Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research

In 2007, the Richard King Mellon Foundation made a generous financial contribution to create the Richard King Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research (RKMI), some of which was spent constructing the Rangos Research Center. Since that time, additional financial support was obtained from a generous gift from the Tull Family Foundation to support pediatric research initiatives within the RKMI.

The RKMI began as a small group of investigators (termed “Mellon Scholars”) housed in the Rangos Research Center and functioned as a small, independent division within the Department of Pediatrics. In 2018, the RKMI expanded its mission with the objective to support talented scientists in the early stages of their careers performing cutting-edge pediatric research.

The overarching goal of the RKMI is to become the cornerstone of basic and clinical research within UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, encompassing a wide reach to facilitate synergy, communication, and mentorship across all research disciplines under the UPMC Children's umbrella, regardless of department or division. We believe that the diversity surrounding the professional experiences and scientific interests of the Mellon Scholars will accelerate collaboration across divisions and departments at UPMC Children's for the continual pursuit of excellence in pediatric healthcare.

Visit the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh »

Leadership

George K. Gittes, MD - Director

Timothy W. Hand, PhD - Associate Director

Kristin N. Ray, MD. MS. FAAP - Associate Director

John F. Alcorn - Associate Director

Current Mellon Scholars

Rannar Airik, PhD – New strategies to treat kidney failure

Kelly M. Baily, MD, PhD – The Ewing sarcoma microenvironment and immune responses to pediatric sarcomas

Erica Braverman, MD - Creating better chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for pediatric sarcomas

Daniela Brissett, MD - Developing innovative, community-engaged tools to measure and address adultification and its impact on the health and identity of marginalized youth

Brian Campfield, MD – Fending off foreign attacks on the lung

Shaun Carlson, PhD - The identification of therapeutic approaches to promote recovery after brain injury. 

Takuto Chiba, PhD - Microvascular Protection Against Kidney Injury

Jessica Daley, MD - Identifying and reversing mechanisms driving immunosuppression in Ewing Sarcoma

Will DePas, PhD – Biogeography of bacterial infections

Megan Culler Freeman, MD, PhD - Understanding how viruses cause paralysis

Catherine Forster, MD, MS, FAAP – Urobiome in UTIs

Taylor Eddens, MD, PhD - Examining early life immune responses to viral infections and the connection to asthma development

Kristina Gaietto, MD - Pediatric asthma research with a focus on endotypes, omics, stress-related impacts, COVID-19 outcomes, and pulmonary function

Lina Ghaloul Gonzalez, MD – Plain people (Amish/Mennonites) translational medicine

Radha Gopal, PhD - Cardiovascular diseases associated with viral infection

Katherine Guyon-Harris, PhD - Interventions to support positive parent-child relationships across the perinatal period 

Jessica Jarvis, PhD, MT-BC - Improving the efficacy and equity of pediatric rehabilitation services for children with chronic and serious illnesses

Heather Joseph, DO - Early signals of inattention among infants and toddlers at familial risk for ADHD and behavioral interventions for parents and young children with ADHD

Melissa Kane, PhD – Viruses and the immune system

Laura Kirkpatrick, MD - Reproductive health and epilepsy

Christine March, MD, MS - Optimizing health care delivery and outcomes for youth with diabetes

Lisa Mauer, MD, PhD - The role of GRK2 in inhibition of the MALT1 proto-oncoprotein in lymphomagenesis

Cody Nesvick, MD - Understanding and targeting the epigenetic mechanisms of atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) in young children

Carolina Pinzon - Molecular mechanisms of foregut congenital anomalies (EA/TEF and CDH)

Catherine Poholek, MD, PhD - Investigating the underlying etiologies of pediatric autoimmune disease to improve treatment options and the role of lipid metabolism and a cholesterol-binding protein called apolipoprotein E in lymph node stromal cells during the immune response

Aiden Porter, MD - Exploring kidney cell stress responses to uncover drug targets for treating kidney injury

Vikram Raghu, MD, MS - Cost-effectiveness and decision-making in pediatric intestinal failure and transplantation

Jacquelin Rankine, MD, PhD - Optimizing school health services to improve health and educational outcomes

Glenn Rapinski, MD, PhD - Understanding interactions between the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the patient that lead to ventilator-associated infections, particularly in children who have tracheostomies

Anne-Marie Rick, MD, MPH, PhD - Protection against newborn infections through maternal immunity

Franziska Rosser, MD, MPH, FAAP – Epidemiological effects of outdoor air pollution on children with asthma

Jenny Ruiz, MD, MSCE - Language discordant communication research in pediatric oncology

Anita Pradeep Saraf, MD, PhD – Developing a better understanding the role of genetic mutations, chronic inflammation and mechanical strain on cardiomyocytes

Kelsey Schweiberger, MD, MS - The appropriate application of technology to improve child health outcomes, and the role that technology plays in physician-patient communication

Laurie Silva, PhD – Viral and host determinants of virus replication and pathogenesis 

Emir Tas, MD - Sex-specific mechanisms of early cardiometabolic risk in youth with type 1 diabetes

Mary Ellen Vajravelu, MD, MSHP - Improving outcomes and achieving health equity for youth with type 2 diabetes

Anna Wang-Erickson, PhD - Infectious disease epidemiology, global health, bacterial genetics, vaccines and phage therapy development

Tyia Wilson, PhD - Promoting resilience and reducing substance use in youth under chronic stress

Yijen Wu, PhD - MuSIC 4 MIND - Multi-Systems Imaging Characterization for Mitochondrial Involvement in Neurological Disease

Xiangwei Xiao, MD, PhD – Insulin cell function and preservation