University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Promotes Leonardo D’Aiuto, PhD, to Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
We are pleased to announce that Leonardo D’Aiuto, PhD, has been promoted to Assistant Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
After earning his undergraduate degree in biological sciences, Dr. D’Aiuto received two fellowships in molecular cytogenetics at the Institute of Genetics in Bari, Italy. Upon receiving his PhD in molecular genetics and evolution at the University of Bari, Dr. D’Aiuto was appointed as a researcher in the Department of Pathological Anatomy and Genetics. He then served for two years as a research associate at the Medical Research Council’s Human Genetics Unit of the Chromosome Biology Section (Edinburgh, Scotland). Dr. D’Aiuto next came to the University of Pittsburgh and was appointed a research associate in the Department of Surgery, and later senior research associate in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. He then joined the Pitt Department of Psychiatry as a senior research associate and was subsequently appointed Research Instructor of Psychiatry. In 2020, Dr. D’Aiuto was promoted to Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry.
Dr. D’Aiuto is an expert on viral infection of human neurons. He focuses specifically on the development of novel approaches for the generation of three-dimensional neuronal cultures from human-induced pluripotent stem cells, for modeling for central nervous system neurotropic viral infections and psychiatric disorders. He currently co-leads a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)-funded R01 grant to study the effects of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection on neural progenitor cell biology, as HSV-1 infection is the most common cause of encephalitis in immunocompetent individuals. Earlier this year, he received a grant supplement to investigate the consequences of HSV-1 reactivation on neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells and the generation of Alzheimer disease molecular hallmarks in cells undergoing viral reactivation. Dr. D’Aiuto’s research has been published journals including Stem Cell Research & Therapy, Journal of Virology, and Journal of Infectiology. He is an editorial board member for Stem Cell Research and Therapeutics International.
“An expert in the neuropathogenesis of neurotropic viruses, Dr. D’Aiuto’s research experience has generated important research findings and impactful funding opportunities in an understudied area, as well as collaborations within and external to the University of Pittsburgh,” said David Lewis, MD (Chair, Department of Psychiatry). “We look forward to his future contributions.”
Please join us in congratulating Dr. D’Aiuto!