Publications | Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University

Publications

Beyond lidocaine selective voltage-gated sodium channel blockade for vaginal pain by Ruby Holland in Pain
August 5, 2020

From the article in Critical Care Medicine: Abstract

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From the article in Pediatric Transplant: The high discard rate of pediatric donor hearts presents a major challenge for children awaiting heart transplantation... [ read more ]

Uncharacteristic Task-Evoked Pupillary Responses Implicate Atypical Locus Ceruleus Activity in Autism by Michael Granovetter in The Journal of Neuroscience
May 6, 2020

From the article in The Journal of Neuroscience: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized partly by atypical attentional engagement, reflected in exaggerated and variable responses to sensory stimuli. Attentional... [ read more ]

A neural network for online spike classification that improves decoding accuracy by Deepa Issar in Journal of Neurophysiology
February 26, 2020

From the article in Journal of Neurophysiology: Separating neural signals from noise can improve brain-computer interface performance and stability. However, most algorithms for separating neural action potentials... [ read more ]

Engineering Bromodomains with a Photoactive Amino Acid by Engaging ‘Privileged’ tRNA Synthetases by Philip Mannes in Chemical Communications
February 19, 2020

From the article in Chemical Communications: Site-specific placement of unnatural amino acids, particularly those responsive... [ read more ]

Metabolic Regulation of Cell Fate and Function by Shohini Ghosh-Choudhary in Trends in Cell Biology
January 23, 2020

From Shohini's article in Trends in Cell Biology: Increasing evidence implicates metabolic pathways as key regulators of cell fate and function. Although the metabolism of glucose, amino acids,... [ read more ]

Treg-inducing microparticles promote donor-specific tolerance in experimental vascularized composite allotransplantation by James Fisher in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States
December 17, 2019

From the article in PNAS: Vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) is an emerging field that is particularly beneficial for select amputees and patients with devastating soft tissue loss that is not amenable to... [ read more ]

Intestinal IL-17R Signaling Constrains IL-18-Driven Liver Inflammation by the Regulation of Microbiome-Derived Products by Patricia dela Cruz in Cell Reports
November 19, 2019

From the aricle in Cell Reports: Interleukin (IL)-17 signaling to the intestinal epithelium regulates the intestinal microbiome. Given the reported links between intestinal dysbiosis, bacterial translocation... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Decoding the role of SOD2 in sickle cell disease by Oyin Dosunmu-Ogunbi in Blood Advances
September 10, 2019

From the article in Blood Advances: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobinopathy caused by a single point mutation in the β-globin gene. As a... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Septic coronary embolism in a deceptive case of presumed isolated tricuspid valve endocarditis in Journal of Cardiac Surgery by Edgar Aranda-Michel
August 2, 2019

From the article in Journal of Cardiac Surgery: A 46‐year‐old female presented with native tricuspid valve endocarditis complicated by a stroke with a hemorrhagic component. There was no evidence of intracardiac... [ read more ]

Liver 'organ on a chip' in Experimental Cell Research by Colin Beckwitt
August 1, 2019

From the article in Experimental Cell Research: The liver plays critical roles in both homeostasis and pathology. It is the major site of drug metabolism in the body and, as such, a common target for drug-induced toxicity and is... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

The Zebrafish Cytochrome b5/Cytochrome b5 Reductase/NADH System Efficiently Reduces Cytoglobins 1 and 2: Conserved Activity of Cytochrome b5/Cytochrome b5 Reductases during Vertebrate Evolution in Biochemistry by Matthew Amdahl
July 23, 2019

From the article in Biochemistry: Cytoglobin is a heme protein evolutionarily related to hemoglobin and myoglobin. Cytoglobin is expressed ubiquitously in mammalian tissues; however, its physiological functions are yet... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Cutaneous TRPV1+ Neurons Trigger Protective Innate Type 17 Anticipatory Immunity in Cell by Jonathan Cohen
July 19, 2019

From the article in Cell: Cutaneous TRPV1+ neurons directly sense noxious stimuli, inflammatory cytokines, and pathogen-associated molecules and are required for innate immunity against some skin pathogens. Important unanswered... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Markers of glutamate and GABA neurotransmission in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia subjects: Disease effects differ across anatomical levels of resolution by Samuel Dienel in Schizophrenia Research
July 8, 2019

