies of epithelial ion channels
Our laboratory is interested in identifying new molecular pathways in epithelial biology in the pathogenesis of tissue remodeling in chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis to improve therapeutic options for patients. Our lab specifically studies the role of adenine nucleotide translocase (a canonical mitochondrial ADP/ATP transporter) in the airway and alveolar epithelium of the lung in the context of cigarette smoking-related lung disease and lung fibrosis. We want to better understand how in health and disease ANT regulates epithelial function through cell metabolism and cellular senescence, as well as, airway epithelial homeostasis through surface hydration and the action of tiny motile cilia in the airway. We utilize a repertoire of relevant murine models of injury, molecular genetic approaches, in vitro biochemical assays, and human bio-samples to examine epithelial cell homeostasis in the lung.
Our research focuses on deciphering mechanisms involved in lung repair and regeneration, with the aim to identify novel therapeutic targets relevant for age-related chronic lung diseases, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our translational research program focuses on the comprehensive characterization of primary lung epithelial (stem) cells from experimental models and human tissue samples from patients with chronic lung disease. we aim to identify and investigate target signaling pathways that impact cellular mechanisms we identified the developmental WNT signaling pathway as a potent contributor to impaired lung repair and epithelial cell reprogramming, which is amenable to therapy and have further characterized features of epithelial cell reprogramming, such as cellular senescence. We further pioneered and apply patient-derived 3D Lung Tissue Cultures that allow to further validate and test potential novel drugs in an individualized fashion.
Our research is on whether and to what extent mammalian hearts can regenerate themselves, and to develop regenerative therapies for heart failure.
Innate and adaptive immune response to transplanted organs and the mechanisms of transplantation tolerance.
Molecular profiling (genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic) of women’s cancers, mouse modeling, and predictive biomarkers for targeted therapy
Functional architecture of the prefrontal cortex and schizophrenia.
Our lab is focused on the host protective immune responses to M. tuberculosis, a major factor in outcome of infection.
Drug Delivery, Biomimetics, Immunotherapeutics, Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, Synthetic Systems
Our research objectives are focused on elucidating the genetic causes and developmental mechanisms of human congenital heart disease (CHD).
Brain basis of cognitive maturation through adolescence to adulthood.
Neural network control of cardiac arrhythmias and myocardial function; Neuromodulation for treating sudden cardiac death; Studying perioperative healthcare delivery; Role of perioperative interventions in altering clinical outcomes and mortality
Cortical control of vision and eye movements in populations of neurons
Neural coordination of oculomotor plans
Influence of eye movements on vision and behavior
We are interested in the molecular mechanisms of psychiatric disorders with a particular focus on the role of the circadian clock in these disorders
Human immunology: Innate and adaptive immune responses to latent viruses and to allo-antigens after organ transplantation
Dr. Miljkovic's research focuses on the epidemiology of obesity, ectopic fat deposition, body composition, and associated metabolic disorders. In particular, Dr. Miljkovic studies skeletal muscle, changes in skeletal muscle and whole body composition with aging, their determinants, and associated metabolic disorders, with a special focus on high-risk minority, international, and elderly populations.
The study of human tumor viruses
Pathogenicity of Intestinal Microbes in Milk Fed and Formula Fed Premature Infants - See more >>
HIV-associated lung disease; HIV-associated emphysema; Role of Pneumocystis in COPD
To understand the cellular and molecular basis of liver injury, regeneration, and cholestatic liver disease
Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology;Subclinical atherosclerosis: Associations with aging, disability & frailty;Sarcopenia & disability
Hormone response and treatment resistance in breast and ovarian cancer, including the analysis of aberrant genetic and epigenetic changes
Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and male germ lineage development
Our group extracts biological insights and disease mechanisms from multiomics data including single-cell and spatially resolved data.
NADPH oxidase (Nox) & reactive oxygen species in signaling, vascular dysfunction and cardiopulmonary disease; Nox drug therapy development
What features do the genes and the genomes of vocal learning species have in common relative to those without the ability?
Identification of neural correlates that underlie the symptoms of specific abnormalities in emotion processing in people with mood disorders
Research in Dr. Rizzo’s lab focuses on investigating the mechanisms that drive divergence from healthy aging towards inception and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, in order to identify novel pathways and targets that may enable the discovery of new therapeutic agents to treat and prevent disease. Dr. Rizzo is a behavior pharmacologist by training and holds a BS in Animal Sciences from Rutgers University and a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London.
He is interested in the use of observational data analysis for causal inference, as well as in the measurement and inclusion of patient preferences into treatment decisions and the use of electronic health records for research.
Vascular development, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, zebrafish, BMP signaling, mechanotransduction.
Brain adaptation, neuroepidemiological approaches to the causes, biomarkers and consequences of brain aging, advanced data reduction analyses
Understanding the functional organization of spinal microcircuits using molecular genetic, electrophysiological, optogenetic & behavioral approaches
Research focuses on investigating neuron-glia communication in the normal hearing and in the hearing impaired
Dr. Sabik is a health economist & health services researcher focused on investigating the role of state & federal policies in affecting healthcare access, utilization, & health outcomes among low-income populations, with a particular focus on cancer care.
Neural mechanisms underlying complex sound perception in health and disease.
Our lab focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying placental development and its function in supporting fetal growth and maternal-fetal communication
We use interdisciplinary approaches to understand how the nervous system regulates homeostasis and disease, including pain syndromes, cancer, and immune responses.
