The Department of Psychiatry Welcomes New Faculty Members Bruna Bellaver, PhD, and Pamela Lukasewicz Ferreira, PhD
Pitt Psychiatry extends a warm welcome to two new faculty members:
Bruna Bellaver, PhD (Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)
Dr. Bellaver earned her PhD in biological sciences: biochemistry in 2020 from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil (UFRGS). Upon completion of her doctorate, Dr. Bellaver undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at UFRGS investigating the involvement of astrocytes in mammalian vulnerability and resilience to neurodegeneration. In 2021, Dr. Bellaver came to the University of Pittsburgh for additional postdoctoral research training with Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology), investigating potential confounding factors of blood biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, and glial biomarkers associated with early tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease. In Dr. Pascoal’s lab, she is continuing this work, focusing on glial signatures of tau propagation in Alzheimer’s disease.
Pamela Lukasewicz Ferreira, PhD (Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)
Dr. Lukasewicz Ferreira earned her PhD in pharmaceutical sciences in 2019 from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil (UFRGS). Upon earning her PhD, Dr. Lukasewicz Ferreira conducted postdoctoral research training in developing and validating methods to evaluate biomarkers in biological fluids at UFRGS, then came to the University of Pittsburgh to conduct additional postdoctoral research under the mentorship of Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology). Her recent postdoctoral work focused on blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease and its potential application in clinical trials. In Dr. Pascoal’s lab, Dr. Lukasewicz Ferreira is continuing this work, additionally addressing racial and ethnic effects on blood biomarkers across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Bellaver and Dr. Lukasewicz Ferreira!