Meet the JCI Insight Editorial Board

Gavin Arteel is Professor of Medicine; Associate Chief for Basic Science; and Co-Director, Enhancing MEntoring to improve Research in GastroEnterology (EMERGE) Program in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Arteel’s research focuses on the interaction between hepatotoxicants and risk modifiers (e.g., obesity and alcohol) in the initiation and progression of chronic liver diseases. His current work is based on the understanding that transitional changes to the ECM proteome (“matrisome”) play an underappreciated role in the initiation and progression of liver disease. He is a member of the Society of Toxicology, the Research Society on Alcoholism, the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and the American Gastroenterological Society.

Keywords: alcohol-related liver disease, extracellular matrix, steatotic liver disease, remodeling

Kambez Benam is Associate Professor of Medicine and Bioengineering and Director of the Lung Microengineering Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Benam’s team employs a multidisciplinary approach to design and develop advanced bioinspired technologies, such as Organs-on-Chips and Biomimetic Robotic Systems, that emulate complex organ pathophysiology and biomechanics of human pulmonary, vascular, and immune systems in vitro — with the aim of accelerating and reducing the cost of preclinical drug development while building predictive platforms for human toxicopathology. Dr. Benam is a member of the American Thoracic Society, the American Association of Immunologists, and the Society of Toxicology.

Keywords: tissue engineering, organs-on-chips, bioinspired robotics, vaping, lung, Down syndrome

Timothy Billiar is George Vance Foster Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery; Distinguished Professor of Surgery; Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, UPMC; Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Clinical Academics, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences; and Associate Medical Director, UPMC International and Commercial Services Division. His laboratory is interested in the mechanisms involved in organ injury and immune dysfunction in acute inflammatory states such as shock, trauma, and sepsis. They have made seminal observations in the study of nitric oxide in a number of disease conditions, and recently have focused on immune dysfunction and the use of multi-omic strategies to study the human injury response. Dr. Billiar is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Cary Boyd-Shiwarski is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Renal-Electrolyte Division, Department of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Boyd-Shiwarski’s research focuses on factors that influence hypertension, kidney disease, and electrolyte disorders. Her work investigates the kinase KS-WNK1 and the formation of biomolecular condensates termed WNK bodies. She is currently integrating her bench research into translational models relevant to patient care. Dr. Boyd-Shiwarski is an American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award recipient (2023).

Keywords: kidney, biomolecular condensates, cell signaling, kinases, electrolytes, hypertension, liquid-liquid phase separation, ion transport

Juan Celedón is Niels K. Jerne Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh and Division Chief, Pulmonary Medicine, at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Celedón’s research goals are to identify genetic and environmental determinants of asthma and asthma endotypes in minoritized populations, focusing on studying the effects of exposure to violence and related distress on the pathogenesis of asthma throughout the lifespan. Dr. Celedón is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile), the American Pediatric Society, and the Association of American Physicians.

Keywords: asthma, human genetics, epidemiology, children, adults

Stephen Chan is Vitalant Chair in Vascular Medicine, Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC. Dr. Chan leads a basic and translational research program and clinical center investigating the mechanisms of pulmonary hypertension and endothelial biology, as well as the mechanisms by which the heart-lung-brain axis communicates in health and disease. He uses computational theory to study gene network architecture and couple these insights with experimental reagents derived from genetically altered subjects. Dr. Chan is a fellow of the American Heart Association and American Thoracic Society, as well as a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view data), American Association of Physicians, and Association of University Cardiologists.

Keywords: endothelial, pulmonary hypertension, systems biology, hypoxia, metabolism, heart-brain axis

Aravind Cherukuri is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on translating basic immunological observations to the bedside; and gaining an understanding of the evolution and progression of early acute rejection after renal transplantation to facilitate clinical risk stratification. To address these questions, his laboratory has been studying both adaptive (B cell–specific cytokines in kidney transplant rejection) and innate immune cells (innate allorecognition and SIRPα-CD47 interactions) in the context of allograft rejection and failure. In addition, his laboratory has been conducting clinical studies aiming to assess the evolution and the significance of early acute rejection and identify addressable short-term outcomes for future clinical trials in kidney transplantation. Dr. Cherukuri is an American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award recipient (2024).