From the article in Schizophrenia Research: Cognitive dysfunction in individuals with schizophrenia is thought to reflect, at least in part, altered levels of excitatory and inhibitory... [ read more ]

Financial Implications of 12-Month Dispensing of Oral Contraceptive Pills in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in JAMA Internal Medicine by Colleen Judge-Golden
July 8, 2019

From the article in JAMA Internal Medicine: Based on the outcomes of this model, adoption of a 12-month dispensing option for oral contraceptive pills may support reproductive autonomy and improve reproductive outcomes among women... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Predictors of increased costs following index adult cardiac operations: Insights from a statewide publicly reported registry in Journal of Cardiac Surgery by Edgar Aranda-Michel
July 3, 2019

From the article in Journal of Cardiac Surgery:

Abstract

Background The aim...

From the article: Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is an understudied subtype of breast cancer that requires novel therapies in the advanced setting. To study acquired resistance to endocrine therapy in ILC, we have recently performed RNA-... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Endovascular management of spontaneous rupture of the left subclavian artery by Edgar Aranda-Michel
June 18, 2019

From the article: Spontaneous rupture of the left subclavian artery is a rare condition that requires immediate surgical intervention. A 21‐year‐old man with a history of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, failed... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Hypoalbuminemia in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement: culprit or surrogate? in Journal of Thoracic Disease by Edgar Aranda-Michel
May 1, 2019

From the article in Journal of Thoracic Disease:

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an area of rapid advancement...

From the article: This review is aimed to compare suspensory and aperture quadriceps tendon autograft femoral and tibial fixations in primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R), and the clinical outcomes and complication... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Temporal Dynamics of Shape Processing Differentiate Contributions of Dorsal and Ventral Visual Pathways by Elliot Collins
March 18, 2019

From the article: Although shape perception is primarily considered a function of the ventral visual pathway, previous research has shown... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Is Schimmelpenning Syndrome Associated with Intracranial Tumors? A Case Report. by Michael Chiang
March 15, 2019

In the article: Schimmelpenning syndrome is a rare, well-defined constellation of clinical phenotypes associated with the presence of nevus sebaceous and multisystem abnormalities most commonly manifested as cerebral, ocular, and skeletal... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

mTOR inhibition affects Yap1-β-catenin-induced hepatoblastoma growth and development by Laura Molina
February 19, 2019

From the article: Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common pediatric liver malignancy. Around 80% of HB demonstrate simultaneous activation of β-catenin and Yes-associated protein 1 (Yap1). The mechanism by which these signaling pathways... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Baseline and follow-up activity and functional connectivity in reward neural circuitries in offspring at risk for bipolar disorder by Heather Acuff
February 13, 2019

From the article: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious psychiatric illness with demonstrated abnormalities in reward processing circuitry. Examining this circuitry in youth at familial risk for BD may provide further insight into the... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Bridging large-scale neuronal recordings and large-scale network models using dimensionality reduction by Ryan Williamson
January 22, 2019

From the article: A long-standing goal in neuroscience has been to bring together neuronal recordings and neural network modeling to... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

White matter – emotion processing activity relationships in youth offspring of bipolar parents by Heather Acuff
January 15, 2019

From the article:

Background Early detection of Bipolar Disorder (BD) is critical for targeting interventions to delay or prevent illness onset. Yet, the absence of objective BD...

[ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Exclusive use of fixed pressure valves for cerebrospinal fluid diversion in a modern adult cohort by Michael Chiang
December 1, 2018

From the article:

Abstract

Background: There is extensive debate on the role of fixed pressure shunts in the adult...

[ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Electrophiles modulate glutathione reductase activity via alkylation and upregulation of glutathione biosynthesis by Soma Jobbagy
November 22, 2018

From the article: Cells evolved robust homeostatic mechanisms to protect against oxidation or alkylation by electrophilic species. Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant intracellular thiol, protects cellular components from oxidation and... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]

Statin drugs to reduce breast cancer recurrence and mortality by Colin Beckwitt
November 20, 2018

From the article: Epidemiologic studies have, variably, shown the concomitant use of statin drugs to be beneficial to cancer outcomes. Statin drugs have been FDA approved for three decades for the... [ read more ] [ link to publication ]