Cecelia C. Yates, PhD
Cecelia C. Yates, PhD
Dr. Cecelia Yates is an Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion & Development, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, and McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Yates attended Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama, where she earned her BS in Biology/Chemistry, and her PhD in Integrative Biomedical Science and Pathology in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh. Upon completing her education, she participated in a Fellowship in Pathology at Pitt’s School of Medicine.
Dr. Yates has developed the first cellular and molecular laboratory fully equipped for basic, translational, and clinical research located within the School of Nursing. Her tissue repair laboratory investigates the chronic and fibrotic responses to injury. Her laboratory utilizes both genomic and cellular approaches in human and murine models. Dr. Yates’ research has been supported externally by the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and internally by University of Pittsburgh Genomic Hub and Central Research Development Fund. Dr. Yates’ entrepreneurial activities include four issued US patents and three pending patents associated with her work. She is also the co-founder and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of a Pittsburgh-based start-up, Ocugenix, focused on ocular therapeutic development with the goal of providing treatment for fibrosis in eye diseases.
She is a member of American Society for Investigative Pathology, American Association of Immunologists, and the Wound Healing Society. Dr. Yates is on the editorial board of The American Journal of Pathology Cells and Current Pathobiology Reports. She is a member of The American Journal of Pathology publication committee, and the Pathology Public Affairs working group. Dr. Yates also is co-chair of a national Cell Injury special interest group and chairs the American Society for Investigative Pathology Committee for Career Development and Diversity. She currently teaches both undergraduate and graduate level courses including “Pathophysiology Across the Life Span” and “Anatomy and Physiology.” Dr. Yates mentors nursing, pathology, bioengineering, and medical students at the University of Pittsburgh and nationally.
Dr. Yates’ research interests are:
- pathogenesis of skin, lung, cardiac, and ocular fibrosis
- chronic and fibrotic wound healing
- fibrosis in scleroderma
- chemokine and matrix signaling
- cellular transplantation
- peptide and small molecule therapeutic development
- gene expression profiling