Dr. Ora Weisz is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Renal-Electrolyte Division) Cell Biology, and Clinical and Translational Science University of Pittsburgh.  She is also the Vice Chair of Faculty Development in the Department of Medicine, the Associate Dean for Faculty Development in Pitt’s School of Medicine, and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Faculty Excellence, Health Sciences. She holds a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry/History from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and received her PhD in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology in 1990 from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Upon completion of her post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Weisz joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 1995 as an Assistant Professor within the School of Medicine.

Dr. Weisz’s research interest focuses broadly on understanding how the kidney proximal tubule retrieves filtered proteins from the cellular and axial level. Her team is unraveling the mechanisms by which proximal tubule cells in the kidney normally modulate endocytic and ion transport capacity in response to changes in tubular flow and the accompanying fluid shear stress, and how the profile of uptake changes in disease states. These studies have direct implications for the understanding and treatment of genetic and other disorders that result in tubular proteinuria and eventually lead to kidney failure, including Lowe syndrome, Dent disease, and sickle cell disease.

Dr. Weisz is an alumnus of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program and was recently named a fellow of the American Physiological Society and the American Society of Cell Biology. Dr. Weisz currently serves on the editorial board of Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Journal of Physiology (Cell Physiology and Renal). She has served on numerous study sections as well as on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and recently completed a term on Council of the American Society of Cell Biology.  Dr. Weisz is a member of the Academy of Master Educators, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and has received the School of Medicine Distinguished Mentor Award and the University of Pittsburgh Postdoctoral Association Advocate Award.

View a list of Dr. Weisz’s publications here.