Carol A. Bertrand, PhD

  • Research Assistant Professor

Bertrand is a research assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She manages functional assay services for the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center, and serves on the University’s Institutional Biosafety Committee. Bertrand earned her Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. She earned her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, receiving the Proctor & Gamble Professional Opportunity Award for Meritorious Research. Prior to joining Pitt Pediatrics, Bertrand completed postdoctoral training in the department of Cell Biology at Pitt. Bertrand is an electrophysiologist whose research focuses on the function and regulation of anion channels, which serve as conduits for the movement of salts into and out of cells. Her research looks at 3 distinct areas:

  1. Basic regulation - How channels function in healthy tissue,
  2. The disease process - How dysregulation of these channels contributes to disease progression at the cellular and organ level,
  3. Translational medicine - manipulation of channels to minimize disease. Bertrand has published dozens of articles and holds several patents for electrosurgical devices.

Professional and Scientific Soceity Memberships

  • American Physiological Society

Education & Training

  • BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado, 1987
  • PhD, Biophysics, Bioengineering, Case Western Reserve University, 1999

Selected Publications

Academic and Research Interests

  • Airway Disease
  • SLC26A9
  • Electrophysiology
  • Ion Channels
  • CF- Related Diabetes
  • Genetic Modifiers
  • Live Cell Microscopy