Melanie Scott, MD, PhD

Melanie Scott, MD, PhD*

NW 607 Montefiore University Hospital
3459 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Liver-Related Work

Research interests: I am a basic scientist with a background in clinical surgery and an interest in translational and clinically relevant projects. My main research interests focus on the inflammasome, caspase-1 and caspase-11, as well as all aspects of innate immunity to trauma, hemorrhagic shock and sepsis. My research centers on responses in liver, and particularly in hepatocytes that express nearly all pattern recognition receptors but may respond atypically compared with immune cell types. I am currently funded by the NIH to investigate the role of inflammasome and caspase-1 in non-infectious models of redox stress.
 
Ongoing Research Studies:
  1. Inflammasome and caspase-1 in hemorrhagic shock and trauma. This is my ongoing R01-funded study investigating activation, regulation, and signaling of inflammasome in non-immune cells, focusing on hepatocytes.
  2. Caspase-11 in polymicrobial sepsis. Collaboration with Dr. Tim Billiar, Chair of Surgery, to investigate the role and activation of caspase-11 in cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), a model of polymicrobial abdominal sepsis. 
  3. Inflammasome and caspase-11 activation in liver and hepatocytes during Ehrlichia bacterial infection. Collaboration with Dr. Nahed Ismail, Associate Professor of Pathology and Associate Director of Clinical Microbiology Division, to investigate the role of IFN signaling and caspase-11 activation in a model of tick-borne intracellular bacterial infection with Ehrlichia.

 

Associate Professor
Department of Surgery