Dr. Almarza is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering. He received his B.S in Chemical Engineering from Florida State University before receiving his PhD in Bioengineering from Rice University. He joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. His labs research is focused on temporomandibular joint dysfunction and regeneration. A list of his publications can be found in our publications tab.
Dr. Alejandro Almarza
Lab Director, Associate Professor
Email: aja19@pitt.edu
Phone: 412-648-3101
Office: 409 Salk Pavilion
Dr. Socorro is a Research Assistant Professor in Dr. Almarza's lab. She earned her DDS and PhD degrees in Venezuela. She joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 2018, where she gained postdoctoral research experience working on determining the role of mineralization-regulating transcription factors in susceptibility to dental caries and on defining novel protein-protein interactions between transcription factors, crucial for skeletal and dental tissue mineralization. Her research interests involve advancing our understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanisms involved in formation of skeletal and dental tissues as well as understanding the development of temporomandibular joint disorders. She enjoys teaching and her passion is doing research and being a mom.
Dr. Mairobys Socorro
Research Assistant Professor
Email: mas624@pitt.edu
Dr. Dong is a researcher and lab manager in Dr. Almarza’s lab. He received his dental degree from Tianjin Medical University of China, and then, he did his PhD in Dental Biomaterials and Biomechanics at the University of Hong Kong. He joined Dr. Almarza’s lab in 2021. He has experience working with dental biomaterials and performing craniofacial pain studies. He is quite interested in studies focused on TMJ regeneration and enjoys working in our research team under the leadership of Dr. Almarza.
Dr. Xudong Dong
Lab Manager
Email: XUD12@pitt.edu
Dr. Stover received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University Institute of Technology where he also excelled as a pitcher on the baseball team. He then received his M.S. in bioengineering from Clemson University and his PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Utah. His research is focused on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and development of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced repeats) based cell and gene therapies for TMJ regeneration and the treatment of TMJ pain.
Dr. Joshua Stover
Postdoctoral Associate- Oral and Craniofacial Sciences
Email: Joshua.Stover@pitt.edu
Dr. Juliane Rolim de Lavor is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. She specializes in 3D mapping of the temporomandibular and knee joints, advancing tissue clearing and imaging techniques. Her research also explores pathology-pain relationships in osteoarthritis models through behavioral analysis in rats. Dr. Lavor earned her DDS and MS from the Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil, and her PhD in Clinical Dentistry from the University of Pernambuco. She was awarded a Brazilian federal scholarship for her doctoral research abroad and previously joined Pitt as a Research Visitor.
Juliane Rolim de Lavor, DDS, MS, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: julianedelavor@pitt.edu
Madison is a first year Oral and Craniofacial Sciences PhD student. She graduated with her BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in the spring of 2024 and transitioned to a PhD student that fall. Her projects include studying the pain-pathology relationship in osteoarthritis models and working on histology and staining. Outside of the lab, she enjoys long distance running and reading new books!
Madison Nagel
Graduate Student- Oral and Craniofacial Sciences
Email: MCN25@pitt.edu
Chaitanya (Chay) is a Bioengineering PhD student who started in Fall 2024. He did his undergraduate and master's at Florida State University in Biomedical Engineering. His master's thesis in mechanobiology focused on understanding the role of the integrin-cytoskeleton adaptor protein Talin in directional mechanosensing. He then transitioned to the Almarza Lab to study epigenome editing, tissue engineering, and biomechanics. His projects include creating new fluorescent reporters for tracking innervation in the knee and temporomandibular joint, creating new osteoarthritis models, and repairing osteochondral defects in the TMJ condyle using CRISPRa/i. Outside of the lab, Chay loves to go to the gym, play video games, listen to audiobooks, play tennis, and eat (a lot).
Chaitanya Vibhute
Graduate Student- Bioengineering
Email: CHV69@pitt.edu
Sara is a Bioengineering PhD student going into her fifth year. She began in the lab as a technician in 2019 after graduating with her BS in Biomedical Engineering from Duquesne University. She then transitioned to a PhD student in 2020. Her projects include the study of the development of temporomandibular joint disorders and the relationship between degeneration and the onset and progression of pain, as well as the development of a tissue engineered construct to repair osteochondral defects in the TMJ condyle. Outside of the lab, her favorite things to do are to go camping, hiking, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her fur babies.
Sara Trbojevic
Graduate Student- Bioengineering
Email: SAT142@pitt.edu
Dr. John Li
PhD - Oral and Craniofacial Sciences
Dr. Adam Chin
PhD - Bioengineering
Dr. Vera Liu
DDS, MS - Oral and Craniofacial Sciences