Principal Investigator
Professor of Pharmacology
Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center Associate Director
Norbert Leitinger, PhD
Meet the Team
Priyanka is a postdoc who completed her Ph.D. degree in analytical chemistry from the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, India. Her research was focused on mass spectrometry (MS)-based identification and structural characterization, as well as the quantification of small molecules and the discovery of pharmaceutically active fractions and compounds from plants. Currently, she is particularly interested in how tissue damage is translated into chronic inflammation and tissue fibrosis and how oxidized phospholipids and other danger signals contribute to these processes. In her postdoc, she uses MS to identify and characterize novel danger-associated molecules that can be used as biomarkers of disease progression. In addition to this, she is aiming to develop MS-based methods for isotope tracing and metabolomics. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, cooking, hiking, and yoga.
Priyanka Rawat, PhD
Post-doctoral Researcher
Daniel is a postdoc, who graduated as a Pharmacist in 2018. After brief experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he studied cardiometabolic diseases (NASH, HFpEF) and cardiotoxic side-effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors during his PhD at Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. Daniel is interested in studying the in-depth role of acetyl-CoA carboxylase in myeloid cells. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, walking, cycling and reading.
Dániel Kucsera, PhD
Post-doctoral Researcher
Kyla is a first-year graduate student who received her BS in biology from Framingham State University in 2021. Her thesis aims to understand the sex-specific differences in cardio-metabolic syndrome (CKM), specifically in oxidized phospholipid lowering. She enjoys reading, cooking, and hanging out with friends in her free time.
Kyla Mucciarone
Graduate Student
​Hannah joined the lab in 2022 as an undergraduate student and transitioned to our lab technician after graduating from UVA in May 2024. As an undergraduate, she completed a thesis focusing on Pannexin 1 and fibrosis during non-ischemic heart failure. Now, Hannah is interested in oxidative stress in relation to cardiometabolic conditions induced by obesity. She hopes to pursue an MD-PhD and continue to work with the heart. In her free time, Hannah enjoys hiking and volunteering at a local rescue squad.
