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Get the most interesting and important stories from the University of Pittsburgh.Researchers at Pitt are working across a broad spectrum of disciplines to promote health and well-being across life stages. Their work in fields from aging and women’s health to maternal care and mental illness shares some commonalities: proactive interventions, interdisciplinary research and a focus on enhancing the quality — not just the length — of life.
That philosophy is central to the research of Anne Newman, a distinguished professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and clinical director of the joint Pitt-UPMC Aging Institute and Toren Finkel, a professor of medicine in the School of Medicine.
“The goal of what we call ‘healthspan’ is to optimize health for as long as possible,” Newman said. As principal investigator of the RIGHT Study (Reducing Inflammation for Greater Health Trial), Newman is using an anti-inflammatory drug to target persistent low-level immune system activity without affecting people’s ability to fight off infections or diseases.
Finkel, who is also director of the Aging Institute, complements this work with the development of new drugs specifically designed to block inflammation. Their collaborative research provides a foundation for developing targeted interventions that promote healthy aging.
“If we find people do better with these very targeted biological therapies,” Finkel said, “we could potentially use this strategy for older adults who are beginning to become frail, and potentially prevent many of the diseases of aging from ever occurring.”
Read more about Finkel and Newman’s work in the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research’s 2024 Annual Report — and read on for more stories of researchers focusing on healthy aging.
Meet more impactful innovators
Browse the report website to explore stories that highlight the people behind Pitt’s research enterprise, which reached $1.2 billion in 2024.
Looking ahead
Maria Mori Brooks (pictured above), a professor of epidemiology and of biostatistics in the School of Public Health, is also trying to understand aging outside the context of disease. She’s the principal investigator of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), which provides insights into the ways in which midlife experiences affect health and quality of life during aging.
During each visit, participants fill out survey data on a wide range of health indicators. SWAN uses these data to understand the complex changes women experience as they age and to identify patterns and risk factors associated with various health outcomes. This helps them develop targeted interventions and provide women with informed guidance.
Rather than reacting to health issues as they arise, SWAN’s approach seeks to understand the underlying processes and identify opportunities for early intervention to improve long-term health and well-being.
“We’ve had challenges and fun working with all the data and trying to make sense out of what happens as women age,” Brooks said.
[Read more about how Brooks is seeking to understand women’s health and aging.]
The importance of proactive care is also emphasized in School of Medicine
Assistant Professor Mehret Birru Talabi’s research on maternal health for individuals with chronic conditions such as rheumatic diseases.
“Knowing that pregnancy can exacerbate disease conditions, how do we improve the rheumatology clinical environment so that family planning is part of the standard of care?” said Talabi.
Talabi’s work focuses on integrating family planning into standard care and providing comprehensive, anticipatory care and guidance. Her approach acknowledges pregnancy can exacerbate existing conditions, and that careful planning and management are crucial to ensuring positive outcomes for both parent and child. She developed MyVoice:Rheum, a tool that helps patients to make informed reproductive decisions by providing people with the information and support they need to navigate complex reproductive health decisions in the context of their condition.
[Learn more about Birru Talabi’s work to improve family planning for those with chronic conditions.]
Shaun Eack, James and Noel Browne Endowed Chair and Professor of Social Work and professor of psychiatry, is also working to improve health for a specific population.
His research focuses on schizophrenia recovery beyond the use of medication, investigating the effectiveness of cognitive enhancement therapy — which addresses cognitive impairments often associated with schizophrenia that are not effectively treated by medication alone, such as difficulties with attention, memory and social interaction.
By targeting these challenges, cognitive enhancement therapy aims to improve people’s ability to function in daily life, pursue education and employment, and maintain relationships. Eack’s current work has shifted towards implementation science, focusing on putting research findings into practice, ensuring treatment is accessible to those who need it.
“These treatments are only going to be helpful if they get implemented in practice,” he said.
[Read more about how Eack is putting cognitive enhancement therapy into practice.]