To celebrate the opening of its new Western Pennsylvania Quantum Information Core (WPQIC), Pitt hosted a ribbon-cutting event on May 4, marking a major milestone for quantum science and technology in the region. Pitt leadership, including Chancellor Joan Gabel and Senior Vice Chancellor for Research Rob A. Rutenbar, were in attendance, along with Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor and Pennsylvania congressional staffers. WPQIC is backed by $11.6 million in support from the inaugural investment by Pitt’s Strategic Advancement Fund and recently received an additional $400,000 congressional earmark.

This collaborative hub is dedicated to cutting-edge research in the field, offering specialized, made-to-spec equipment and state-of-the-art instrumentation and tools most researchers cannot regularly access. As one of Pitt’s shared research facilities, WPQIC provides a collaborative platform open to regional academic partners and industry collaborators. WPQIC represents more than a decade of Pitt’s commitment to partnerships in quantum science and industry commercialization. In 2013, the University co-founded the Pittsburgh Quantum Initiative, a collaboration spanning Pitt, Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University.

Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences faculty supporting the core are Sergey Frolov, faculty director, and Wenmin Yang, acting facility director.

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Keystone AI + Quantum Factory Promotes Pennsylvania Economic Growth

As one of Pennsylvania’s seven research-intensive universities, Pitt has joined forces with the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Team Pennsylvania to launch the Keystone AI + Quantum Factory. This statewide network will accelerate innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies, serving as a powerful economic catalyst for Pennsylvania. Built on three interconnected pillars—world-class research, workforce development and shared infrastructure—the Keystone AI + Quantum Factory will enable industry and government partners to translate innovation into economic growth, workforce opportunity and competitive advantage.

Pitt will share resources and expertise from its Center for Research Computing and Data to efficiently perform large-scale experiments. Some of the first projects will originate with Pitt faculty, including the galaxy evolution research of Evan Schneider, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, and the tumor evolution research of Adrian Lee, School of Medicine.

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Dietrich Professor Named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Karen Arndt, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy is both an honorary society and an independent research center, and members are distinguished in academia, the arts, industry, policy, research and science. Arndt was recognized for her work studying the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes through the actions of transcription elongation factors and epigenetic modifications of chromatin and their interplay.

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Molecular Test Doubles Bile Duct Cancer Detection

Pitt and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center researchers, led by Adam Slivka, School of Medicine, have developed BiliSeq (V2/V3), a next-generation sequencing panel that detects cancer-associated mutations in bile duct tissue. Bile duct tumors are small and difficult to reach, so standard pathology methods often fail to provide a clear diagnosis. In a study recently published in Gastroenterology, the research team sequenced bile duct specimens from more than 2,000 patients in real time over a six-year period and found that using BiliSeq alone resulted in significantly improved detection. When BiliSeq was used in combination with standard pathology assessment, detection rates doubled to nearly 90%. These results suggest that BiliSeq has potential to improve early diagnosis and management in high-risk patients.

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Engineers Secure Competitive Grant to Investigate Highway Cracking

Researchers from the Swanson School of Engineering have secured a $600,000 grant from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Lev Khazanovich and Julie Vandenbossche, co-principal investigators, will use the funds to identify the causes of longitudinal cracking on highways and develop predictive models that will be integrated into design software. Longitudinal cracking accelerates pavement deterioration and costs millions of dollars in repairs each year. The Swanson team’s work aims to improve the durability and safety of roads, potentially providing a national infrastructure solution.

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Study Shows T Cell Function May Improve After Meals

Greg M. Delgoffe and postdoc Alok Kumar, School of Medicine, and their team of researchers have found that T cells can better fight infection and disease immediately after eating a meal. As published in Nature, the team analyzed T cells from blood samples of 31 study participants taken in the morning before eating and then again six hours later after eating breakfast and lunch. The results showed the T cells provided better immunity after subjects ate two meals than after fasting all night. The study also addressed how food type and nutrient content can affect the immune system. Future implications could include using rationally designed diets to boost T cells at key times, such as when receiving a vaccination or immunotherapy for cancer. Their findings also suggest dietary manipulation could be used in combating autoimmune conditions.

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Study Analyzes Metal Exposure in Caribbean Adults

School of Public Health researchers Natalie Price and Iva Miljkovic recently led the first study to comprehensively characterize urinary metal concentrations in middle-aged and older Caribbean adults, an underrepresented population in environmental health research. These findings offer a baseline against which scientists can track how exposures change over time and investigate how environmental and lifestyle factors affect health outcomes across populations. The study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, analyzed urine samples of nearly 900 adults, drawn from the Tobago Health Study. Results indicated metal exposure in more than 87% of participants, and several metal concentrations, which may link to chronic disorders, were higher compared to U.S. and global data.

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Researchers Identify Precursor to Volcanic Eruption

Ian T.W. Flynn, Michael Ramsey and Evan Collins, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, have identified a possible precursor to detect a volcanic eruption. The team used satellite data obtained leading up to the 2022 eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano and applied machine learning, which enabled identification of a thermal buildup occurring one month prior. The study, published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, also tracked lava flow velocity and compared ground heights pre- and post-eruption. This data will help scientists predict where lava will flow so warnings can be issued. Additionally, these findings will inform scientists studying volcanoes on other planets.

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Study Suggests Transplant Patients Could Avoid Lifelong Anti-Rejection Drugs

Abhinav Humar, Yannis Hadjiyannis and Camila Macedo Both, School of Medicine, and their teams have made a landmark contribution to the field of solid organ transplantation. Their first-of-its-kind study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that liver transplant recipients may not require lifelong anti-rejection medications following infusion of a novel cellular therapy. The study explores whether donor-derived dendritic cells can prime a recipient's immune system to accept a transplanted organ. In a small clinical trial, several liver transplant recipients who received the therapy were able to discontinue immunosuppressive drugs for at least three years.

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Mindfulness Supports Learning in STEM Courses

Researchers from Pitt’s Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) and Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, led by Tessa Benson-Greenwald and Brian M. Galla, LRDC, found that the practice of mindfulness can support learning and persistence in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses, specifically physics. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that mindfulness is an effective tool in helping students navigate the demands of higher education by reducing anxiety and building confidence. After five days of 20-minute audio training in mindfulness, students reported feeling less threatened and more engaged in their coursework.

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Summer Grant Writing Accountability Group

Looking for distraction-free time to focus on grant writing this summer?
The Pitt Research Concierge Program is hosting a six-week virtual Grant Writing Accountability Group open to all Pitt faculty.

Each session includes:

• Protected writing time
• Structured goal setting
• Personalized feedback from a senior grant writer

The summer session will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, June 10, 17 and 24 and July 1, 8 and 15.

To register, email Pitt Research Concierge. For questions, contact Christine Barberio, senior grant writer.