Sarah Ross

Assistant Professor

• saross@pitt.edu
• 412-624-9178

• B.S. University of Western Ontario
• Ph.D. University of Michigan (MacDougald Lab)
• Post-Doc Harvard Medical School (Greenberg Lab)

• Things that itch me: reviewer #3, creationists, telephone solicitors
• Itchy-foot destination: NYC to see The Colbert Report live
• Itching to try: scuba diving in the Red Sea

Yu Omori

PhD Student

• yuomori@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• B.S. Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University
• Ph.D. University of Toyama (Kuraishi Lab)

• Things that itch me: Itch of back (I'm stiff).
• Itchy-foot destination: The world's largest salt flat, Salar De Uyuni.
• Itching to try: A world cruise by ASUKA II/Queen Elizabeth.

Aihua Su

Research Associate

• (Aihua)@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• (Previous Education)

• Things that itch me: Scary snakes, earthworms and other slithery things.
• Itchy-foot destination: Hawaii in the winter to get away from the cold, and China to see family and all the big changes.
• Itching to try:Swimming. I want to learn.

Huizhen Huang

Visiting Research Associate

• huh12@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• Tsinghua University, China

• Things that itch me: I want to be taller but I hate high heels.
• Itchy-foot destination: France & Japan! And everywhere that has tasty food.
• Itching to try: Bungee Jumping!!!

Monica Domaracki

Research Associate

• B.S. University of Adelaide, Australia

• Things that itch me: egotistical people & cold weather
• Itchy-foot destination: To revisit the most beautiful place on Earth, the Cook Islands.
• Itching to try: Sand boarding on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Zorbing in New Zealand. Deep sea fishing in the South Pacific
• Monica is currently in Aukland, New Zealand

Adam Kardon

• adkardon@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• B.S. Vassar College

• Things that itch me: excessive online chat lingo, The New York Yankees, romantic comedies
• Itchy-foot destination: the Himalayans, to hike Mt. Everest
• Itching to try: kite surfing, durian (a husky southeast Asian fruit, known for its large size, thorns, and unpleasant smell)
• Adam is currently studying Medicine in Philadelphia

Andrzej Dubiel

• B.S. University of Pittsburgh

• Contribution to team itch: I designed the original Ross lab website as well as making some of figures that you can see in some of the Ross lab publications.
• After team itch: I work for Yellow Bridge Interactive now.
• Things that itch me: egocentrism
• Itchy-foot destination: Fiji
• Itching to try: sky diving

Junichi Hachisuka

Post Doc

• B.S. Nagoya University, Japan
• M.D. Nagoya University, Japan
• Ph.D. Kyushu University, Japan

• Things that itch me: candy sticking between the teeth
• Itchy-foot destination: three-star restaurants all over the world
• Itching to try: fish yellowtail

Gregory Hemenway

• B.S. University of Pittsburgh

• Contribution to team itch: I did undergraduate research for credit in the Ross lab. Damian and I worked together to design experiments and test whether mice lacking Bhlhb5 respond normally to cold.
• After Team Itch: I am applying to medical school.
• Things that itch me: city parking, chicken/egg salad
• Itchy-foot destination: I want to ski the world, Whistler, the Alps, so everywhere there is snow
• Itching to try: riding an ATV and fly fishing

Damian DiCostanzo

• B.S. University of Pittsburgh

• Contribution to team itch: I did undergraduate research for credit in the Ross lab. Greg and I worked together to design experiments and test whether mice lacking Bhlhb5 respond normally to cold.
• After Team Itch: I am planning to go to dental school.
• Things that itch me: loud headphones in the library and groups of 3 or 4 people across walking (blocking) the sidewalk
• Itchy-foot destination: World Cup-Brazil 2014
• Itching to try: skydiving and backpacking through Europe

Eric Burrage

• B.S. University of Pittsburgh

• After Team Itch: I worked as a Web Development Intern for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
• Things that itch me:Bad drivers, traffic
• Itchy-foot destination:Scandinavia
• Itchin' to try:Golfing

Erica Kundrick

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• erk40@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• Things that itch me:People walking down the street talking on their Bluetooth, you never know if they are talking to you or not.
• Itchy-foot destination: I want to see the world, I've never left the country, so i just want to go somewhere and experience a new and different culture.
• Itchin' to try: Taking a week to go backpacking or camping in the mountains.

Zeyu Hu

Undergraduate Student (CMU)

• zeyuh@andrew.cmu.edu
• 412-648-8182

• Things that itch me: Why there are never enough hours in the day & fully immersive virtual reality
• Itchy-foot destination: Japan. I have never been there, but I always wanted to.
• Itchin' to try: Going camping with friends.

