Titles
- Vice Chair for Research, Department of Neurology
- Connolly Family Chair in the UPMC Stroke Institute
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Graham’s research interests include neuronal cell death mechanisms in stroke, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. His basic science research concerns the role of oxidative stress and lipids in neuronal apoptosis and recovery after ischemia and trauma. Specifically, much of Dr. Graham’s research is currently focused on the role of cyclopentenone prostaglandins and other oxidized lipids in neuronal cell death and dysfunction. In recent years, these efforts have focused on the lipid modification of UCHL1 and its role in injury and recovery after stroke and TBI.
Education & Training
- Post-Doctorate, University of California, San Francisco, Neurology and Neuroscience
- Resident, University of California, San Francisco, Neurology
- Resident, Baylor College of Medicine, Internal Medicine
- PhD, University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Houston
- MD, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston
Specialized Areas of Clinical, Research and/or Educational Interests
- Research: Reactive lipid species, ubiquitin proteasome pathway, cerebral ischemia, vascular dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, traumatic brain injury, neuronal repair and recovery
- Clinical: Stroke, general neurology
- Education: mentoring of clinician scientists
Board Certifications
- American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Professional Organization Membership
- American Academy of Neurology
- American Heart Association
- Society for Neuroscience
Selected Honors & Awards
- Award for Excellence for Teaching, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh
- Fellow, American Heart Association
- Fellow, American Academy of Neurology
- Gold Award of Excellence for Outstanding Contribution to Science (Medical), Federal Executive Board
- Outstanding Commitment to Excellence in Research to Improve Veterans' Lives, V.A. Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Selected Recent Publications
Mi, Z., Povysheva, N., Rose, M.E., Ma, J., Zeh, D.J., Harikumar, N., Bhuiyan, M.I.H., Graham, S.H., Abolishing UCHL1's hydrolase activity exacerbates ischemia-induced axonal injury and functional deficits in mice. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 2024: p. 271678X241258809.
Mi, Z., Ma, J., Zeh, D.J., Rose, M.E., Henchir, J.J., Liu, H., Ma, X., Cao, G., Dixon, C.E., Graham, S.H., Systemic treatment with ubiquitin carboxy terminal hydrolase L1 TAT protein ameliorates axonal injury and reduces functional deficits after traumatic brain injury in mice. Exp Neurol, 2024. 373: p. 114650.
Mi Z, Graham SH, Role of UCHL1 in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury. Ageing Res Rev, 2023. 86: 101856.
Liu H, Povysheva N, Rose ME, Mi Z, Banton JS, Li W, Chen F, Reay DP, Barrionuevo G, Zhang F, Graham SH. Role of UCHL1 in axonal injury and functional recovery after cerebral ischemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Mar 5;116(10):4643-4650.
