Dr. Al-bataineh is a DVM-PhD scientist, who studies epithelial transport physiology and kidney pathophysiology. His research studies the mechanism of metabolic regulation of cellular, organ and body homeostasis through cell surface expression of epithelial membrane transporters. Presently, Dr. Al-bataineh is interested in understanding the acute and chronic effects of the cell surface sensor Mucin 1 (MUC1) during metabolic stress conditions, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and acid-base disorders. In his training and research projects, Dr. Al-bataineh has employed both animal and cell culture model systems and developed expertise in renal physiology, and kidney histology, microscopy, and pathophysiology. He has spearheaded several significant research projects resulting in publications in high-impact journals such as Nature Chemical Biology, Journal of Proteome Research, and American Journal of Physiology. Dr. Al-bataineh has been PI on two NIH grants (NRSA, and K01), and one pharmaceutical fellowship award (SANOFI). He has received several awards from national societies, including the Epithelial Transport Group of the American Physiological Society (APS), and the Steve Hebert Award Session of the Experimental Biology (EB). Beyond his research success, Dr. Al-bataineh has been fortunate to obtain a wide-range of teaching experiences. He has had the opportunity to teach a variety of courses (with Labs) including Human Physiology, Animal Physiology, and Pharmacology. Moreover, he has supervised a post-doctoral scholar in addition to many students and research Lab technicians. Dr. Al-bataineh also serves as a reviewer in different Journals and currently he serves in the editorial board of the Frontiers Journal in Renal and Epithelial Physiology.

Dr. Barbash is a health services researcher focused on the intersection of health policy and critical care delivery and outcomes; in this work he uses large datasets derived from administrative claims and electronic health records. His K08, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, examines the effect of Medicare’s SEP-1 sepsis bundle reporting policy on sepsis treatment and outcomes. He is also involved in clinical administrative and quality improvement activities in the UPMC Health System, which both inform and are informed by his health services research.

Hailey W. Bulls, PhD, joined the Section of Palliative Care & Medical Ethics as Assistant Professor in 2019. She completed her PhD in Medical/Clinical Psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with a pre-doctoral internship at the James A. Haley VA and an R25-funded postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. Broadly, Dr. Bulls’ current research focuses on 1) mitigating the impact of opioid stigma on cancer patients with pain; 2) early identification cancer patients at risk for pain and neuropathy; and 3) novel behavioral interventions to better manage pain. She was recently selected for the Clinical and Translational Science Scholars Program (KL2) in support of this research. Dr. Bulls also evaluates experimental models of pain sensitivity and modulation using actigraphy and quantitative sensory testing. In the clinic, Dr. Bulls specializes in cognitive-behavioral interventions for acute and chronic pain. Dr. Bulls is an active #AcademicTwitter user: follow her at @hwbulls. Outside of the office, she enjoys exploring her new city, traveling, kickboxing, eating soup dumplings, solving crossword puzzles, and cheering on the Florida Gators.

Sensing and adapting to changes in the physical environment is vital for the integrity and function of cells, tissues and organs. My research focuses on understanding how the urinary bladder, and in particular the urothelium, senses the degree of tension in the bladder wall and communicates the filling state to underlying tissues and nerves. Despite the importance of proper mechanosensation for normal bladder function, there is little understanding of the urothelial mechanosensor(s) that initiate the mechanotransduction pathway(s). At the moment, I am exploring the role of mechanosensitive PIEZO and TMEM63 ion channels as bona fide urothelial mechanosensors, for which I use a wide range of techniques including conditional knockout mice. These allow us to assess the role of these channels at the cellular, tissue and organ levels as well as the impact on the voluntary voiding behavior of the animals.

My research interest lies in infectious complications among immunocompromised hosts, primarily organ transplant recipients and patients with hematological malignancies. My K23 award focuses on the changes in the gut microbiome among lung or liver transplant recipients as they develop colonization or infection with multidrug-resistant organisms. My hope is to use this knowledge to conduct clinical trials of novel therapies such as fecal microbiota transplant or bacteriophages to treat drug-resistant organisms in these patients. I also have an interest in COVID-19 in this patient population, particularly oncology patients who are at risk for protracted SARS-CoV-2 replication and intra-host viral evolution.

Dr. Kliment’s laboratory is interested in identifying new molecular pathways connecting mitochondrial dysfunction with epithelial and innate immune cell function in the pathogenesis of 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 mitochondrial metabolism and cellular senescence. We have also found that ANT plays a role in 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 mitochondrial and cell homeostasis in the lung.

Dr. Luo’s research focuses on increasing patient access to affordable prescription drugs for patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus. His NIDDK K23 Award seeks to determine the effect of cost-related medication restrictions on medication selection and adherence for patients with type 2 diabetes, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods (e.g. Optum). It will also develop a provider-facing educational outreach intervention to help improve evidence-based use of newer glucose lowering medications. Prior to starting his K23, he was supported by Pitt’s Clinical and Translational Science Scholar (KL2) program.

Dr. Puttarajappa’s research is focused on evaluating the role of virtual HLA crossmatch for deceased donor kidney transplantation(DDKT). Several logistical issues complicate kidney allocation and organ placement, thereby increasing ischemia times and risk of organ discards. Dr. Puttarajappa is investigating the potential benefits of omitting a cell-based (physical) HLA crossmatch and proceeding to transplant surgery with just the result of a virtual HLA crossmatch. He is using a combination of transplant registry analysis, survey methodology and decision analysis to evaluate the impact of virtual HLA crossmatch on cold ischemia time and transplant outcomes, variation in practice across US transplant centers and the risks and benefits of using a virtual crossmatch strategy over a cell-based HLA crossmatch strategy. His other research interests include application of decision and cost-effectiveness analyses to transplantation and evaluating methods to reduce detrimental impact of modifiable post-transplant events such as late-onset CMV infection and immunosuppression non-adherence.

