Neuroplasticity

Amelia Gallitano, M.D., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Basic Medical Sciences and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine (UACOM) – Phoenix. Dr. Gallitano received her medical degree, and Ph.D. in Neuroscience, from The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She completed residency training in Psychiatry at Columbia University, New York, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where she was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry. She is a board-certified psychiatrist. Dr. Gallitano joined the UACOM - Phoenix as one of the founding faculty members in 2007, the year it opened to its first class of medical students. Research in her laboratory investigates how genes activated in the brain in response to stress may mediate the interaction between environment and genetic variations to influence the development of psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and mood disorders. In addition to their molecular studies, the Gallitano Lab has recently initiated a translational research program to develop a biologically-based diagnostic test for schizophrenia emanating from their basic science findings. Since starting her laboratory, Dr. Gallitano has received numerous grants and awards, including one of the first National Institute of Health (NIH) R01 grants awarded to an Assistant Professor in the department of Basic Medical Sciences (BMS). Her laboratory has maintained continuous NIH funding since 2012. She is currently an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of BMS and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the UACOM – Phoenix, and a member of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience. She is also a member of the Arizona State University Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience and an Adjunct Investigator at the Translational Genomics Research Institute. Her research focuses on investigating how immediate early genes may mediate the interaction of environmental stress and genetic predisposition to influence the development of psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia. Dr. Gallitano has published under the names: Gallitano, Gallitano-Mendel, and Mendel. Dr. Gallitano is also a co-founder and director of the UACOM-Phx Women in Medicine and Science Committee. She is committed to supporting the advancement of women and under-represented groups in the sciences and to mentoring trainees from all backgrounds who have a passion for neuroscience.

Dr. Russell Witte, a native Tucsonan, received a BS degree with honors in physics from the University of Arizona in Tucson (1993). Following travel abroad in Europe and Brazil, he began graduate studies in bioengineering at Arizona State University. His doctoral thesis (PhD, 2002) used chronic microelectrode arrays to describe sensory coding and learning-induced plasticity in the mammalian brain. He then moved to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and, as a post doc in the Biomedical Ultrasonics Laboratory, developed novel hybrid imaging techniques that integrate ultrasound, light, and/or microwaves for medical applications. In 2007, Dr. Witte returned to Tucson and is now Associate Professor of Medical Imaging, Optical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. Dr. Witte’s Experimental Ultrasound and Neural Imaging Laboratory (EUNIL) devises cutting-edge imaging technology, integrating light, ultrasound and microwaves to diagnose and treat diseases ranging from chronic tendon disorders (tendinopathies) and irregular cardiac rhythms (arrhythmias) to breast cancer. By integrating different forms of energy, special effects are created that enable ultrasound imaging of optical absorption deep in tissue (photoacoustic imaging), mapping current source densities in the beating heart (acoustoelectric imaging), and elasticity imaging of human muscle and tendon for quantifying tissue mechanical properties. Dr. Witte's research further extends into nanotechnology and smart contrast agents, which have applications to functional brain imaging, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Dr. Witte works closely with collaborators in the Colleges of Engineering, Optical Sciences and Medicine, as well as industry, to develop cutting-edge imaging technologies that potentially improve patient care. Dr. Witte is also a member of the Arizona Cancer Center, Sarver Heart Center and School of Mind, Brain, and Behavior, as well as the Neuroscience, Applied Mathematics, and Biomedical Engineering graduate interdisciplinary programs (GIDPs). Dr. Witte's vision is to develop a new generation of young investigators steeped in multiple disciplines branching from neuroscience, neural engineering, biochemistry, mathematics, biomedical imaging and, physics. He welcomes dreamers, brainstormers and problems solvers to join his team in search of the next great discovery in physics and medicine. Keywords: Biomedical Engineering/Medical Imaging