Recent News

Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Caitlin McNamara

Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Caitlin McNamara

Caitlin McNamara, MD received her bachelor’s degree with honors from Georgia Institute of Technology and was an AOA graduate of the Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine.

Safar Center T32 Fellow Elizabeth Castellano, PhD

Safar Center T32 Fellow Elizabeth Castellano, PhD

Elizabeth Castellano, PhD received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and her PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Duquesne University.

UPMC Physician Journal: A Video News Magazine

UPMC Physician Journal: A Video News Magazine

The latest episode of the UPMC Physician Journal features a story about the severe traumatic brain injury and neurocritical care programs at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and their links to the work at the Safar Center.

18th Safar Symposium a Smashing Success

18th Safar Symposium a Smashing Success

The 18th Safar Symposium on May 19th and 20th held virtually for the first time, was a record-breaking event with over 360 registrants. In addition, attendees from 20 countries participated.

Safar T32 Scholars Publish in JAMA Network Open

Safar T32 Scholars Publish in JAMA Network Open

Anecdotally, many pediatric clinicians noted a sharp drop-off in the number of admitted children after COVID-19 and associated social distancing began. Several of us began to note aloud "wow, it's like bronchiolitis and asthma just went away." Inspired by that...

2020 Nancy Caroline Fellow Award

2020 Nancy Caroline Fellow Award

The 2020 Nancy Caroline Fellow Award as the top trainee working at the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research was received by Jessica Jarvis, PhD.

Safar Center T32 Fellow Jay Rakkar

Safar Center T32 Fellow Jay Rakkar

Dr. Jay Rakkar received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He completed his M.D. at Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Christopher Horvat Awarded K23 Grant

Dr. Christopher Horvat Awarded K23 Grant

Christopher Horvat, MD, MHA, was awarded a K23 grant entitled, “A Learning Health System Approach to Precision Sedation and Analgesia in Critically Ill Children”

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Jessica Jarvis

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Jessica Jarvis

Dr. Jarvis is completing a T32 fellowship in pediatric neurocritical care at the University of Pittsburgh’s Safar Center to develop skills in prospective, clinical research in pediatric critical care.

R-21 NIH Grant

R-21 NIH Grant

Assistant professor of Critical Care Medicine, Dennis Simon, MD was awarded an R21 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

STAR Center Symposium

STAR Center Symposium

On November 22, 2019, Dr. Kochanek was invited to a symposium honoring the 10 year anniversary of the prestigious STAR Center at Maryland Shock Trauma.

2019 Safar Symposium

2019 Safar Symposium

The 17th Annual Safar Symposium took place on April 22nd and 23rd this year, and was an outstanding success, and one the most well attended in the event’s history.

Dr. Sherry Chou Awarded R21 from the NIH

Dr. Sherry Chou Awarded R21 from the NIH

Safar Center Associate Director Sherry Chou, PhD, just received a notice of award for her new R21 grant, titled “MicroRNA Endotypes of Systemic Inflammation in Sub-Arachnoid hemorrhaGE (MESSAGE).”

Safar Center T32 Fellows Graduate

Safar Center T32 Fellows Graduate

We are pleased to announce that in June, Michael Wolf, MD, and Alicia Alcamo, MD, graduated from the Safar Center’s Pediatric Neurointensive Care and Resuscitation Research FellowshipT32 program.

Dr. Sapna Kudchadkar Visits the Safar Center

Dr. Sapna Kudchadkar Visits the Safar Center

On December 12th, visiting professor Dr. Sapna Kudchadkar presented Grand Rounds to the Department of Critical Care. Her lecture was titled “Illness Doesn’t Mean Stillness: Creating a Culture of Mobility for Critically Ill Children.”

Dr. Alicia Au Awarded New K23 Grant

Dr. Alicia Au Awarded New K23 Grant

Safar Center Scientist, Dr. Alicia Au, was recently awarded a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Health.

2018 Student Research Day

2018 Student Research Day

The annual the Safar Center Student Research Day took place on July 17th this year, and featured presentations from thirteen young trainees ranging from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows.

Kline and Bondi Lab Trainees Graduate

Kline and Bondi Lab Trainees Graduate

Drs. Corina O. Bondi (Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neurobiology, and Safar Center Associate Director) and Anthony E. Kline (Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Psychology, Critical Care Medicine, Center for...

Andrew Lamade Awarded New F30 Grant

Andrew Lamade Awarded New F30 Grant

Andrew Lamade, a Safar Center trainee, has recently been awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual National Research Service Award Fellowship for MD/PhD students.

Safar Center Researchers Recognized at SCCM Congress

Safar Center Researchers Recognized at SCCM Congress

The work of two Safar Center researchers was recognized at the 47th Annual Congress of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, which took place in San Antonio, Texas, from March 25th to March 28th this year.

Dr. Hulya Bayir Published in Cell

Dr. Hulya Bayir Published in Cell

Safar Center Associate Director Dr. Hulya Bayir co-authored two important manuscripts in the October 2017 issue of the prestigious journal Cell.

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Michael Wolf

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf, MD, earned his B.A. degree in molecular and cell biology, with a neuroscience emphasis, from the University of California at Berkeley in 2012, with a goal of gaining a basic understanding of nervous system physiology and anatomy to guide his further...

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Jessica Wallisch

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Jessica Wallisch

Jessica Wallisch was born and raised in Kansas where she completed her undergraduate studies in biology and gerontology at Kansas State University followed by medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.  During medical school she was introduced to...

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Amery Treble-Barna

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Amery Treble-Barna

Amery Treble-Barna completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Toronto before moving to Texas for graduate school. She received a PhD in clinical psychology, specializing in pediatric neuropsychology, from the University of Houston. She...

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Alicia Alcamo

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Alicia Alcamo

Alicia Alcamo, MD, obtained her B.S. in Biology at Elizabethtown College. It was during this time she had her first exposure to scientific research and she was fortunate to participate in several different experiences that sparked her interest...

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Justin Azar

Meet Safar Center T32 Fellow Dr. Justin Azar

Justin Azar, MD, completed his T32 training in June of 2020. He was a highly recruited PICU fellow from Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, having received his MD degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

2017 Safar Center Student Research Day

2017 Safar Center Student Research Day

Every year, the Safar Center holds a Student Research Day, which gives students and young researchers the opportunity to present their summer projects and findings.

15th Annual Safar Symposium

15th Annual Safar Symposium

This year, the 15th Annual Safar Symposium took place on May 22nd and 23rd in the Rangos Research Center at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

Groundbreaking ADAPT Trial Enrollment Completed

Groundbreaking ADAPT Trial Enrollment Completed

The Approaches and Decisions for Acute Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (ADAPT) Trial led by Drs. Michael Bell, at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Stephen Wisniewski in the Graduate School of Public Health.