Aman Mahajan was recently appointed chair of Pitt’s Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, part of the School of Medicine.

Mahajan joins the University from UCLA, where he was chairperson of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and director of Perioperative Services at UCLA Health. His research focuses on spinal neural modulation of cardiac electrophysiology and the assessment of cardiac function in heart failure.

He is also a member of professional associations and national scientific societies in his fields of clinical and research interests, including the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Heart Association, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, the Association of University Anesthesiologists and the American Physiological Society.

Kabirul Islam, an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Chemistry, recently won a three-year $650,000 grant from the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences area of the National Science Foundation to develop answer a central question in mammalian biology: how is it that identical DNA in an organism can create diverse cell lineages?

The grant funds an integrated chemical biology research and educational program, which will reprogram expression of genes that underlie cell division, differentiation, lineage and ultimately, organismal development.

“The interdisciplinary research setting that brings together organic synthesis, protein engineering and cell biology, will provide a unique training ground for graduate and undergraduate students,” Islam said.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) has named Bernard Rousseau as the new chair of the Department of Communication Science and Disorders. He will officially assume his position on Sept. 1, 2018.

Rousseau joins Pitt from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he most recently served as associate vice chair for research and director of the Laryngeal Biology Laboratory, and as chancellor faculty fellow and associate professor of otolaryngology, hearing and speech sciences and mechanical engineering.

Two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research projects are coming to Pitt with Rousseau, along with a majority of his research team from Vanderbilt. The first project focuses on improving outcomes for patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis through innovative technology designed to improve pre-operative surgical planning. The second project seeks to determine the safety and efficacy of treatments for voice disorders.

“As I step into my new role at Pitt, I am energized by the fact that the university and the city of Pittsburgh have all the necessary ingredients to truly advance the study of communication science and disorders,” said Rousseau. “The outstanding faculty, the clinical infrastructure, and the exciting opportunities to leverage and strengthen partnerships across the various schools, programs and highly ranked departments at Pitt will allow us to take this program and this field to the next level.”

Pitt's Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security has announced the first 10 awardees of the first cycle of its Accelerator Grants Program. The honorees will receive funding for projects designed to advance Pitt Cyber’s mission to investigate critical questions surrounding technology law, policy and security.

Awards have been granted to: Kevin Ashley, professor of law and intelligent systems; Matthias Grabmair, Carnegie Mellon University Systems Scientist; Julia Santucci, senior lecturer, intelligence studies; Daniel Cole, associate professor, Swanson School of Engineering; Alex K. Jones, professor of electrical and computer engineering, Swanson School of Engineering; Bo Zeng, assistant professor, Swanson School of Engineering; Zhi-Hong Mao, associate professor, Swanson School of Engineering; Mostafa Bedewy, assistant professor Swanson School of Engineering; Mai Abdelhakim; visiting assistant professor School of Computing and Information; James Joshi, professor School of Computing and Information; Balaji Palanisamy, assistant professor School of Computing and Information.

Kirk Holbrook has been named director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Hill District Community Engagement Center (CEC).

Pitt’s first CEC, directed by Daren Ellerbee, is set to open in Homewood in September. Pitt’s next CEC, the Hill District center, is expected to open in 2019.

Holbrook, a resident of the Hill District, most recently was chief of staff in the district office of State Representative Jake Wheatley. He previously was a community organizer for A+ Schools and program director for the Hill House Association.

“Kirk’s deep connections to the Hill District and record of community engagement will ensure the Hill District CEC fulfills its mission,” said Lina Dostilio, assistant vice chancellor for community engagement. “His strength as an organizer and leader will allow him to be a trusted bridge between campus and community.”

Pitt’s CECs, announced in 2016 as an initiative of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Engagement’s office, aim to strengthen communities by coordinating University activities already underway and building alliances within city neighborhoods that are eager to partner with Pitt. The CECs are guided by an internal advisory council and neighborhood advisory councils.

Jennifer Pruskowski, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics at Pitt’s School of Pharmacy, is the recipient of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s 2018 New Clinical Practitioner Award.

This annual award recognizes a member who has made outstanding contributions to the health of patients and to the practice of clinical pharmacy. The award is given to those who are less than six years past completion of their pharmacy training.

Pruskowski’s research interests include education of effective and safe use of medication for palliative care patients, development of institute-wide, evidence-based pain and symptom management treatment algorithms, management of delirium at the end of life and refractory pain, and the role of pharmacists on the improvement of health-related functions and quality of life for palliative care patients.

School of Medicine faculty member Joseph Glorioso is among the recipients of a 2018 Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy research grant.

Glorioso and University of Pennsylvania microbiology professor Gary H. Cohen will share a $500,000, two-year grant to advance a vaccine for melanoma. Their research builds on previously successful results using a tumor-targeted, actively replicating herpes virus to infiltrate cancers and stimulate an immune system assault.

Glorioso calls the methodology a “heat-seeking missile that targets metastatic cancer for destruction.” Once the cancer is eliminated, the vaccine inserts an immunity barrier to protect against recurrence. Melanoma is among the most deadly cancers and this treatment offers new hope.

Glorioso, who founded the Pitt medical school’s Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in 1989, is a pioneer in the design and application of herpes simplex virus gene vectors.

Some 100 teenagers who are about to or who have recently transitioned from foster care are convening on the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown campus starting Aug. 6 for the tenth annual 2018 Older Youth Retreat — an event that welcomes foster teens from across Pennsylvania for activities and workshops in a college campus setting. From rural areas in Butler County or the urban core of Philadelphia, these teens convene to begin charting a course for their future, alongside others who have experienced substitute care.

“They work on goal setting, planning, advocacy, leadership and building relationships, all while experiencing college life with its structure and support,” said Helen Cahalane (pictured), principal investigator of Pitt’s Child Welfare Education and Research Programs, within the School of Social Work. The school, along with the state Department of Human Services’s Office of Children, Youth and Families hosts the event, with support from several partners across the state. In its ten years, the retreat has supported more than 1,000 young people ages 16 to 21.

“We’re helping youth create positive change in the child welfare system,” said Cahalane.

Robert Brandom, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy, has been named a Fellow of the British Academy. The British Academy is the United Kingdom’s 116-year old national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Brandom, who was recognized for his research on the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of logic, pragmatism, German idealism, Wilfrid Sellars, Frege and Wittgenstein, is one of 20 Corresponding Academics elected to the Academy from outside of the U.K. In total, 76 academics were added this year. Past fellows include Winston Churchill, C.S. Lewis and Beatrice Webb.