HUGEN News

Pitt students place in top ten at National Bioethics Bowl

Deem awarded fellowship to develop Public Health and Human Flourishing course

Quasar Padiath Appointed Human Genetics Chair

Department of Human Genetics Associate Professor Quasar S. Padiath has been appointed to the position of chair of the department, his academic home since 2011.

Padiath has served as interim chair since October 2023 and also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurobiology at Pitt’s School of Medicine.

Chasing a rare disease

Postdoc's personal experience drives research.

14 Pitt people earned Year of Discourse and Dialogue funding

Congratulations to Human Genetics Professor and Director of the Center for Bioethics & Health Law, Lisa Parker, on her Year of Discourse and Dialogue funding!

Many cancers are on the rise in the U.S., even as overall deaths fall

“It has been hard because the idea is that it has to do with early-age exposures, and now the world is very different than it was 40 years ago,” said Associate Professor of Human Genetics Brenda Diergaarde. 

Two prestigious honors for Hugen student Swathi Balaji

Human Genetics MPH student Swathi Balaji has been selected as an Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) Scholar by the National Health Genomic Research Institute. Balaji will work with Kathleen Blazer, director, Cancer Genomics Education Program, Division of Clinical Cancer Genomics, City of Hope National Medical Center and will attend the annual ISCC-PEG meeting in April. 

David Finegold conferred the status of Professor Emeritus

Recognizing his distinguished service to the University of Pittsburgh, David Finegold, MD, a longtime professor in the Department of Human Genetics, has been conferred the status of Professor Emeritus.

Bianca Kun selected for Faculty-Student Collaborative Project from Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center

Congratulations to Bianca Kun, a second-year MPH Public Health Genetics student, for being selected to complete a Faculty-Student Collaborative Project through the Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center (MAR-PHTC). This recognition is based on her research project, "SSRIs and Risk of Preterm Birth in African American Women," which not only highlights the critical intersection of mental health and maternal health in minority populations, but also underscores the importance of targeted research in public health genetics.

Pitt Public Health honors alumni at awards ceremony

The University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health recognized nine alumni for their outstanding service to the field of public health at an awards ceremony.

American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting

Trainees and faculty in Human Genetics made a strong showing at November’s American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting in Washington, DC!
 

Post-doctoral fellow Bruce Nmezi selected for the 2023-2025 Human Genetics Scholars

Dr. Bruce Nmezi has been selected for the 2023-2025 Human Genetics Scholars.

Shubhnita Singh receives the Young Investigator Travel Award

Department of Human Genetics PhD student Shubhnita Singh wins Young Investigator Travel Award

Congratulations to Department of Human Genetics fourth year PhD student Shubhnita Singh on receiving the Young Investigator Travel Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) at the Hypertension Conference. 

Pitt Public Health researchers uncovered new genetic traits influencing Alzheimer's risk

Led by Ilyas Kamboh, professor of human genetics and epidemiology, the group found that, in addition to known gene variants associated with disease risk, there are at least 15 more variations in the APOE. 

Alumni Spotlight: Christa Lese Martin, PhD

For Christa Lese Martin (PhD, HUGEN ’96), you might say the future was in her genes.

Though she had a high school interest in the biological sciences, Martin’s career path gained focus as she prepared for college. “I learned about the field of human genetics and decided then and there that was it,” she says. “And I haven’t turned back.”