McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Sanjeev Shroff, PhD (pictured), Distinguished Professor of and the Gerald E. McGinnis Chair in Bioengineering and the Chair of the Department of Bioengineering, has agreed to serve as Interim Dean of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. Dr. Shroff came to Pitt from the University of Chicago in 2000 and is deeply respected by his colleagues at Pitt and in the broader community, as well as by his peers in the field of bioengineering. Dr. Shroff is a distinguished scholar in cardiovascular physiology and engineering, with special emphasis on cardiac mechano-energetics [...]

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Ipsita Banerjee, PhD (pictured), has been promoted to the rank of Professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. As stated in the letter from Patrick Gallagher, PhD, Chancellor, “Promotion to the highest academic rank recognizes that the promise implicit in the conferral of tenure has been fulfilled.  Indeed, your record of accomplishments to date clearly suggests that the years ahead will bring further contributions to your discipline, the University, and to the broader society.” Dr. Banerjee received her PhD in Chemical and Biochemical [...]

Brain-computer interface (BCI) trials may soon be more accessible to a greater population of candidates living with paralysis, per a new partnership agreement between the University of Pittsburgh’s Rehab Neural Engineering Labs (Pitt RNEL) and Blackrock Neurotech, a leader in implantable brain technology. The agreement sets the stage for Pitt RNEL to scale future BCI studies, enabling more people with remote BCI systems to participate in study sessions from their homes. Pitt RNEL is also creating a process to expand and improve participant recruitment, both remote and on-site, ultimately enabling larger studies with greater numbers of volunteers. Since 2004, implantable [...]

Congratulations to McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Hēth Turnquist, PhD (pictured), associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Immunology, who received the 2022 AST Basic Science Investigator Award. AST, the American Society of Transplantation, is dedicated to advancing the field of transplantation and improving patient care by promoting research, education, advocacy, organ donation, and service to the community. Dr. Turnquist received this award as a mid-career investigator who has made substantial contributions to the field of transplantation [...]

Cell-based therapies have long been thought of as an alternative treatment option for patients with a range of diseases caused by organ and tissue failure, inclusive of heart attack, diabetes, corneal blindness, and cystic fibrosis. While great in theory, in practice these therapies show limited clinical success in many applications due to low cell viability after injection, as well as poor retention at the injection site and engraftment into damaged tissue. Ongoing research led by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Biomedical Engineering’s Rachelle Palchesko, PhD, and Adam Feinberg, PhD, is exploring the use of a new cell delivery method to [...]

Recognizing her contributions and service in support of teaching and research, as well as her development of a holistic mentorship program for new faculty, the University of Pittsburgh promoted McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Anne Robertson, PhD, to Distinguished Service Professor, the highest honor that the University can accord a member of the professorate. Dr. Robertson, a William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Engineering, holds a primary appointment in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) with a secondary in Bioengineering, is nationally recognized for her research in hemodynamics, cerebral vascular [...]

Avista Therapeutics, which recently launched as a spinout of leading health system University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), aims to develop innovative gene therapies for rare ophthalmic conditions. The new company announced a partnership with Roche to develop novel AAV gene therapy vectors for the eyes. The partnership aims to apply Avista’s single-cell adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineering (scAAVengr) platform technology to develop intravitreal AAV capsids matching a capsid profile defined by Roche. Under the terms of the partnership, Roche has the right to evaluate and license novel capsids from Avista, and will be responsible for conducting preclinical, clinical, and [...]

Fasting sends muscle stem cells into a deep resting state that slows muscle repair but also makes them more resistant to stress, according to a Stanford Medicine study of laboratory mice. Thomas Rando, MD, PhD (pictured), director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and an affiliated faculty member of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is the study’s lead author. The protective effect can also be achieved by feeding the mice high-fat, low-carbohydrate food — also known as a ketogenic diet — that mimics how the body responds to [...]