Clinical Chemistry
The Division of Clinical Chemistry, together with the Divisions of Hematopathology and Immunopathology, coordinates a full range of biochemical analytic services for UPMC and affiliated hospitals through a system of centralized and on-site laboratories, which are incorporated in Central Laboratory Services Inc. This division provides clinical support through therapeutic drug monitoring, toxicology analysis, hormone and tumor marker assays, biochemical tests for metabolic diseases, and nutrition and lipid analysis. The Division of Clinical Chemistry collaborates with the Division of Molecular Diagnostics in molecular analysis for genetic metabolic diseases. Clinical Chemistry conducts research in the biochemistry of otitis media, pharmacokinetics and assays of novel immunosuppressants, nutritional assessment of transplant patients, biomarkers for cancers, cholesterol biosynthesis during cell growth and regeneration, programmed cell death (apoptosis), computer applications in clinical labs, and biochemical and molecular genetics of metabolic disorders. The Division of Clinical Chemistry is also responsible for developing and evaluating clinical analytic techniques for hospital and research laboratory use.
Research Emphasis: Current investigations include the control of protein degradation in tissue culture systems, the physiological and chemical properties of plasma proteins elicited during the inflammatory response, the biochemical aspects of storage diseases and inbred errors of metabolism, the structural and functional relationships of various plasma proteins, the control of steroid synthesis in the liver, and the pathogenetic mechanisms in rheumatoid arthritis.
