Pitt Pediatrics congratulates Arjumand Ghazi, PhD, for recently being appointed the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Ghazi is a Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and the Associate Director of the Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology (MGDB) graduate program, as well as a member of the Cell Biology and Molecular Physiology (CBMP) and Integrated Systems Biology (ISB) graduate programs. Also an Associate Member of the University of Pittsburgh’s Aging Institute and Magee Women’s Research Institute, Ghazi has faculty appointments in the Departments of Developmental Biology and Cell Biology and Physiology. 
Ghgazi began her training as a developmental biologist, with her graduate studies in fly muscle development at the National Center for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, India. From there she pursued her post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) on the genetics of aging in C. elegans. During that time, she demonstrated that the proteasomal pathway of protein degradation regulates lifespan and identified genes and pathways that influence longevity based on signals from the reproductive system.
Current research from the Ghazi lab has shown that lifespan-promoting transcription factors coordinate fat production and breakdown to enhance longevity. This genetic link between lifespan and reproductive fitness, quality of aging, and stress resistant mechanisms is the heart of her research.
In this new role, Ghazi will focus on graduate program curriculum development and integration, course and faculty teaching evaluations, academic mentoring of students, and management of student issues, among other roles.
Ghazi’s new appointment began on January 1 of this year. We look forward to all of the amazing teaching and mentorship she will enable with our medical students!
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