Awards & More

University of Pittsburgh neuroscientist Yan Dong has been awarded the Society for Neuroscience’s Jacob P. Waletzky Award for his research into how drugs such as cocaine can hijack the brain’s circuitry, leading to addiction. 

Dong, an associate professor of neuroscience in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, received the $25,000 award at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in Chicago last week. The award was established in 2003, and is given annually to a scientist who has conducted research or plans to conduct research in the area of substance abuse and the brain and nervous system.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has appointed Kannu Sahni to the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian American Affairs. Sahni is director of community relations in Pitt’s Office of Community and Governmental Relations.

Robert H. Squires, a professor of pediatrics in Pitt’s School of Medicine, has been awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2015 Murray Davison Award. He is also the director of pediatric hepatology at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The award recognizes an outstanding clinician, educator, and scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition.

Terence W. Starz has been named Arthritis Healthcare Professional of the Year by the Arthritis Foundation. Starz is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a clinical professor of occupational therapy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. He is a practicing rheumatologist and internist at UPMC Shadyside and UPMC Passavant.