Current News

Narrative heart disease is responsible for over 600,000 deaths annually, making it the number one killer of women and men in the United States. There are currently no small diameter vascular grafts that effectively treat this disease. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Jonathan Vande Geest, PhD, Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, is the principal investigator on a project that will use computational tools to fabricate a fully biodegradable small diameter vascular tissue engineered graft that is and remains compliance matched as it remodels in-vivo. Read More

For up to 3 million Americans each year, what was supposed to be a fun day at the ski slopes, at a playground or on a football field quickly takes a turn for the worse. While simple steps – such as wearing a helmet – can prevent serious head injury resulting from a sudden high-impact fall or a blow to the head, those measures are less effective at preventing concussions. Read More

Physical exercise is great for a mouse’s brain, and for yours. Numerous studies conducted in mice, humans and laboratory glassware have made this clear. Now, a new study shows it’s possible to transfer the brain benefits enjoyed by marathon-running mice to their couch-potato peers. Read More

Increased DNA damage and DNA damage response (DDR) activation is well-documented in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart failure in humans, but no current treatment strategies exist to target this population. By applying cutting-edge optical, biological, and bioelectrical tools, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Tzahi Cohen-Karni, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and his team will map cardiac tissue cell-cell communication and electrophysiology in response to stochastic endogenous DNA damage. Deeper understanding of the regulatory network that mediates the genotoxic stress response in the cardiac tissue will suggest preventive strategies and therapeutic interventions to reduce public health burden. Read More

The first-ever, in-depth characterization of the body’s response to traumatic injury was published in Cell Reports Medicine by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physician-scientists. The results of their multiomics analysis—which spanned thousands of circulating molecules—offers an opportunity to refine personalized approaches to trauma management in the most severely injured patients. Read More

Pitt researchers have been awarded a portion of a $2.1 million grant for Pennsylvania universities from the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation. The foundation, established by chemical engineer and entrepreneur Charles E. Kaufman, supports fundamental scientific research in chemistry, biology, and physics at institutions throughout the commonwealth. Read More

Each semester, students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering get the chance to show off their creativity and highlight their designs at the Design EXPO, which was held in the University Club on Dec. 9, 2021. Students prepared their displays showcasing their work from the School’s Capstone Design courses or highlighted concepts and prototypes from the Product Realization, Medical Product Prototyping and Art of Making courses. The students presented their projects, and judges from industry visited the booths in turn to talk with students and view their work. Read More

A new game being developed at Duquesne University hopes to reduce anxiety about COVID-19 and combat vaccine misinformation for kids, parents, and teachers. The tabletop board game challenges players to tackle a hypothetical global pandemic by researching, developing, testing, and distributing a vaccine to save humanity. Read More

The secret to producing large batches of stem cells more efficiently may lie in the near-zero gravity conditions of space. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have found that microgravity has the potential to contribute to life-saving advances on Earth by facilitating the rapid mass production of stem cells. Read More

Giving monoclonal antibodies to outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 via a series of four injections under the skin is essentially as effective at preventing severe hospitalization and death as giving the treatment in one intravenous (IV) infusion and is superior to not giving the treatment at all, according to new results announced by UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It is the first clinical study to compare the different methods of administering the treatment. Read More