Domenic Filingeri, DO, MS

Domenic Filingeri, DO, MS, is a graduating third-year Pediatric Endocrinology fellow at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and will join the division as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in July 2025, and serve as a Physician-Scientist for the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology. 

Dr. Filingeri earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Boston University and completed his medical degree at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his pediatrics residency at Thomas Jefferson University/Nemours Children’s Health before beginning fellowship training at UPMC Children’s in 2022. His faculty role will include an 80/20 split between research and clinical duties, respectively. 

Studying Mitochondrial Function and β-Cell Health 

Dr. Filingeri’s research explores how mitochondrial stress contributes to β-cell dysfunction in type 1 diabetes. His current work, conducted in the lab of Vijay Yechoor, MD, professor of Medicine, director of the Diabetes and Beta Cell Biology Center at the University of Pittsburgh, and Diabetes and Metabolic Bone Disease Endowed Chair, focuses on the protein RIMOC1 and its role in mitophagy, the process by which damaged mitochondria are cleared and recycled. Using both cellular and animal models, this research investigates how impaired mitochondrial clearance affects insulin production and secretion. “Mitochondria are essential not only for generating insulin, but for providing the energy β-cells need to release it,” says Dr. Filingeri. “When their function declines, it can lead to oxidative stress that pushes these cells toward failure. We are asking whether improving mitochondrial recycling might help protect β-cells and preserve their function over time.”