News & Publications

Pitt’s Expanding Dental Assistant Training Program Is Filling Critical Gaps

December 19, 2024

By Megumi Barclay

Pitt’s School of Dental Medicine is taking an innovative approach to training dental assistants to meet the growing demand in that field.

Its accelerated four-month Dental Assistant Training Program (DATP) allows students to stay within their home communities, serving both the needs of the students and the clinical sites where they may practice...

Pitt Neurology’s Oscar Lopez Elected to the Alzheimer’s Association Board of Directors

December 18, 2024

By Megumi Barclay

Oscar Lopez, professor of neurology, of psychiatry, School of Medicine, and of clinical and translational science has been elected to the Alzheimer’s Association Board of Directors. This appointment, concurrent with his role as chair of the Medical and Scientific Group of the Alzheimer’s Association, solidifies Lopez as a national and international...

Pitt Faculty Members Selected for 2025 Senior Vice Chancellor's Research Seminar Series

December 17, 2024

Twelve Pitt faculty members have recently been selected to present their research for the 2025 Senior Vice Chancellor’s Research Seminar Series. 

This annual lecture series, also known as the 12@12 series, focuses on research by young investigators in the biomedical sciences. Selection criteria include a nomination from a senior faculty member and involvement in a...

Millions of U.S. Adults are Estimated to Have an Elevated Risk for Heart Failure

December 16, 2024

Timothy Anderson, assistant professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh. Photography by John Dillard.

By Phoebe Ingraham Renda

Kelly Beck Wins $100,000 Award for Children’s Mental Health Project

December 12, 2024

Kelly Beck, assistant professor of psychiatry, School of Medicine, won the Research Brilliance Award from YourMomCares, a charity founded by mothers of celebrities who are committed to improving stigma surrounding child mental health.

YourMomCares partnered with UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation to have a “Shark Tank”-style competition called “ShrinkTank,” for promising...

Encouraging Early Intervention for Alzheimer’s in the Black Community Through an Innovative Interdisciplinary Approach

December 12, 2024

Illustration by Hannah Lesser

The data on Alzheimer’s disease in Black communities is stark: The risk is higher than average, but the rate of diagnosis is delayed.

To address that, several University of Pittsburgh researchers from different departments are partnering with the Allegheny County Health Department and the Black Equity Coalition (BEC) in a new...

Pitt Health Sciences’ Joel Greenberger Elected to the National Academy of Inventors

December 12, 2024

Adapted from an article by Karen Woolstrum

Joel S. Greenberger, professor of radiation oncology, has been named a 2024 National Academy of Inventors (NAI) fellow. He is the sixth School of Medicine faculty member to receive this honor since the inaugural class of fellows in 2015.

Peter Wipf, Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry in the Kenneth P....

Pitt Researchers Part of Group that Calls for Global Discussion About Possible Risks from “Mirror Bacteria”

December 12, 2024

Pitt scientists Tim Hand (left) and Vaughn Cooper (right), among 38 coauthors, urge the scientific community to halt the development of mirror bacteria and engage in global discussions to shape a proactive path forward. Cooper emphasizes that while the risks are not imminent, early dialogue is crucial to addressing potential threats before they materialize.

Vaughn Cooper,...

Feeling Itchy? Pitt Research Suggests Novel Way to Treat Inflammatory Skin Conditions

December 11, 2024

By Asher Jones

A new approach to treat rosacea and other inflammatory skin conditions could be on the horizon, according to a University of Pittsburgh study published Dec. 11 in Science Translational Medicine.

The researchers found that a compound called SYM2081 inhibited inflammation-driving mast cells in mouse models and human skin samples, paving the way for...

Orthopaedic BioBank Begins Collecting Specimens

December 11, 2024

Just weeks after the Orland Bethel Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC) received an $18.5 million gift to create a first-of-its-kind biobank, it has started gathering specimens. The first tissue was collected on Oct. 30, and by mid-November the BMRC Orthopaedic BioBank had 25 patients enrolled, with around 100 individual biospecimens stored.

Christopher Gonzalez Jr.,...