Keywords: transplantation, B cells, cytokines, innate allorecognition, antibody, biomarker, rejection

Charleen Chu is Professor of Pathology, A. Julio Martinez Chair in Neuropathology, and Director of Ophthalmic Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She studies the role of dysregulated mitochondrial dynamics, proteostasis/autophagy, and synaptic remodeling in genetic models of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection. Dr. Chu is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile) and is active in the American Society for Investigative Pathology.

Keywords: mitochondria, dendrite remodeling, neurodegeneration, iPSC models, primary neurons, autophagy, mitophagy

Charles Dela Cruz is a Professor of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Director of the Center of Acute Lung Injury and Infection, and Associate Dean of Faculty Research and Career Enhancement at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the Deputy Associate Chief of Staff of Basic and Translational Research at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. His research is focused on host-pathogen interactions in relation to acute pneumonia and lung injury as well as chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: host-pathogen interaction, viral infections, bacterial infections, immune regulation, interferon responses, inflammation, lung injury, lung repair and regeneration

Oliver Eickelberg is Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Endowed Chair for Pulmonary Research; and Professor of Medicine with Tenure in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine; as well as Executive Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Eickelberg’s research has unraveled fundamental pathways and therapeutic targets for major chronic lung diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic rejection after lung transplantation. His team provided a whole-proteome view of lung fibrosis and identified MZB1-positive plasma cells as a cell population with prognostic and therapeutic value in lung fibrosis. Dr. Eickelberg is a member of the American Thoracic Society and the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).
Keywords: tissue fibrosis, TGF-β signaling, extracellular matrix, chronic rejection, transplantation

Pouneh Fazeli is Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Neuroendocrinology Unit at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Fazeli’s research focuses on understanding the role of the neuroendocrine axes in the adaptive and maladaptive responses to fasting and chronic undernutrition — in particular the most common maladaptive response to chronic undernutrition: loss of bone mass.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa, starvation, fasting, bone mineral density

Toren Finkel is Director of the Aging Institute, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and G. Nicholas Beckwith III and Dorothy B. Beckwith Endowed Chair of Translational Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. His laboratory focuses on understanding the role of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial function, and quality control pathways in aging and age-related diseases. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile) and the Association of American Physicians, and has been elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Medicine.

Keywords: mitochondria, lysosomes, autophagy, aging, metabolism

Zachary Freyberg is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology at the University of Pittsburgh. The goal of Dr. Freyberg’s research is to better understand human disorders of dopaminergic neurotransmission, including addiction, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s disease. His group uses a combination of approaches including genetics, pharmacology, and light and in situ cryo-electron microscopy to dissect mechanisms of dopaminergic neurotransmission and activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in health and neuropsychiatric diseases. Dr. Freyberg is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile), American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Society of Biological Psychiatry, and the Dopamine Society.

Keywords: dopamine, antipsychotic drugs, schizophrenia, Parkinson disease, metabolism

Deborah Galson is Associate Professor of Medicine and of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Co-Director of the Pittsburgh Center for Interdisciplinary Bone & Mineral Research; Site Director of the Cancer Biology Site, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Summer Academy; and a member of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Galson’s research focuses on the mechanisms of pathological changes in signaling and gene regulation of osteoclast and osteoblast lineage cells in response to cancer — in particular multiple myeloma and breast cancer — that alter their differentiation and support the cancer cells. She is also interested in the mechanisms by which measles virus nucleocapsid protein activates cellular genes and alters osteoclast differentiation to potentiate the development of Paget’s disease of bone. Dr. Galson is member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, American Society of Hematology, and the Cancer and Bone Society.

Keywords: osteoclasts, osteoblasts, multiple myeloma, cancer, bone, chromatin, transcription factors

Walid Gellad is Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, where he serves as the VA’s Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development. Dr. Gellad’s work focuses on pharmacoepidemiology and pharmaceutical health services research. He leads a research team developing and testing machine learning models predicting opioid-related adverse events using healthcare and social services data. Dr. Gellad is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: pharmacoepidemiology, health services research, health policy, risk prediction

