Pitt Research

Instead of waiting on the transplant list, what if damaged organs could be fixed? A team led by Alejandro Soto-Gutiérrez is attempting to revive badly damaged livers, kidneys, hearts and lungs by reprogramming them using mRNA. This mRNA approach could provide a revolutionary alternative to transplants, especially liver transplants, where donor organs are in short supply and there are no alternative treatment options. “Right now, if you get end-stage liver disease, it’s irreversible,” Soto-Gutiérrez says. “Well, we found that is not true. It is reversible.” Read more about mRNA reprogramming, living donor transplant and future directions in WIRED >> https://lnkd.in/gphGA26j

In a study published in Nature, Hansruedi Mathys and his colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology analyzed transcriptomes of cells across six distinct brain regions that are often affected by Alzheimer’s pathology. The resulting atlas, which is now available online to researchers worldwide, could be used as a tool for gene and molecular discovery across pathways affecting brain health. “I am extremely interested in understanding the phenomenon of cognitive resilience where, despite the characteristic signs of Alzheimer’s tissue pathology, individuals display no cognitive impairment,” Dr. Mathys said. “Our recent findings have made me more hopeful than ever that it might be possible to artificially induce such resilience in people who otherwise are susceptible to memory loss.” https://lnkd.in/durwes4k

The scientific community creates an estimated 12 billion pounds of plastic waste each year, but thanks to two former Pitt Med students, Pitt research labs are at the forefront of a closed-loop recycling system for scientific plastics. James O'Brien and Noah Pyles started the company Polycarbin, which is now returning to Pitt to help offset its carbon footprint and meet its sustainability goals. https://lnkd.in/dTmeR2wk

In certain rare cases, two types of breast cancer (IDC and ILC) occur together as mixed ductal-lobular breast cancer (MDLC). But these complex MDLC tumors are difficult to define and have not been thoroughly studied, making the best treatment approaches difficult to determine. Steffi Oesterreich and her team, including researchers from the University of Michigan and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, recently analyzed MDLC tumors. They found that the IDC and ILC regions had distinct molecular features, shedding new light on the complexity of these tumors and suggesting that different treatment approaches could be warranted. https://lnkd.in/dvMD8Fnv

The term "coffee badging" is the latest buzzword in return to office mandate discussions. The idea of employees going into the office for a few hours in the morning and finishing the work day at home has been in the news lately for Amazon's alleged measures to counter the habit. Contrary to these mandates, University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business researchers found that there were no significant changes in financial performance or firm values after return to office mandates. https://lnkd.in/duZvgHMg

Congratulations Chancellor Joan Gabel on being honored by the highest award of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business: the Distinguished Career Award! A full circle moment, as the founder and first president of the ALSB, James C. Reed, was a professor at Pitt in the 1920s. 🎉

When the pressure gets high, people have the tendency to choke. But researchers Steven Chase from Carnegie Mellon University and Aaron Batista from the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering found that it is not a wholly human experience—monkeys do it too. This emerging research may help us better understand the neuroscience behind this "quirk in performance" and allow people to gain more self-mastery skills in stressful situations. https://lnkd.in/ehnPkSZk

The Pitt Research Concierge Program’s Learning Lab has posted two new videos - Research Data Management: Files and Folders & Data Management and Sharing Plans. Watch these now and check back often for new content. https://lnkd.in/dRbCm2En

A new study from University of Pittsburgh researchers sheds light on how the oxygen-binding molecule heme could cause chronic kidney disease, a serious complication that affects more than half of patients with sickle cell disease. Published in a recent issue of the journal Blood, the study also identified a protein that may protect against kidney disease in mice and patients, suggesting it has potential as both a biomarker to identify at-risk patients and as a novel target for new therapeutics. https://lnkd.in/d8KKg-H5

As the climate warms, Pennsylvania rainfalls are becoming more extreme while flood-related risks are worsening and the intensity is only expected to increase. Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering and Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation are partnering with the Allegheny County Health Department and Landforce, an employment and environmental social enterprise, through a three-year $930,411 Environmental Justice Government-to-Government grant to increase climate resilience in environmental justice communities through water-based cleanup projects and green infrastructure to minimize flooding and associated public health risks in environmentally burdened communities in the county. https://lnkd.in/gmAjaDGN