We are pleased to feature presentations by two of our rising stars, Melanie Grubisha, MD, PhD and Rui Peixoto, PhD as part of our Researchers on the Rise lecture series.
Enhancing NGR/p75/KAL9 Signaling and Impaired Dendritic Morphogenesis across Development
Melanie Grubisha, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Grubisha participated in the Department of Psychiatry's Psychiatry Research Pathway program as a resident at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) where her research focused on impairments in dendritic morphogenesis in schizophrenia under the mentorship of Robert Sweet, MD. She then held a postdoctoral appointment, supported by the Training for Transformative Discovery in Psychiatry T32 grant. In 2019 Dr. Grubisha was appointed to the Department of Psychiatry faculty where she is supporting her research activities through a K08 career development award from the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition to her research, she also sees patients one day per week in a homeless clinic in Pittsburgh.
Disruption of Corticostriatal Circuit Development by Early Imbalances in Network Activity - A Common Pathophysiology in ASD?
Rui Peixoto, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Rui Peixoto's early work as a graduate student demonstrated for the first time that neurologins can be cleaved by fast acting matrix metalloproteases-9 and that this cleavage has a profound impact on synaptic transmission in the brain. After earning a PhD in Neuroscience from Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Portugal, he conducted postdoctoral research in Dr. Bernardo Sabatini’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School that focused on the development of corticostriatal circuits and its implication in ASD. Dr. Peixoto has developed novel approaches for using mouse models to study the pathophysiologies underlying autism. He joined the Department of Psychiatry faculty in January 2019 and is currently the Principal Investigator for a grant sponsored by the Simons Foundation to investigate the disruption of basal ganglia maturation by cortical hyperactivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Date & Time. February 7, 2020 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm.
Location. UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Auditorium
For More Information. Please contact Frances Patrick (patrickfm@upmc.edu)
The entirety of this program will be a lecture by the speaker(s). All individuals able to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any proprietary entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients. Registration is not required for this event. This event is free and there will be no refunds. The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.
Continuing Education Credit. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours. In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference. WPH is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. WPH maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits.
The indicated number of clock hours of continuing education is provided through UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital’s Office of Educational Resources and Planning, a PA-approved provider of social work continuing education in accordance with all the applicable educational and professional standards of the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapist. These clock hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT renewal. For more information, call (412) 204-9085.
