The office of Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, is proud to announce the selection of 12 outstanding faculty members who will present their research for the 2026 Senior Vice Chancellor’s Research Seminar Series.
This annual lecture series, also known as the 12@12 series, focuses on research by junior faculty in the biomedical sciences. Selection criteria include a nomination from a senior faculty member and involvement in a research project that fits into one of four categories: cutting-edge fundamental research; discoveries and advances with translational and patient care potential; implementation science, health care quality and equity; or research based on counter-paradigmatic ideas and discoveries.
Each speaker chosen is awarded $10,000 in the form of a personal honorarium and/or to support research activities.
Lectures will be held virtually at noon on Fridays throughout 2026. Each lecture will be approximately 50 minutes long and will conclude with a short question and answer session.
Aravind Cherukuri, assistant professor of medicine, School of Medicine, will present research on immune-driven precision kidney transplant medicine on Jan. 16.
Mary Ellen Vajravelu, assistant professor of pediatrics, School of Medicine, will present research on optimizing pediatric type 2 diabetes outcomes on Feb. 13.
Jason Bohland, assistant professor of communication science and disorders, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, will present research on predictive coding in speech production on March 6.
Samaneh Farsijani, assistant professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health, will present research on chrononutrition and healthy aging on April 10.
David Schaeffer, assistant professor of neurobiology, School of Medicine, will present research on noninvasive delivery and detection of gene therapeutics on May 8.
Megan Culler Freeman, assistant professor of pediatrics, School of Medicine, will present research on understanding how viruses cause paralysis on June 12.
Christopher Cunningham, assistant professor of otolaryngology, School of Medicine, will present research on cell-specific gene therapy to treat hearing loss on July 17.
Heather Joseph, assistant professor of psychiatry, School of Medicine, will present research on early markers of risk for ADHD on Aug. 14.
Deirdre Quinn, assistant professor of medicine, School of Medicine, will present research on reproductive health and health care for women veterans on Sept. 18.
Aaron Devanathan, assistant professor of pharmacy and therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, will present research on lipidomic insights of HIV and antiretrovirals on Oct. 16.
Abby Overacre, assistant professor of immunology, School of Medicine, will present research on microbiome control of immunotherapy and adverse events on Nov. 13.
Mary Woody, assistant professor of psychiatry, School of Medicine, will present research on experience-dependent attentional tuning in depression and anxiety on Dec. 11.
Congratulations to the 12 lecturers.