University of Pittsburgh logo

Mylynda Beryl Massart, MD, PhD

  • Assistant Professor

Massart is a board-certified Family Medicine physician at UPMC, and assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh.  She completed her doctoral degree at the University of Utah in Molecular Biology/Biochemistry and her medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University.  She currently serves as the founder and director of the UPMC Primary Care Precision Medicine Center, Chair of Family Medicine at UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital, and as a co-director for the HUB Core: Integrating Special Populations and Community Partners Core at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CSTI).

Massart has experience working with diverse populations across the lifespan including obstetrics, pediatrics, adults, and older adults.  She has served in the National Health Service Core in Idaho working with a rural population and currently works in an underserved community in Pittsburgh.  Her research interests are in developing education in genetics and precision medicine for primary care providers and trainees and to be a research catalyst facilitating the inclusion of underrepresented populations in biomedical research.  She teaches residents and medical students in her clinic and at the hospital and serves as medical director for Bethany Hospice. 

Currently, Massart is one of the co-Investigators for the All of US Pennsylvania research project working on community education and engagement. In addition, she is working as co-Investigator to create the local Pitt+Me Discovery Biobank at the University of Pittsburgh and developing systems to return precision medicine results to providers and patients. Massart resides in Pittsburgh with her husband, three children and two cats.

Education & Training

  • BS, Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois, 1995
  • PhD, Molecular Biology, University of Utah, 2001
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Human Genetics-Neurology, University of Utah, 2001-2003
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Molecular Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, 2003-2004
  • MD, Oregon Health and Science University, 2006
  • Residency in Family Medicine, Providence Milwaukie Family Medicine, 2006-2009

Selected Publications

Schlesinger MB, Formosa T. POB3 is required for both transcription and replication in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 2000 Aug 155(4): 1593-606. PubMed PMID: 10924459.

Swoboda KJ, Kanavakis E, Xaidara A, Johnson JE, Leppert MF, Schlesinger-Massart MB, Ptacek LJ, Silver K, Youroukos S. Alternating hemiplegia of childhood or familial hemiplegic migraine?: A novel ATP1A2 mutation. Annals of Neurology. 2004 Jun 55(6): 884-887. PubMed PMID: 15174025. 

Woelfle J, Chia DJ, Schlesinger-Massart MB, Moyano P, Rotwein P. Molecular physiology, pathology, and regulation of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-I system. Pediatric Nephrology. 2005 Mar 20(3): 295-302. PubMed PMID: 15549418.

Chia DJ, Ono M, Woelfle J, Schlesinger-Massart M, Jiang H, Rotwein P. Characterization of Distinct Stat5b Binding Sites That Mediate Growth Hormone-stimulated IGF-I Gene Transcription. J Biol Chem. 2006 Feb 281(6): 3190-3197. PubMed PMID: 16339156.

Sweney MT, Silver K, Gerard-Blanluet M, Pedespan JM, Renault F, Arzimanoglou A, Schlesinger-Massart M, Lewelt AJ, Reyna SP, Swoboda KJ. Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood: Early Characteristics and Evolution of a Neurodevelopmental Syndrome.  Pediatrics. 2009 Mar 123(3): e534-e541. PubMed PMID: 19254988. 

Viollet L, Glusman G, Murphy KJ, Newcomb TM, Reyna SP, Sweney M, Nelson B, Andermann F, Andermann E, Acsadi G, Barbano RL, Brown C, Brunkow ME, Chugani HT, Cheyette SR, Collins A, DeBrosse SD, Galas D, Friedman J, Hood L, Huff C, Jorde LB, King MD, LaSalle B, Leventer RJ, Lewelt AJ, Massart MB, Mérida MR 2nd, Ptáček LJ, Roach JC, Rust RS, Renault F, Sanger TD, Sotero de Menezes MA, Tennyson R, Uldall P, Zhang Y, Zupanc M, Xin W, Silver K, Swoboda K. Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood: Retrospective Genetic Study and Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in 187 Subjects from the US AHCF Registry. 2015 May 21;10(5):e0127045. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127045. eCollection 2015. PubMed PMID: 25996915.

Erin W. Dekanek, MS1, Darcy L. Thull, MS2, Mylynda Massart, MD, PhD3, Robin E. Grubs, MS, PhD4, Aleksander Rajkovic, MD, PhD5, Phuong L. Mai, MD, MS6 . Knowledge and opinions regarding BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic testing among primary care physicians.  Journal of Genetic Counseling. DOI: 10.1002/jgc4.1189.

Johnson A, Broughton S, Aponte-Soto L, Watson K, Da Goia Pinto C, Empey P, Reis S, Winn R, Massart M. Participatory Genomic Testing Can Effectively Disseminate Cardiovascular Pharmacogenomics Concepts within Federally Qualified Health Centers: A Feasibility Study. Ethnicity and Disease. Accepted-Ethnicity and Disease. DOI: 10.18865/ed.30.S1.167. eCollection 2020.PMID: 32269458 

Academic and Research Interests

  • Genetics
  • Genomics
  • Precision Medicine
  • Pharmacogenomics
  • Family Medicine
  • Community Engagement
  • Underrepresented 
  • UBR