Jacqueline Ho is Division Director of Pediatric Nephrology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Ho’s laboratory is focused on understanding how microRNAs and intrauterine exposures regulate kidney development and disease. Their research has shown that microRNAs are involved in regulating the proliferation and survival of nephron progenitors during kidney development, which has important implications for congenital nephron endowment and subsequent kidney health in children and adults. Dr. Ho is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: kidney development, microRNAs, acute kidney injury, kidney fibrosis

Erin Kershaw is Associate Professor of Medicine; Endowed Chair for Obesity and Diabetes Research; Director of the Clinical Trials Program in Endocrinology, Metabolism, Diabetes, Obesity, and Lipids (EMDOL); Co-Director of the Translational Research Center; Co-Director of the T32 Research Training Program in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism; and Associate Program Director for Research in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kershaw’s laboratory focuses on defining the mechanisms by which intracellular lipid metabolism (synthesis, storage, hydrolysis, and oxidation) contributes to obesity and associated metabolic disorders. She is working to define how tissue-specific triacylglycerol hydrolysis contributes to metabolic phenotypes, not only in the metabolic syndrome, but also in variety of other diseases ranging from infertility to cancer.

Keywords: endocrinology, diabetes, metabolism, obesity, lipids, genetics, lipases, steroids, hormones, glucose homeostasis, lipid homeostasis, energy homeostasis, adipocytes, adipose tissue, muscle

Corrine Kliment is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kliment’s basic and translational laboratory investigates the intersection between mitochondria, lung repair, and cellular senescence in lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She is an American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award recipient (2019).

Keywords: COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, mitochondria, epithelial biology

Melanie Königshoff is Professor of Medicine and the Associate Chief of Research in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where she also directs the Center for Lung Aging and Regeneration (CLAR). Dr. Königshoff’s research focuses on epithelial (stem) cell biology, developmental pathway signaling, and hallmarks of aging in lung disease and regeneration. In her work on pathophysiological target identification and drug discovery, she has focused on human tissue–based disease modeling. Dr. Königshoff is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: chronic lung disease, aging, epithelial cell biology, stem cell biology, developmental signaling, disease modeling, drug discovery

Fadi Lakkis is Distinguished Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Lakkis’s research focuses on transplantation immunology, including mechanisms of transplant rejection and tolerance; and transplantation nephrology, including immunosuppression and biomarkers. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile), the Association of American Physicians, the American Society of Transplantation, American Society of Nephrology.

Keywords: transplantation, immunology, T cells, monocytes, rejection, tolerance

Anne Marie Lennon is the Jack D. Myers Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. Dr. Lennon’s interests are focused on precancerous lesions of the pancreas, early cancer detection, and prevention. At Johns Hopkins University, she co-led a group that developed CancerSEEK, a multi-analyte protein and circulating tumor DNA marker blood test that detects esophageal, stomach, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, lung, ovarian and breast cancers. Dr. Lennon is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile) and a fellow of the American Society of Gastroenterology, American Gastrointestinal Association, and American College of Gastroenterology.

Keywords: pancreatic cysts

Arthur Levine is Distinguished University Professor; Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics, and Neurobiology; Senior Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Health Sciences; and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh. He has applied his long-term experience in tumor biology to the study of DNA damage and repair in neurons, recently publishing on neuronal DNA damage and β-amyloid production in Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, Dr. Levine established the multidisciplinary research program Assault on Alzheimer’s. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile), the Association of American Physicians, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keywords: DNA damage and repair, molecular and cell biologic roots of Alzheimer’s disease, neuronal DNA damage and β-amyloid production in Alzheimer’s disesase, APOE and DNA repair related to Alzheimer’s disease  

Jason Luke is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, where he is Associate Director for Clinical Research and Director of the Immunotherapy and Drug Development Center (Phase I). Dr. Luke specializes in early-phase drug development for solid tumors (particularly novel immunotherapeutics and biomarkers of immunotherapy activity), as well as malignant melanoma. His translational research focuses on large-scale informatics to advance cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Luke serves on the board of directors of the Society for Immunotherapy for Cancer.

