Faculty from the School of Public Health and School of Medicine are leading a new effort to develop and evaluate innovative approaches to promote maternal health equity and reduce pregnancy-related complications and death. The new Equity in Maternal and Birthing Outcomes and Reproductive Health through Community Engagement (EMBRACE) Center will support a community-academic partnership to advance maternal and reproductive health and well-being of Black people.

Co-principal investigators for the site include Dara D. Méndez, School of Public Health; Mehret Birru Talabi, School of Medicine; and Hyagriv Simhan, School of Medicine.

Learn More about EMBRACE >>

A Matter of Life or Death: Autonomous Robotic Triage System for Mass Casualty Events

The time it takes to determine who needs care the most in a mass casualty event can be a matter of life or death. University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University researchers—known as Team Chiron—have developed a medical triage system using autonomous robotics that will greatly enhance medical personnel’s ability to triage patients in the field. The team will compete in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) three-year, $7 million DARPA Triage Challenge using their noninvasive, remote-detection system.

“We want to utilize the speed of a computer and the strength of robotics to add to what human talent already has,” says Leonard Weiss, associate professor of emergency medicine and member of Team Chiron. “If we can create a trustworthy and dependable system that does not inhibit our progress, but enhances it, we can protect humans from hazards in mass casualty events while saving as many lives as possible.”

Learn More about Team Chiron >>

Pitt Designated as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University by the APLU

Highlighting Pitt’s commitment to economic development and local innovation, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) has designated Pitt as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University. As a developer and partner in the Pittsburgh Innovation District, an investor in affordable housing strategies and the leader of Pitt BioForge, the University continues to forge partnerships that strengthen both the community and Pitt.

Read More >>

Michael Munin Earns AANEM Research Award

The American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) will honor Michael Munin, School of Medicine, with its 2024 Distinguished Researcher Award. He has made significant contributions to the timing around rehabilitation and mobility after surgery, laryngeal electromyography and using ultrasound to guide botulinum toxin injections in patients with spasticity.

Learn More about Munin's Work >>

Collaboration Survey for Campus Master Plan

The Office of Planning, Design and Construction is currently conducting a Collaboration Survey exclusive to Pitt faculty and staff as part of the new Campus Master Plan. Participation is key to creating a plan that serves the needs of the overall campus community. The survey will provide insight into current and desired collaboration experiences.

Participants will showcase departments that they frequently work with and areas in which they collaborate (or wish that they could). Your participation in this survey is critical to understand where we collaborate throughout Pitt and beyond.

Interested staff and faculty can complete the survey now through September 30.

Take the Survey Now >>

The Next Frontier for mRNA Could Be Healing Damaged Organs

Pitt researchers are testing the use of mRNA to allow damaged organs to repair themselves, potentially lessening the need for transplants in the future. Alejandro Soto-Gutiérrez, School of Medicine, leads a multi-institutional team that is preparing a clinical trial to test the idea in patients with end-stage liver disease.

Learn More in WIRED >>

Narrowing The Research-To-Practice Divide

Rachel Robertson, School of Education, joins Forbes to discuss how building bridges between academia and community can result in collaborative research which leads to sustainable, impactful programs.

Read More in Forbes >>

Underwater Adhesion Research Unveils Surprising Properties of Water

With colleagues from the University of Akron, Tevis Jacobs, Swanson School of Engineering, made a surprising finding about underwater adhesion: even though water interferes with surfaces coming into contact, once the contact is made and most of the water is squeezed out, tiny trapped pockets of water serve to increase adhesion, making it harder to pull apart.

Learn More in WESA >>

Undergraduate Research for Institutional Effectiveness

Brett H. Say, Office of the Provost, and Caitlin Pingree, Frederick Honors College, outline three major ways universities can help scale traditional faculty/student models of undergraduate research engagement: research peer mentoring, group-based programs and community engaged research.

Read More in Inside Higher Ed >>

Publish Open Access for Free

The University Library System, along with the Health Sciences Library System, has partnered with a number of scholarly publishers to enable eligible University of Pittsburgh authors to achieve immediate open access without further payment or at discounted APC rates. Publishing open access allows authors to retain their author rights and make their publications freely accessible immediately after publication (avoiding embargos).

See List of Journal Agreements >>