Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD, Named a University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Ascending Star

Congratulations to Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology), who has been honored with a University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Ascending Star Award, recognizing highly productive, creative, mid-career faculty members from across the Health Sciences.

Earlier this month, Dr. Freyberg presented an Ascending Star Award Lecture, “Opening New Windows into Dopamine Cell Biology in Health and Disease,” explaining the complexity of dopamine, which is often oversimplified as a ‘pleasure chemical.’

Dr. Freyberg’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of cell signaling, particularly in the context of neuropsychiatric illnesses. His work has provided important discoveries that elucidate the mechanisms of cell plasticity. Dr. Freyberg discovered new mechanisms by which neurons control neurotransmitter release in responses to activity and was the first to demonstrate that these mechanisms play key roles in selective dopamine neuron resilience to neurodegeneration. In addition, he has uncovered how dopamine signaling within the pancreas relates to mechanisms of metabolic disease, and he has discovered a new cell organelle, RAVs, that provides the structural basis for synaptic plasticity in neurons and other secretory cell types. 

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Freyberg!