Gabriel Pagnotti

Currently, Gabriel is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas - MD Anderson Cancer Center. His research focus is directed towards defining the negative impact of cancer, obesity and other metabolic disorders, their sequelae, and treatment strategies on musculoskeletal tissues and other susceptible tissues/organs. Complimentary to these interests are research objectives geared to alternative strategies to maintain the preservation of muscle and bone quantity and quality, while deterring the accumulation of adipose tissue. Gabriel was a post-doctoral fellow at IUPUI in the Department of Medicine researching the means by which cancer and high-fat diet negatively contribute to the health of musculoskeletal tissue in the face of cancer-induced bone disease and how treatment strategies, such as mechanical forces, can be used to ameliorate these deliterious effects. Gabriel began his undergraduate education in Electrical Engineering followed by post-baccalaureatte education in Molecular Biology at the University of Central Florida. In 2004 he began a systems engineering, which would allow him to gain a practical and industrial perspective on high-speed fiber optic, wireless, and copper-based communication system design, installation, and maintenance, while fostering new responsibilities in team management and project estimation for multi-million dollar Department of Transportation project. During these 6 years of industry experience, Gabriel volunteered his free-time in a molecular parasitology lab where the focus was understanding the primary trafficking mechanisms in the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which provided practical lab benchwork experience. Since having completed his Master's degree at the University of South Florida in Biomedical Engineering, he shifted his focus on a full-time graduate career in Biomedical Engineering, investigating mechanical signals and their role in mitigating musculoskeletal deficiencies subsequent to metabolic diseases (completed in 2014). Most recently, his work has led him to Indiana University School of Medicine under the direction of Dr. Theresa Guise where the aim is to translate preclinical findings related to mechanical signal as a strategy to maintain muscle and bone quality in mice with estrogen deprivation, breast cancer, and myeloma, into clinical practice.