Brittany Humensky

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• beh52@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• Things that itch me: When bicyclists riding on the road don't obey stop signs or red lights.
• Itchy-foot destination:There are so many rich cultures! Greece and Japan are my top choices.
• Itchin' to try: Sailing

Stephanie Buerk

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• smb202@pitt.edu
• 814-594-6561

• Things that itch me: People who chew obnoxiously and loud phone conversations in public places
• Itchy-foot destination:Australia and New Zealand
• Itchin' to try: Zip lining in a tropical rainforest

Nathan Schuerman

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• njs59@pitt.edu
• 724-396-2399

• Things that itch me: People who dont know the difference between irony and coincidence.
• Itchy-foot destination:Spain
• Itchin' to try: Scuba Diving
• Scratchin' an itch: Nathan is currently working as an electrical engineer at JNE Consulting

Thomas Smith

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• tjs99@pitt.edu
• 814-341-0659

• Things that itch me: slow internet and slow drivers.
• Itchy-foot destination:Australia
• Itchin' to try: adopting a baby kangaroo and caribou hunting

Precious Jackson

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• pnj4@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• Things that itch me: Spiders
• Itchy-foot destination:Maldives
• Itchin' to try: Skydiving

Stephanie Fulton

• SAF78@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• Things that itch me: reality television, The Heartbreak Kid, mints.
• Itchy-foot destination: Italy, Greece, and Egypt for the ancient history.
• Itchin' to try: Whale watching in Alaska.

Luiza Arieta Frota de Souza

• LUA5@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• Things that itch me: annoying childish pop stars and their completely meaningless songs; obnoxiously loud gum-chewers and food-eaters.
• Itchy-foot destination: I would love to spend at least a month in Europe and tour as many different countries as possible, particularly Italy, Germany, Austria, France, England, Ireland, Holland, and Greece.
• Itchin' to try: : Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
• Luiza is going to attend the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry.

Michael Lee

• rosslab@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• Things that itch me: how much time I have to spend sleeping each day. people who don't get into the right lane ahead of time and merge at the last second.
• Itchy-foot destination: Hong Kong, China and Athens, Greece
• Itchin' to try: : sky-diving, paragliding, and water-skiing

Dylan Burbee

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• dlb77@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• Things that itch me:People who run or bike on busy sidewalks
• Itchy-foot destination:Norway, to see the Fjords.
• Itchin' to try:Skydiving

Chris Fan

Undergraduate Student (Pitt)

• chrisfan52@gmail.com
• 412-624-8182

• Things that itch me:Street preachers who attack you on street with flyers, Pictures that are not hanging straight.
• Itchy-foot destination:Japan, I spent one night there and I would love to have been able to explore the area more.
• Itchin' to try: I love cars and driving at an auto cross or track event would be extremely fun.
• Chris is currently in the Master of Biomedical Sciences program at The Commonwealth Medical College.

Lindsey Snyder

PhD Student

• mccleml@gmail.com
• 412-624-8182

• B.S. Allegheny College

• Things that itch me: Baking, traffic, and how much my dog sheds.
• Itchy-foot destination: The pacific northwest, including Yellowstone national park.
• Itchin' to try: Cage diving with great white sharks.

Cassie Nelson

• B.S. University of Pittsburgh

• After Team Itch: I am attending medical school.
• Things that itch me: Smelly people in small rooms, the Philadelphia Flyers.
• Itchy-foot destination: New Zealand to do things like rafting and bungee jumping.
• Itchin' to try: Skydiving, traveling to new places.
• Cassie is currently studying medicine at LECOM in Bradenton, FL.

Xiaoyun Cai

Research Associate

• ificcy@gmail.com
• 412-648-8182

• B.S. Nankai University, China
• Ph.D. Fudan University, China

• Things that itch me: Things that itch me should be that it is so difficult to settle down. However, someone said that "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get", which means you can get surprise to make your life more colorful.
• Itchy-foot destination: There are so many itchy-foot destinations. The itchiest one should be Japan: sakura, kimono and tons of Japanese cuisine. If I will have chance to travel around Europe, it would be another fantastic highlight for my life.
• Itching to try: to learn how to cook all kinds of fine food for my beloved family and friends

Michael Chiang

MD/PhD Student

• MichaelCChiang@gmail.com
• 412-624-8182

• B.S. University of Calfornia, Berkeley

• Things that itch me: poor sleep
• Itchy-foot destination: Scandinavia
• Itchin' to try: new eats!

Carlisle Turner

Undergrad

• crt43@pitt.edu
• 412-624-8182

• Things that itch me: slow walkers and American cheese
• Itchy-foot destination: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands
• Itchin' to try: Sky Diving

Eileen Nguyen

MD/PHD Rotation Student

• ekn11@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• B.S. Neuroscience, University of Calfornia, Los Angeles
• NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Fellow

• Things that itch me: Snowstorms, cinammon, walking barefoot on crumbs
• Itchy-foot destination: Serengeti National Park
• Itching to try: Cross-country skiing

Catherine Ruff

• ---.edu
• 412-648-8182

• B.S. University of Iowa
• M.S. Cornell University
• D.V.M. Purdue University
• Anatomic Pathology Residency Purdue University

• Things that itch me: Wet socks
• Itchy-foot destination: Madagascar (to see the wild lemurs!)
• Itching to try: Fly fishing

Jenna Gale

MSTP Student

• jeg18@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• Things that itch me: people who speed up when you signal to change lanes and folding laundry
• Itchy-foot destination: Croatia, Portugal, more national parks
• Itchin' to try: adopting a skunk (apparently they make great pets!)

Amy Sentis

MSTP Student

• amysentis@pitt.edu
• 412-648-8182

• Things that itch me: people walking slow in front of me
• Itchy-foot destination: Greek islands
• Itchin' to try: windsurfing