Dr. Radomski is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Clinical & Translational Science within the Division of General Internal Medicine and Center for Pharmaceutical Policy & Prescribing. He is also affiliated with the Pittsburgh VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion as a Research Health Scientist. As a practicing general internist and health services researcher, Dr. Radomski’s research focuses on practical and scalable solutions to accurately measure and reduce the delivery of low-value care and how the receipt of care across multiple healthcare systems influences health service utilization, outcomes, and value. He is supported by a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging and is also leading a major VA study to evaluate the use and cost of low-value health services by Veterans in VA and non-VA care settings. His research has been published in journals such as JAMA, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. He also serves as the Director of Academic Programs in Clinical Research for the Institute for Clinical Research Education.

Dr. Rogal is a gastroenterologist, transplant hepatologist, and implementation scientist. Her K23 work focuses on using Intervention Mapping to develop a patient-centered approach to pain self-management for people with cirrhosis. She also conducts national, mixed methods implementation work in the VA, developing novel methods for measuring and delivering data-driven combinations of implementation strategies to improve the quality and equity of healthcare. She serves as the co-developer and co-Director of the Pitt Dissemination and Implementation Science Collaborative (DISC), co-Director of the VA Implementation Core of the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion and the Pitt CTSI’s IMPACT and Implementation Lab cores.

Dr. Saloman is a basic and translational researcher with diverse research focuses on the intersection between the peripheral nervous system and organ function, including under normal and pathological conditions such as pancreatitis, cancer, and chronic pain. Her K-related research is a two-pronged approach aimed at dissecting the underlying mechanisms contributing to the diverse pain patterns associated with chronic pancreatitis. She is utilizing patient recorded outcomes and biochemical analysis of serum in combination with her novel optogenetic animal model. The goal of these studies is to parse out signaling pathways that can be targeted for novel approaches to pain management. More information about her research can be found at salomanlab.pitt.edu.

An Assistant Professor with dual training in geriatrics and pulmonary/critical care medicine, Dr. Scheunemann has an AHRQ-funded K08 to develop and pilot test a stakeholder-driven, telehealth-delivered transitional care intervention for rural-dwelling critical illness survivors and their family caregivers. She will use implementation science methods to adapt successful interventions from other fields to the post-ICU context, focusing on transitional care, family support and training, and rehabilitation. The goal of this research is to optimize quality, affordability, and access to care for vulnerable populations of critical illness survivors.

Dr. Suber is a physician-scientist in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. After graduating from the combined MD/PhD program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, she completed residency training in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She moved to the University of Pittsburgh to complete fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine and was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine in 2019. During her postdoctoral training, she studied proteasomal regulation of lung epithelial injury and repair. Currently, her research program focuses on 1) understanding metabolic regulation of pulmonary host defense mechanisms in models of bacterial pneumonia; 2) identifying metabolomic signatures in acute lung injury to elucidate pathogenic mechanisms in critically ill patients; and 3) understanding how oxidized phospholipids mediate epithelial injury during vaping-induced lung injury. She is supported by the Clinical and Translational Science Scholars Program (KL2) and also funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Dr. Tan studies core principles of cell biology in aging, with particular interest in basic molecular mechanisms underlying cellular homeostasis and stress response. Organelle stress and damages are common risk factors in aging and diseases. A major goal of our lab is elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the sensing, repairing, and clearance of damaged organelles in mammalian cells. We search for essential, unifying principles behind complex stress responses through unbiased approaches, and dissect underlying mechanisms with multidisciplinary methods including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and genetics. Current research topics include lysosomal quality control in aging and neurodegeneration, inter-organelle communications in cell homeostasis, and lysosomal stress in innate immunity and age-related inflammation. For more information: jaytanlab.org

Ravy K. Vajravelu, MD MSCE, is a gastroenterologist and clinical epidemiologist in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. His long-term research goal is to develop precision medicine tools that inform therapeutic decision making in gastroenterology by integrating insights from across biomedical science. He is pursuing this goal through three complementary objectives:

1. To design biostatistical methods to efficiently analyze high-dimensional clinical datasets
2. To build epidemiologic models of gastroenterology conditions such as colorectal cancer, Barrett’s esophagus, and gastroesophageal reflux
3. To develop informatics approaches to integrate diverse biomedical data for clinical prediction.

By completing these objectives, Dr. Vajravelu and his multidisciplinary research team aim to develop algorithms to provide gastroenterology patients and providers with precision screening and therapeutics recommendations.

My main research interests are to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the development, disease, and senescence of heart cells, and to develop potential therapeutic strategies to rectify pathogenesis and aging in the heart. We utilize human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) platform and cutting-edge molecular, cellular, and physiological technologies to study the biology of heart cells in health and diseases, and to discover novel drugs and approaches for translational applications.

Dr. Zhang is currently studying the mechanism of GCN5L1, a mitochondrial acetyltransferase, in enhancing cardiac bioenergetics through retrograde activation of PGC-1α signaling in response to hemodynamic stress or exercise using cardiac specific GCN5L1 deficient mice.   As a cardiologist subspecializing in advanced heart failure and transplantation, and as a basic scientist studying cardiomyocyte biology, Dr. Zhang’s long-term career goal is to become a physician scientist,  focusing on reciprocal regulation of cardiac epigenetics and metabolism regulation in heart failure and exercise to discover a more effective treatment for heart failure.