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Graziano Pinna PhD

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
Graziano Pinna, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UIC. He earned his undergraduate degree and a Laurea of Doctor at University of Cagliari (Italy) and obtained a PhD in Neuroendocrinology at the Free University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany) before being appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, UIC. Dr. Pinna focuses his research on PTSD, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and their comorbidities using a translational approach. His work spans metabolomics and molecular biology studies of the neurosteroid and endocannabinoid systems in animal models of stress-induced PTSD and depression, and of chronic intermittent alcohol exposure and withdrawal. Bridging preclinical with clinical studies, his studies on neurobiological mechanisms underlying PTSD and AUD aim to suggest novel therapeutic targets, through a biomarker-driven precision medicine approach.

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Graziano Pinna

Elias Cruz PhD

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Pinna Lab
  • Department of Psychiatry, UIC

Elias Cruz holds a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology with a specialization in heavy metal bioremediation. Throughout my doctoral studies, he focused on this research area, encompassing fields such as microbiology, molecular biology, and process engineering to build bioreactors for remediation of Cr(VI) with indigenous yeasts.

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Francesco Matrisciano MD, PhD

  • Research Assistant Professor
Francesco Matrisciano

Justin Hupe MS

  • Research Volunteer, Pinna Lab
Justin holds a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2023) and an M.S. in Medical Physiology from UIC (2024). He is currently a member of Dr. Graziano Pinna’s laboratory within the Department of Psychiatry at UIC, studying the role of neurosteroids in neuropsychiatric disorders. Justin plans to apply to medical school soon with aspirations to become a physician-scientist.

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Justin Hupe

Majd Aljurdi

  • Research Assistant, Pinna Lab

Majd Aljurdi is a researcher at PINNA lab. He got his bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics and medical degree from the American University of Beirut. Majd aspires

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Majd Aljurdi

Ann M. Rasmusson MD

  • Professor in Psychiatry
  • Boston University School of Medicine
Ann Rasmusson, MD is the Psychiatry Liaison, PTSD Research and Education, at VA Boston Healthcare System, a Research Associate of the VA National Center for PTSD, Women’s Health Science Division, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University. She earned her undergraduate degree at North Dakota State University and MD at the University of Chicago before completing a residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins and a neuropsychopharmacology research fellowship and psychiatry residency at Yale University School of Medicine.

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Tory Eisenlohr-Moul PhD

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology
  • Associate Director of Translational Research in Women’s Mental Health
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UIC, and holds an additional courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized fellowship training in the pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of hormone-related psychiatric disorders-- particularly premenstrual disorders.

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Tory Eisenlohr-Moul

Pauline Maki PhD

  • Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Director of Women’s Mental Health Research Program
  • Senior Director of Research, Center for Research on Women and Gender
For over 20 years, Dr. Pauline M. Maki has led a program of NIH-funded research focused on the role of sex steroid hormones on cognition, mood, brain function (neuroimaging) and stress responsivity in women. Women’s cognitive abilities, mood, and response to stress can be affected by changes in sex hormones, like estrogen, including changes that occur during the menopausal transition, during pregnancy, and across the menstrual cycle. In particular, the goal of her work is to improve the lives of women by identifying factors that alter their risk of cognitive decline and affective disorders.

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Pauline Maki

Jennifer L. Payne MD

  • Professor
  • University of Virginia

Jennifer Payne, MD, is an expert in reproductive psychiatry. She helps people who experience a psychiatric illness that is influenced by times of reproductive hormonal change. This can include pre-menstruation, during pregnancy and after pregnancy (postpartum), and during perimenopause (years leading up to menopause).

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Deep Ranjan Kumar MD

  • Research Scholar, Pinna Lab
Deep Ranjan Kumar