HUGEN News
Pitt team shines in national bioethics competition
The University of Pittsburgh Bioethics Bowl team placed second at the National Bioethics Bowl competition on April 11. Pitt's School of Public Health and Institute for Bioethics sponsored this year’s competition, which was the 18th annual event. Competitors represented
Pitt Public Health faculty publish genetic counseling handbook
Michael Deem, PhD, and Robin Grubs, PhD, associate professors of human genetics, served as editors for The Oxford Handbook of Genetic Counseling, a comprehensive new resource for the field. Released in October 2025, the handbook brings together decades of scholarship and practice, spanning the history of genetic counseling, its growth within health care systems and the ethical and social questions shaping its future.
Science meets origami: Kaveh Moradi finds focus beyond the lab
Kaveh Moradi, PhD, knows that structure is everything. In his research, when myelin breaks down, the brain loses its ability to communicate—driving diseases like multiple sclerosis. At his desk, a single misplaced fold can collapse a paper figure. As a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Moradi studies the mechanisms behind demyelination. Outside of the lab, he folds origami, a craft requiring the same precision. Lately, it has also become a way to cope with the uncertainty of having family in Iran.
A public health professor is bringing the National Bioethics Bowl to Pitt
“...bioethics topics are emerging as quickly as technology is developing, and they’re things that we really need to grapple with,” said Cindy McCarthy, an associate professor in the School of Public Health and this year’s National Bioethics Bowl organizer. “They’re difficult conversations, they’re complex, they’re multifaceted.”
Zafari receives Outstanding Poster Award at OSCAR symposium
PhD Student Narges Zafari presented her work at the 2025 Optimizing Scientific Careers in Alzheimer's Research (OSCAR) symposium and was honored for the poster "Genome-wide association analyses Reveal Novel and Established Genetic Loci Associated with Plasma Phosphorylated-tau217".
Newly discovered link between traumatic brain injury in children and epigenetic changes could help personalize treatment for recovering kids
A newly discovered biological signal in the blood could help health care teams and researchers better understand how children respond to brain injuries at the cellular level, according to published research by Lacey Heinsberg, assistant professor of nursing and human genetics, and Amery Treble-Barna, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation.
2025 Public Health Practice Showcase
The 2025 Public Health Practice Showcase featured 15 graduate students representing each of Pitt Public Health’s seven departments, who presented work done in collaboration with community partners. Awards were also presented to faculty, staff and community partners who exemplify public health practice excellence.
In her opening remarks, Dean Lichtveld spoke of the importance of “making sure our science works for communities. Otherwise, our science doesn’t work.”
How Pitt’s Genetic Counseling Program faculty makes vision restoration possible
The University of Pittsburgh’s expertise in ocular genetics was highlighted in October at the GC BRIDGED Conference, a pioneering event for genetic counselors in ophthalmology that included adjunct faculty from the School of Public Health.
Brunick and Soni 2025–26 TIPH Ambassadors
Two Pitt Public Health graduate students, McKenna Brunick and Maahi Soni, have been selected as This is Public Health (TIPH) ambassadors for the 2025–26 academic year.
New Pitt classes and programs launch in fall 2025
Pitt Public Health is offering new courses for fall 2025, including a Disaster Preparedness Certificate and a course in AI in Health Data Science, as well as training opportunities through the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health.
Public Health in Action: The Pittsburgh Summer Institute
Nine Pitt Public Health students participated in the 2025 Pittsburgh Summer Institute (PSI), a long-standing partnership between the school and the Allegheny County Health Department. Now in its 14th year, PSI offers a 200-hour practicum that blends the structure of a traditional internship with hands-on workforce development. The students presented their projects at a final showcase at the school on July 23.
Pitt researchers discover distinct Alzheimer’s pathways in Down Syndrome
By analyzing genetic samples collected by the Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium–Down Syndrome, a team of researchers led by Ilyas Kamboh, a professor of human genetics and epidemiology at Pitt’s School of Public Health, discovered several distinct gene regions associated with adverse levels of amyloid and clumping-prone tau in the blood.
Celebration of Human Genetics Student Awards 2025
Congratulations to this year's winners!
Tales from the bench
From the academy to industry