PEOPLE | St. Hilaire Lab

CYNTHIA ST. HILAIRE, PhD, FAHA

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE & BIOENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE, DIVISION OF CARDIOLOGY, PITTSBURGH HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD VASCULAR MEDICINE INSTITUTE

Dr. St. Hilaire obtained a BS in Molecular Genetics from the University of Vermont and completed her PhD training in Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Katya Ravid. She joined the Center for Molecular Medicine at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the NIH, under the mentorship of Dr. Manfred Boehm. At the NHLBI Dr. St. Hilaire and colleagues discovered the genetic cause of the rare disease, Arterial Calcification due to Deficiency of CD73, which identified the novel role for the enzyme CD73 and adenosine signaling in vascular calcification. In 2015 she established her research group at the University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Medicine and the Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, and Blood Vascular Medicine Institute to study the molecular mechanisms driving vessel and valve calcification and remodeling pathologies. She is an Associate Editor at Circulation Research and is host of the monthly podcast, Discover CircRes, and has held leadership positions within the AHA Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, the International Society of Applied Cardiovascular Biology, and the North American Vascular Biology Organization. Outside the lab, Cindy enjoys creating art, is a voracious reader, and loves travel, baking, and family walks with their dog in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

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MARK BROWN, BS

LABORATORY MANAGER

Mark received his bachelor’s in microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently in the process of finishing his master’s in Infectious Disease and Microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Previous laboratory experiences include investigation of virulence factors in various strains of T. gondii infections in a murine model. Viral and immune responses produced in the trigeminal ganglia of mice infected with ocular Herpes infection. More recently, in the department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, he worked on a Murine model of lung transplantation and studied immunological responses to lung rejection. During the pandemic, research shifted to the immunological effect of Coronavirus on healthy patients and those patients with lung transplants.

ROLANDO CUEVAS, PhD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Dr. Cuevas obtained his BS/MS in Biochemistry from Catholic University of Chile, where he conducted his research in the laboratory of Dr. Katya Gysling, studying mRNA regulation during drug addiction and stress. After graduating, he moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as a Scholar Researcher in the laboratories of Dr. Stefan Duensing and Dr. Saumendra Sarkar at the University of Pittsburgh. His research during this time was focused on cancer biology, cell cycle, chromosome segregation and genomic instability, and cancer virology. Dr. Cuevas obtained his PhD in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University under the mentorship of Dr. N. Luisa Hiller, studying the molecular signaling leading to virulence in pneumococcal-associated diseases.

PARYA BEHZADI, PhD

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Dr. Behzadi received her master’s in molecular genetics from the University of Azad in Iran, studying the possible role of cfs-mRNA as a biomarker in male infertility. She pursued a PhD in clinical research under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Gagnon at the Montreal Heart Institute. Their her research focused on the therapeutic potential of heat exposure for cardiometabolic health of people with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. During her PhD at Université de Montréal, she developed a particular interest in understanding the molecular mechanism that induce cardiovascular diseases.

ANDREW WENDLING

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, CLASS OF 2026

Andy is an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh Frederick Honors College majoring in biological sciences and minoring in chemistry. After graduating from undergrad, Andy plans to attend medical school to become a physician. Aside from schooling, Andy enjoys cooking, exercising, hanging out with friends, and spending time with family. Andy also works as an EMT in his hometown of Allentown, PA.

ILIAS PHANZU

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, MICROBIOLOGY, CLASS OF 2027

Ilias’s current plan is to pursue medical school after graduating from undergrad. As for hobbies, Ilias plays tennis, is involved with his martial arts dojo back at home, and enjoys listening to music.

JOSHUA TAMAKLOE

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, CLASS OF 2027

Josh is a current undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh and the David C. Frederick Honors College, majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Chemistry and Sociology. After graduating, Josh plans on attending medical school to with aspirations of becoming either a cardiologist or a cardiothoracic surgeon. In his free time, Josh enjoys playing intramural sports, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, and reading.