Isabella Fonseca Isabella Fonseca

How Genetic and Environmental Factors Impact Risk of Orofacial Clefts in the Philippines

Hot Metal Campus researchers, including Mary L. Marazita, PhD, and Seth Weinberg, PhD, from UPitt’s Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, as well as the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, are investigating the interaction between maternal smoking and vitamin use, and how these factors influence genes to cause orofacial clefts in Filipinos.

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Neema Tavakolian Neema Tavakolian

Shedding Light on How Cells Send Stress Signals

Researchers, including Hot Metal Campus's Jay Xiaojun Tan from UPitt’s Aging Institute, are revealing how tiny lipid molecules called phosphoinositides (PIPs) act as the cell’s internal “messengers,” precisely directing responses to stress and external signals.

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Pearl Kaplan Pearl Kaplan

We Can Change Our Homes as We Age: Becoming More CAPABLE

As we get older and our needs and goals change, so must our home environment ensure ongoing comfort, safety, and dignity in the places where our most precious memories are held. To help older adults continue to live in their home and safely meet their goals, University of Pittsburgh researchers in the Department of Occupational Therapy recently presented highlights from an ongoing CAPABLE study.

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Hot Metal Team Hot Metal Team

Hot Metal Labs Joins LSPA

We are thrilled to announce that Hot Metal Labs at Hot Metal Campus has officially joined Life Sciences Pennsylvania (LSPA), Pennsylvania’s premier trade association for the life sciences sector.

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Chloe Huggins Chloe Huggins

How Scientists Found a New Way to Help Us Fight Coronaviruses

At the University of Pittsburgh, a team of scientists were on a mission. While the world fought off COVID-19, these researchers asked a powerful question: What if we could help the body fight viruses more effectively, without directly targeting the virus itself?

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Isabella Fonseca Isabella Fonseca

Making Access to Pediatric Rehabilitation Therapy More Equitable

A recent study from Pitt’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Department of Occupational Therapy reveals how families of children with disabilities face substantial challenges to accessing therapy appointments, especially those of marginalized groups.

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Neema Tavakolian Neema Tavakolian

Mapping Faces and Genes to Better Understand Human Diversity

Hot Metal Campus researchers are helping transform how we study complex human traits by combining facial imaging and genetic data. Seth Weinberg and Mary Marazita—based in Pitt’s Department of Human Genetics and the Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics—contributed to a new method called INMTD.

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Neema Tavakolian Neema Tavakolian

Stepping Toward Change: StepUp & The World Shoe Fund

Something as simple as a pair of shoes can be life-changing in underserved communities. The World Shoe Fund has long known this, building its mission around the powerful link between footwear, health, and opportunity. Now, with help from the StepUp Project Team, that mission is entering the digital age through an engaging educational game that blends fun with lasting impact.

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Neema Tavakolian Neema Tavakolian

Transforming Social Participation After Brain Injury

Discover how researchers at Hot Metal Campus at Pitt’s Occupational Therapy Department are pioneering advancements in social participation interventions for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

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Neema Tavakolian Neema Tavakolian

Flow: Where Art, Dance, Technology, and Tradition Converge

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to step inside a story — where every movement, sound, and light immerses you in pages of a book brought to life? Flow is an immersive experience that transports audiences into the heart of Chinese folklore through dance, light, and interactive technology.

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