Dr. McElroy's research interests include studying the interactions that occur between the host immune system and emerging viral pathogens. To do this, animal model systems, clinical specimens from cases of human disease, and in vitro models are used. Previous work has focused on the Hantaviruses, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, and Ebola virus. Current studies are utilizing the mouse model to elucidate the role of T cells in immunity to RVFV.

Sylvia Owusu-Ansah MD, MPH, FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician, pediatric emergency medicine, and emergency medical services (EMS)  physician who is currently an attending at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Director of Pre-hospital and EMS. Dr. Owusu-Ansah has been extremely involved in pediatric advocacy and education of EMS providers at all levels, locally, regionally and nationally. She currently sits on the Pediatric Emergency Medicine  Advocacy and EMS Committees with the American Academy of Pediatrics, and additional regional and national committees related to her work. One of the contributions she is most proud of is  advocating for pediatric health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. office on federal, state, and community pediatric advocacy issues including the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2013. She is proud mother of two girls and wife a transitioning paramedic.

Dr. Nischal joined UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of the Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, and Adult Motility in 2011. He directs pediatric program development at the UPMC Eye Center and is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Nischal has pioneered the use of new surgical techniques, previously used only in adults, in children with corneal disorders. He is one of the world’s foremost pediatric eye specialists and an author of more than 100 published research articles.

Dr. Andrew Nowalk is Associate Professor and Clinical Director in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, both at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.He maintains a clinical practice and an active research program in Lyme disease, examining the epidemic of Lyme disease in Western Pennsylvania and searching to improve treatment and testing for pediatric Lyme disease cases. In addition to his research interests, Dr. Nowalk serves as a residency program director in pediatrics for the UPMC Medical Education program, and lectures and mentors students, residents and fellows through the Medical Center.

Dean Yimlamai, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and is trained as a clinical gastroenterologist. He specializes in gastroenterology with an interest in pediatric liver diseases and liver tumors. His research group uses mouse models to understand the fundamental mechanisms of liver growth during development, its restoration from injury and changes that lead to cancer. His group specializes in the Hippo Signaling Pathway, a relatively recently recognized signaling pathway that controls organ growth and regeneration.

John Alcorn, PhD is a scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The Alcorn lab is focused on T cell immunity, host defense, epithelial cell biology, and lung physiology. A primary lab focus is on Influenza infection and the host defense mechanisms of T helper 17 cells. His lab has recently shown that the TH17 effector cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 are required for host defense against a variety of extracellular pathogens. 

Liza Konnikova, MD, PhD, FAAP, is a neonatologist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Developmental Biology and Immunology in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her lab focuses on the develop of neonatal immunity at mucosal surfaces and its role in the pathogenesis of diverse diseases such as sepsis, preterm labor, necrotizing enterocolitis, and very-early onset IBD (VEO-IBD).

She has pioneered the application of mass cytometry to frozen mucosal biopsies, helping to improve our understanding of mucosal immunity. This innovation has helped to identify novel populations of immune cells in VEO-IBD and to perform serial monitoring of IBD activity during drug trials.

Carlton Bates, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, has been caring for children with pediatric kidney disease for many years, but he often finds another organ on his mind: the bladder and the role it plays in the health of a kidney. Dr. Bates discusses his well-recognized research program in Pittsburgh focused on the genetic regulation of kidney and bladder development.

Lots of people have a personal connection to their work and Kishore Vellody, MD, medical director of the Down Syndrome Center, credits his motivation to his older brother, who has Down syndrome. Dr. Vellody discusses his career, the thriving Down syndrome community in Pittsburgh, and starting his own podcast, the Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania podcast. The National Down Syndrome Convention will be held in Pittsburgh at the end of June.

In this special episode, learn all about measles, the most infectious human virus on the planet, and the recent outbreak in the U.S. Our two guests are Paul Duprex, PhD, director of Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and John Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UPMC Children’s and fellow podcast host.