Faculty

Bruna Bellaver, PhD

Bruna Bellaver, PhD

Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

PhD
Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Biochemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Professional Affiliations

Member, ISTAART Alzheimer's Association

Research Interests

Aging & Alzheimer's disease; Neuroimaging biomarkers; Fluid biomarkers
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Bellaver B, Povala G, Ferreira PCL, Ferrari-Souza JP, Leffa DT, Lussier FZ, Benedet AL, Ashton NJ, Triana-Baltzer G, Kolb HC, Tissot C, Therriault J, Servaes S, Stevenson J, Rahmouni N, Lopez OL, Tudorascu DL Villemagne VL, Ikonomovic MD, Gauthier S, Zimmer ER, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Aizenstein HJ, Klunk WE, Snitz BE, Maki P, Thurston RC, Cohen AD, Ganguli M, Karikari TK, Rosa-Neto P, Pascoal TA. Astrocyte reactivity influences the association of amyloid- and tau biomarkers in preclinicalAlzheimers disease. Nature Medicine. May 29 doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02380-x.
  2. Bellaver B, De Bastiani MA, Brum WS, Souza DG, Ferreira PCL, Rocha AS, Povala G, Ferrari-Souza JP, Benedet AL, Ashton NJ, Karikari TK, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Rosa-Neto P, Pascoal TA, Zimmer ER (2023). Hippocampal GFAP-positive astrocyte responses to amyloid and tau pathologies. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Mar 4;110:175-184
  3. Leffa DT, Ferrari-Souza JP, Bellaver B, Tissot C, Ferreira PCL, Brum WS, Caye A, Lord J, Proitsi P, Martins-Silva T, Tovo-Rodrigues L, Tudorascu DL, Villemagne VL, Cohen AD, Lopez OL, Klunk WE, Karikari TK, Rosa-Neto P, Zimmer ER, Molina BSG, Rohde LA, Pascoal TA, Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Genetic risk for attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder predicts cognitive decline and development of Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology in cognitively unimpaired older adults (2023). Mol Psychiatry. Mar;28(3):1248-1255.
  4. Bellaver B, Rocha AS, Souza DG, Leffa DT, De Bastiani MA, Schu G, Lukasewicz Ferreira PC, Venturin GT, Greggio S, Ribeiro CT, da Costa JC, Moreira JCF, Gelain DP, Torres ILDS, Klamt F, Zimmer ER. Activated peripheral blood mononuclear cell mediators triggerastrocyte reactivity (2019). Brain Behavior and Immunity. Aug;80:879-888.

JAMA Network Open: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Microglial Activation in Patients with Alzheimer Disease

Image of Brain

Neuropsychiatric symptoms including irritability, nighttime disturbances, and agitation are highly prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are clinically well characterized in individuals with Alzheimer’s, scientists have more to learn regarding these symptoms’ neurobiological underpinnings. Investigators including Cristiano Schaffer Aguzzoli, MD (former Pitt...

Alzheimer's & Dementia and Nature Aging: New Alzheimer's Disease Research

Ferrari-Souza et al. Nature Aging 2023 Authors

The Pascoal Lab (PI: Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD; Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology) and colleagues have published recent research findings in Alzheimer's & Dementia and Nature Aging examining biomarkers and pathophysiological progression of Alzheimer's disease. “These two publications contribute to our understanding of the biomarkers and pathophysiological processes associated with the progression of...

The Department of Psychiatry Welcomes New Faculty Members Bruna Bellaver, PhD, and Pamela Lukasewicz Ferreira, PhD

Dr. Bruna Bellaver and Dr. Pamela Lukasewicz Ferreira

Pitt Psychiatry extends a warm welcome to two new faculty members: Bruna Bellaver, PhD (Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry) Dr. Bellaver earned her PhD in biological sciences: biochemistry in 2020 from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil (UFRGS). Upon completion of her doctorate, Dr. Bellaver undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at UFRGS investigating the involvement of astrocytes in...