Keywords: Keywords: cancer, genomics, immunotherapy, computational biology, spatial imaging, biomedical informatics, radiomics, clinical trials, melanoma

Paul Monga is Professor of Pathology and Medicine, Endowed Chair for Experimental Pathology. Vice Chair and Chief of the Division of Experimental Pathology, Assistant Dean and Co-Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program, Director of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center, Director of the Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regeneration (CATER) program, and Associate Director of the University of Pittsburgh Drug Discovery Institute (UPDDI). Dr. Monga’s research is focused on understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying liver development, zonation, regeneration, and cancer. Specifically, his laboratory is interested in developmental pathways such as Wnt, Hippo, Notch, and Hedgehog signaling in driving key processes in liver pathobiology. He is President of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) and a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile), and several other societies.

Keywords: liver regeneration, liver cancer, hepatocellular cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, liver stem cells, bile ducts, hepatocytes, liver development, liver injury, hepatitis, MASLD/NAFL, MASH/NASH, alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), cholangiopathies

Alison Morris is Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine; UPMC Chair of Translational Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; and Director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Medicine and the Microbiome. Dr. Morris’s research program focuses on understanding the epidemiology and mechanisms of HIV-associated lung diseases in the era of antiretroviral therapy. Her group has investigated the role of the microbiome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in the intensive care unit. Dr. Morris is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile) and Association of American Physicians.

Keywords: HIV, lung, microbiome, pneumocystis, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), critical illness

Matthew Neal is Vice Chair of Surgery, Watson Fund in Surgery Chair, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Neal’s research interest is hemostasis and thrombosis following injury, with a focus on platelet innate immune signaling, venous thromboembolism, transfusion medicine, and mechanisms of critical illness coagulopathy. Dr. Neal is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile), the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the American Society of Hematology, the American College of Surgeons, and the Society of University Surgeons.

Keywords: hemostasis, thrombosis, coagulation, trauma, injury, critical illness, transfusion, transfusion medicine

Richard Ramonell is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ramonell studies the immunobiology of patients with severe asthma, and his work currently focuses on understanding the role of T effector memory cells reexpressing CD45RA (TEMRAs) in the pathogenesis of severe asthma. He is an American Society for Clinical Investigation Emerging Generation Award recipient.

Keywords: asthma, T cells, severe asthma, allergy, TEMRAs, senescence, B cells, IgE, antibody secreting cells, plasma cells

Anuradha Ray is a Professor of Medicine and of Immunology and Endowed Chair of Lung Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Ray’s early research led to the identification of a central mechanism underlying the antiinflammatory effects of corticosteroids and discovery of GATA-3 as the essential molecular regulator of Th2 cell development. The primary goal of her current research is to understand immune mechanisms that drive severe corticosteroid-refractory asthma, and her group has described the complexity of immune response in the airways of people with sever asthma using tools such as mass cytometry and high-dimensional flow cytometry in combination with RNA-Seq. Dr. Ray is a fellow of the American Thoracic Society.

Keywords: asthma, immune mechanisms in asthma, immune tolerance, immune metabolism, T cells, dendritic cells

Prabir Ray is Professor of Medicine and of Immunology and Endowed Chair of Lung Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Ray’s primary research interest is host defense mechanisms against respiratory pathogens. His investigations have led to the identification of IL-10–expressing regulatory myeloid cells in the lung resembling myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which were found to play an important role in the resolution of bacterial pneumonia. Using scRNA-Seq methods, his research identified peripheral blood gene signatures that discriminate between pneumonia in patients who develop sepsis and advance to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) versus those who do not. Recent study by his laboratory showed that training by lipopolysaccharide expands neutrophils expressing the antibacterial galectin-3 protein, defending mice from a lethal bacterial infection, a signature similar to that associated with human survivors of acute respiratory failure.

Keywords: lung host defense, bacterial infection, pneumonia, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), innate immunity, myeloid cells, neutrophils, regulatory macrophages

Babak Razani is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Immunometabolism at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Razani’s laboratory is interested in dissecting the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, with a focus on the innate immune system and immunometabolism. In particular, his group studies the role of the autophagy-lysosome system, lysosomal nutrient sensing, and associated metabolic signaling in these disease processes. Dr. Razani is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: autophagy-lysosomal system, selective autophagy, lysosomal biogenesis, protein aggregation, mTOR signaling and nutrient sensing, innate immunity, immunometabolism, atherosclerosis, cardiometabolic disease, obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, nutrition, heart failure

