Research Interests
Dr. Judith Litvin, Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, is Chair of the Curriculum Committee, Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ombudsperson at Temple's School of Medicine, Educator at the Medical, Dental, Podiatry and Graduate levels and is nationally and internationally recognized as a cellular and molecular developmental biologist. Dr. Litvin has mentored students at the high school, college and graduate school levels. Many of her students have won regional and national prizes for their work performed in her laboratory. She has been a leader in the advancement of graduate education within her department and at the medical school, has organized a workshop for chairpersons and section-chiefs to promote and teach the importance of ‘mentorship’ and continues to work towards providing faculty with tools to promote progress and advancement.
Dr. Litvin is trained as a cellular and molecular developmental biologist. Her research initially focused on the study of grastrulation in Xenopus laevis and later on muscle development. First, on skeletal muscle development and later on cardiac or heart muscle development. She is recognized in the field of avian heart development, specifically for her studies and reports on the location of cardiac progenitor cells early in the developmental process. Recently, her interests have moved to the identification of genes expressed early in heart development and their role(s) in pathologies in the adult heart. One such molecule is Periostin-Like-Factor. Interestingly, it is also expressed in bone as are many other recently identified molecules. Since the bone-heart connection is intruiging and a natural extension of her research interests she has started to examine the role of PLF in bone formation and disease.
Education, Training & Credentials
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Cornell University Medical School
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Department of Biology, University of Virginia
- Post-doctoral Fellowship, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Virginia Medical School, 1984-1987
- PhD, Nutrition-Biochemistry, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, 1980-1983
- MS, Nutrition, Framingham State College, 1976-1979
- BA, Biology, Queens College-CUNY, 1972-1976