Faculty
Auditory Systems Neuroscience of Voice and Speech Perception; Clinical and Translational Neuroscience in Epilepsy Surgery
Dr. Abel is a pediatric neurosurgeon-scientist who directs the Pediatric Brain Electrophysiology Laboratory (PBEL) at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The PBEL utilizes human intracranial recordings, neuroimaging, electroencephalography, and behavioral techniques to understand how the human brain mediates voice and speech perception.
Dr. Abel’s other interest is understanding the best strategies for epilepsy surgery using comparative effectiveness methods, clinical trials, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
*Currently accepting graduate students
Sameer Agnihotri, PhD, is a tenured associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery and serves as the director of the Brain Tumor Biology and Therapy Laboratory, based at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. His research primarily investigates pediatric and adult high-grade gliomas (HGG), including diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), with a significant focus on NF1-associated tumor biology and its implications for brain tumor progression. Through integrated genomic and metabolic analyses, Dr. Agnihotri's laboratory aims to develop accurate preclinical models of high-grade gliomas. These models are essential for testing novel therapies and facilitating early-phase clinical trials, ultimately striving toward personalized brain tumor treatments.
*Currently accepting graduate students
Circuit dynamics underlying pathology and treatment of compulsive behaviors and anxiety disorders; Ongoing projects at the Translational OCD lab focus on identifying molecular changes and plasticity mechanisms related to compulsive behaviors, as well as exploring the molecular and circuit mechanisms of anxiety and the interplay between stress, anxiety, and the development of compulsive behaviors.
Our lab uses structural and functional MRI to study the brain changes associated with aging, and the disorders of aging
*Currently accepting Graduate Students
The Ambrose laboratory studies antiretroviral therapeutics used for HIV-1 prevention and suppression, including the characterization of new drug targets against early steps of the virus life cycle, and the impact of drug resistance on HIV-1 transmission, prevention, persistence, and treatment.
*Currently accepting Graduate Students
Dr. Timothy Anderson is a primary care physician and health services researcher whose primary research interests are identifying strategies to improve the quality and equity of care delivered to older adults and adults with chronic conditions and to optimize medication use for patients in the hospital and at home. Dr. Timothy Anderson is a primary care physician and health services researcher whose primary research interests are identifying strategies to improve the quality and equity of care delivered to older adults and adults with chronic conditions and to optimize medication use for patients in the hospital and at home.
Neural basis and treatment biomarkers of mood and anxiety in late-life.
Accelerated aging in late-life mood and anxiety disorders.
Dr. Andreescu is a Professor of Psychiatry and a licensed psychiatrist, with additional expertise in Geriatric and Interventional Psychiatry. Her research and the ARGO lab use multimodal imaging methods, behavioral measures and ecological momentary assessments to interrogate the neural basis of late-life mood and anxiety disorders, to identify biomarkers of treatment response and to explore the pathways linking mood/anxiety with cognitive aging. She is also interested in applying targeted interventional methods such as TMS for mood/anxiety disorders.
*Currently accepting graduate students