I work in the general area of computational biology, with emphasis on computational genetics and the modeling and simulation of biological systems
Our work is focused on neural circuits that mediate two neurological conditions: pain and Parkinson’s disease. We are also developing novel therapies to treat these conditions.
My lab is interested in the establishment of long term B cell immunity and in pathogenesis of systemic autoimmune diseases and graft vs host disease
Neurophysiology of visual perception and cognition, computational neuroscience, cortical circuitry, neural population coding
Non-receptor protein-tyrosine kinase structure, regulation and signal transduction in cancer, AIDS, and embryonic stem cell biology
Biomarker discovery, beneficial effects of mechanical loading, & implementation in targeted exercise therapies for musculoskeletal conditions
Mechanisms of white blood cell differentiation & its inhibition in leukemias; Mechanisms of stem cell differentiation & growth control
Our work is focused on the relationship between biomolecular condensates, cytoplasmic crowding, cell fluid volume and size control, and kidney tubule function in health and disease
Loss and altered plasticity of auditory cortex synapses in schizophrenia; mediators of vulnerability to psychosis in Alzheimer disease.
Psychosocial issues in organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
We use molecular, biochemical, and cellular approaches to study the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Regulation of the immune response; role of dendritic cells and T cells in tolerance induction; mechanism of action of novel immune suppressants
Zebrafish Heart Development and Regeneration
Basal ganglia-cortical dysfunction in Parkinson's disease and therapeutic mechanisms of deep brain stimulation
Understanding and controlling the cytokine networks that direct immune responses responsible for both protective and pathological immunity.
Repair of DNA damage in nuclear and mitochondrial genomes; 2) Structure and function of nucleotide excision repair proteins.
Extracellular Matrix Remodeling, Tissue Engineering, Biomechanics, Computational Modeling
The inhibitory mechanisms, including inhibitory receptors & regulatory T cells, that limit anti-tumor immunity in cancer patients.
Computer-aided diagnosis and patient-specific prediction, genomic and precision medicine, clinical decision support, research data warehouse
Cardiovascular engineering with projects that address medical device biocompatibility and design, tissue engineering, and imaging.
Wang’s research focuses on understanding how the immune system behaves within the microenvironment of a tumor in head and neck cancer and B cell lymphoma. She also studies how changes in the DNA of B cells alter how the body produces antibodies that are used to fight pathogens and cancer cells. Her research will shed light on how cancer cells evade detection by the immune system, findings that will help develop new immunotherapies and improve existing treatments.
His research is focused on androgen action in prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. The Wang lab is actively pursuing following research directions: (a) the roles of androgen-responsive genes in prostate carcinogenesis, particularly the mechanisms of tumor suppression by ELL-associated factor 2 (EAF2), which is encoded by up-regulated androgen-responsive gene U19, (b) improvement of intermittent androgen deprivation therapy of prostate cancer based on differential action of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), (c) the mechanisms regulating androgen receptor (AR) intracellular trafficking, level and activity, and (d) developing novel small molecule inhibitors targeting AR signaling for the treatment of prostate cancer that are resistant to current anti-androgens
I use machine learning and brain imaging to study the brain representations underlying language comprehension and other high-level functions.
Focuses on asthma phenotypes and the molecular mechanisms, particularly in the airway epithelium that control them
the cell entry, immunity, and pathogenesis of human metapneumovirus (HMPV)
The Laboratory for Research on Arm Function and Therapy (RAFT) studies upper extremity motor function in healthy and disease states and particularly focuses on methods to improve recovery of motor function after stroke, using non-invasive brain activity-recording and stimulation techniques, robots, and wearables.
MuSIC 4 MIND: Multi-Systems Imaging Characterization for Mitochondrial Involvement in Neurological Diseases:
Leveraging novel systems imaging to uncover molecular mechanisms underlying epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, fetal alcohol syndrome, in utero exposure, congenital heart disease, mitochondrial disorders, childhood-onset epileptic encephalopathy and developmental origin of adult-onset diseases.
Dr. Xia’s research addresses clinically relevant questions: (1) how does multiple sclerosis start and how to prevent this chronic neurological disease, (2) what contributes to individual variation among people with multiple sclerosis and how to bring precision medicine to multiple sclerosis. He leads an interdisciplinary research team to harness multi-dimensional, longitudinal, patient-derived data and deploy integrative quantitative science approaches. The long-term goal of his research program is to gain insights into the underlying disease and translates these findings into the clinical arena to improve individualized risk prediction, prevention, and management in multiple sclerosis and other related disorders.
My lab currently focuses on Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transiton (EMT). EMT is defined as the conversion of epithelial cells to mesenchymal cells, characterized by loss of cell-cell adhesion and increased cell motility.
My lab focuses on developing targeted therapies that target beta cell mass and function in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Currently funded projects include 1) the role of the circadian clock in beta cell metabolic flexibility, 2) Interventions and mechanisms addressing the role of circadian clock disruptions in diabetes, atherovascular, and Alzheimer's' diseases 3) the role of Tead1 and the Hippo pathway in the transcriptional regulation of quiescence and proliferation of beta cells. We are also interested in how these pathways affect obesity, adipose biology, and cardiac biology.
We are employing a quantitative approach using microfluidics, systems biology modeling and in vivo systems to investigate how microenvironmental signals (paracrine, hypoxia, mechanical forces and ECM composition) impact cell growth, migration and therapeutic response in the context of cancer (ovarian and breast) and remodeling tissues
