Seminars

Wellington V. Cardoso, MD, PhD - Professor of Medicine and Genetics and Development, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center

Wellington V. Cardoso, MD, PhD is a Professor of Medicine and Genetics & Development, Associate Vice-Chair for Research & Director of Interdisciplinary Programs at the Department of Medicine, Columbia University. In his tenure at Columbia he established and directed the Columbia Center for Human Development (CCHD), a multi-disciplinary research hub for studies on stem cell, organ development and the developmental basis of human diseases. Dr. Cardoso’s research focuses on lung development and regeneration, particularly the understanding of the origin, organization and behavior of the lung stem cell compartment during development and repair. Work from his lab pioneered discoveries on the roles of FGFs, Notch, Hippo-Yap, and retinoids in the normal lung, providing fundamental insights into the pathogenesis of developmental abnormalities and human conditions, such as COPD, asthma and neuroendocrine hyperplasias. Recent contributions include the characterization of viral-host interactions and drug targeting in human airways, the establishment of innovative technology for generation of lungs in vivo by blastocyst complementation, the development of a non-invasive platform for functional analysis of human newborn airway stem cells, and the identification and functional characterization of epithelial progenitors undergoing a transitional cell state conserved during lung morphogenesis and regeneration in mice and humans.

Sponsored by NIH T32HL171029 Multidisciplinary Training in Pulmonary Research (PI’s: S. Georas and M. O’Reilly)

(*In-person attendance preferred; for Zoom link email Nicole_Cruz@urmc.rochester.edu)

 Jan 22, 2026 @ 12:00 p.m.

 School of Medicine and Dentistry | Adolph Auditorium, Lower (1-7619)

Host: Pulmonary T32 Seminar Series

Hitesh Deshmukh, MD, PhD - Chief, Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics—URMC

Dr. Deshmukh is a highly accomplished neonatologist, physician-scientist, and mentor whose research has advanced our understanding of neonatal lung development and immunity. His research focuses on the gut-lung axis in neonatal immunity, exploring how early-life factors—particularly gut bacteria—shape lung health and susceptibility to chronic respiratory diseases. His pioneering work has illuminated the impact of early antibiotic exposure on lifelong lung function and has influenced current neonatal care practices. He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and currently holds multiple R01 grants. In addition to his research and clinical work, Dr. Deshmukh is deeply committed to mentoring early-career physician-scientists. He moved to the University of Rochester in 2025 to become Chief of Neonatology.

Sponsored by NIH T32HL171029 Multidisciplinary Training in Pulmonary Research (PI’s: S. Georas and M. O’Reilly)

(*In-person attendance preferred; for Zoom link email Willard_Fuller@urmc.rochester.edu)

 Sep 16, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.

 School of Medicine and Dentistry | Large Auditorium (2-6424)

Host: Pulmonary T32 Seminar Series

Gabriel Altit, MD, MSc - Assistant Professor, Neonatology, McGill University – Montreal Children’s Hospital

 May 04, 2023 @ 1:15 p.m.

 Medical Center | Upper Auditorium (3-7619)

Kara Goss, MD - Associate Professor, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, UT Southwestern

 May 04, 2023 @ 12:00 p.m.

 Medical Center | Upper Auditorium (3-7619)

Rachel Knipe, MD - Instructor, Medicine Harvard Medical School

 May 03, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.

Margaret Schwarz, MD - Professor, Pediatrics Indiana University School of Medicine

 Apr 05, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.

 Medical Center | Lower Adolph Auditorium (1-7619)

Matthew McGraw, MD - Assistant Professor, Pediatrics URMC

View the flyer

 Mar 15, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.

Ralph DeBerardinis, MD, PhD - Chief and Professor, Division of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism
Children’s Medical Center Research
Institute at UT Southwestern
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

Ralph DeBerardinis earned a B.S. in biology from St. Joseph’s University and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. DeBerardinis performed postdoctoral research in Craig Thompson’s laboratory in the Penn Cancer Center from 2004 to 2007. Here, he performed seminal work elucidating the importance of metabolism to tumorigenesis. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2008 and joined the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) in 2012. He holds the Joel B. Steinberg, M.D. Chair in Pediatrics, and he is a Sowell Family Scholar in Medical Research and a Robert L. Moody Faculty Scholar. Dr. DeBerardinis became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator in 2018 and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2020. 

 Mar 08, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.

Host: URMC Metabolism Meeting Special Seminar

Steven Dudek, MD - Professor, Medicine University of Illinois at Chicago

 Mar 01, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.

YouYang Zhao, PhD - Professor, Peds, Pharm, & Medicine Northwestern University

 Feb 15, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.

Matthew Cochran, MS - Associate of Pediatrics, Technical Director, URMC Flow Lab

 Feb 01, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.

Scott Budinger, MD - Professor of Airway Diseases
Chief, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

 Jan 18, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m.