Principal Investigator
Professor of Pharmacology
Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center Associate Director
Norbert Leitinger, PhD
Meet the Team

Katie is a fifth-year graduate student who received her BS in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019. Her thesis work aims to understand the role for Pannexin 1 in non-ischemic heart failure, specifically as it pertains to cardiomyocytes and immune cell recruitment. After completing her PhD, Katie would like to pursue a career in academia with interests in heart failure and women’s health. In her free time, she enjoys running and playing with her dog, Ozzie.
Katie Pavelec
Graduate Fellow

Clint is a post doc in who received his BS in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014 and his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Virginia in 2023. Clint is interested in understanding how products of oxidative stress drive disease progression. In his thesis work, Clint demonstrated that neutralization of oxidized phospholipids during was sufficient to prevent and impede disease progression. Clint would like to pursue a career in academia with interests in oxidative stress and metabolism. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer and softball, biking, and spending time outside.
Clint Upchurch, PhD
Post-doctoral Researcher

Scott is a MSTP student who came to UVA in 2016, now in his final year of medical school after defending his PhD in Summer of 2022. Prior to arriving at UVA he earned a BS in Chemistry from the University of Richmond, where he worked on the synthesis of novel biologically-active pyrrole compounds. For his thesis work he studied the roles of glucose and lipid metabolism on macrophage polarization and function in settings of acute and chronic inflammation. He plans to pursue residency training in Internal Medicine with the goal of studying how metabolic rewiring and oxidative stress contribute to immune dysfunction in settings of hyperinflammation and autoimmunity. In his free time he enjoys working on his golf game, hiking, and enjoying one of Charlottesville’s many local beers with friends.
Scott Yeudall, PhD
MSTP Student

Anna is a visiting graduate student, grantee of BioLAB Program administered by Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission. Her work at UVA focuses on a role of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels in chronic progressive diseases, including atherosclerosis, heart failure. In Poland, she's a Ph.D. student of Biomedical Engineering at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, with her Master of Science in Bioengineering degree previously obtained at Trinity College Dublin. She tries to develop as a researcher in different scientific environments and wants to pursue a scientific carrier. Personally, she loves travelling and Italian cuisine.
Anna Szagdaj
Visiting Scholar

Hannah is a fourth-year undergraduate UVA student pursuing a BA in Human Biology and will graduate in May 2024. She joined the lab in 2022 and is working to develop the neutrophil recruitment aspect of Katie’s work as part of her undergraduate independent thesis. After graduation, she hopes to pursue an MD-PhD and continue to work with the heart. Hannah is also a resident advisor to first-year undergraduates and volunteers as an EMT.