Amr Sawalha is Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Immunology; the Vincent Londino Endowed Chair; Director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology; and Director of the UPMC Lupus Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Sawalha’s research program focuses on elucidating genetic and epigenetic contribution to the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. His team applies genomic, epigenomic, and bioinformatics methodologies and subsequent functional studies to identify and characterize pathways involved in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases. Dr. Sawalha is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: genetics, epigenetics, DNA methylation, autoimmunity, lupus, vasculitis

Sruti Shiva is Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Shiva’s research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms by which bioenergetics and mitochondrial signaling are regulated, and the contribution of these mechanisms to cardiovascular health and disease pathogenesis. Her specific interests include understanding the interactions of redox regulators with the mitochondria in vascular cells and cardiomyocytes to regulate cellular responses; and determining the role of platelet mitochondrial energetics and signaling in the progression of diseases such as sickle cell disease, pulmonary hypertension, and venous thrombosis, as well as aging. Dr. Shiva is a member of the American Heart Association, American Society of Hematology, Hemostasis & Thrombosis Research Society, and Society for Redox Biology and Medicine.

Keywords: mitochondria, bioenergetics, redox, nitric oxide, oxidants, platelets, thrombosis, hemoglobin, hemolysis

Harinder Singh is Professor in the Department of Immunology, Director of the Center for Systems Immunology, and member of the Program in Microbiology and Immunology (PMI) Graduate Faculty. Dr. Singh’s interests are focused on the analysis of transcription factors and gene-regulatory networks (GRNs) that orchestrate the development and functioning of innate as well as adaptive cells of the immune system. Using structural and functional genomics as well as computational modeling, the Singh laboratory is analyzing coherent networks of transcription factors and the large sets of genomic regulatory sequences through which they act. The laboratory is interested in utilizing the knowledge of GRNs to engineer immune cells with new effector or regulatory capabilities that can be therapeutically harnessed.

Heath Skinner is Chair and Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh. His laboratory studies tumor response to radiation, with a focus on signaling nodes that can be modulated to both improve responses to radiation and synergize with immunotherapy. Specifically, his group focuses on several mediators of radiation response including CBP/p300 and FAK, as well as novel aspects of PD-L1 signaling in tumor cells. Dr. Skinner is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Mark Snyder is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Immunology and member of the Starzl Transplantation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. The primary focus of Dr. Snyder’s research is how the adaptive immune system contributes to immunopathology in the setting of pulmonary fibrosis and chronic lung allograft dysfunction after lung transplantation. Specifically, he studies how tissue-resident memory T cells interact with the local environment to cause airway damage. Dr. Snyder an American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award recipient (2023).

Keywords: transplant immunology and tolerance, adaptive immunity, tissue resident immunity, T cell biology

Matthew Steinhauser is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and a primary faculty member in the Aging Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr Steinhauser’s laboratory studies how metabolism is altered by and contributes to disease. They focus on understanding how systemic metabolic function is modulated by local cellular and molecular derangements in adipose tissue arising during development, in aging, or in contexts of energy imbalance. Dr. Steinhauser is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: adipose tissue, adipogenesis, metabolism, inflammation, diabetes, stem cells

Tomeka Suber is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Suber’s research focuses on the role of metabolism in pulmonary host defense mechanisms during bacterial infection and metabolomic signatures in patients with acute lung injury. She is a member of the American Thoracic Society.

Keywords: acute lung injury, metabolism, host defense, immunology, bacterial infection

Flordeliza Villanueva is Professor of Medicine, Director of Non-Invasive Cardiac Imaging for the Heart and Vascular Institute, and the founding Director of the Center for Ultrasound Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research program focuses on the development and application of medical diagnostic and therapeutic strategies based on ultrasound and ultrasound-contrast agents (gas-filled microspheres, or microbubbles). Her group has applied fundamental principles of ultrasound and the physics of microbubble acoustic behaviors (cavitation) to develop targeted molecular therapeutics, whereby oligonucleotide-loaded microbubbles (e.g., siRNA, miRNA, plasmid)s, in the presence of precisely tuned ultrasound and ultrasound image guidance, selectively enhance membrane permeability to deliver payloads to the target site. Dr. Villanueva is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (view profile).

Keywords: echocardiography, ultrasound contrast agents, ultrasound therapeutics, ultrasound contrast agents, drug delivery, cardiovascular disease