The Pittsburgh Foundation grants $1.3 million to Pitt health sciences researchers

The Pittsburgh Foundation awarded $1.3 million to University of Pittsburgh health sciences researchers through 10 grants, including more than $500,000 for addiction-related research and resources.

Other funding will support study in the areas of emphysema, rheumatoid arthritis and amyloidosis, among others.

“We are grateful for The Pittsburgh Foundation’s continued support of the health sciences,” said Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine. “Their investment in our work over the years is a testament to our strong partnership and shared goal to better our community through scientific research and advancement.”

The grants were awarded across multiple schools and disciplines, bolstering the foundation’s longstanding partnership with the University.

To date, the foundation’s support for Pitt surpasses $67 million.

“It is important for the public to know that most of the funds helping to advance the health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and other medical research institutions in the region come from Pittsburgh families. Their generosity reflects their hopes and dreams for developing new treatments that will improve public health,” said Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Lisa Schroeder. “They believe that supporting medical research is the best way to memorialize a loved one who has succumbed to a disease or other health crisis. We know by the care that the University’s researchers show in managing these funds that we are all working together to honor donor intent to the fullest.”

Since 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation has worked to improve the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region by evaluating and addressing community issues, promoting responsible philanthropy and connecting donors to the critical needs of the community. It also oversees a portfolio of funds earmarked specifically to advance medical research.

More than $500,000 of the grant will further addiction research, an area where Pitt has gained considerable ground as a national leader:

• $300,000 will support the Department of Medicine's Bridging Connections in Addiction Research (BCAR), a consortium to develop and nurture a multidisciplinary addiction research community.
• $150,000 will aid the Department of Psychiatry in establishing a regional alcohol research center to improve health equity in Western Pennsylvania.
• $100,000 will support early-stage investigators exploring sleep-related risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use.

“Addressing issues related to substance use disorders is one of the most complex and vexing challenges in our society,” said School of Social Work Professor Daniel Rosen, a BCAR committee member. “Often, efforts within addiction research have been siloed from other disciplines, limiting their scope and applicability.”

Another gift of $186,000 was awarded to the Department of Neurological Surgery from the foundation’s Walter L. Copeland Fund, which has supported preclinical research projects in brain tumors, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases at the department for more than 60 years.

“The critical seed funding has been instrumental in obtaining federal grants and publishing manuscripts that ultimately help improve clinical care in patients with intracranial diseases,” said C. Edward Dixon, neurological surgery vice chair of research.