Megan Freeman, MD, PhD

Megan Culler Freeman, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Freeman received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky and her Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees through the Vanderbilt University Medical Scientist Training Program. She completed Pediatrics Residency and Infectious Diseases Fellowship through the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Pediatrician Scientist Development Program (PedSDP) where she received awards for clinical teaching during both residency and fellowship.   Freeman is a virologist interested in human tissue models and viral pathogenesis. Her lab (mcfreelab.org) is focused on investigations of RNA viruses with neurotropism, with current focus on enterovirus D68, a cause of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a polio-like illness in children. She has published research articles on the basic science and cell biology of coronaviruses and enteroviruses, as well as projects in collaboration with the UPMC clinical labs, textbook chapters, and reviews. She is also the director of the Pittsburgh Assembloid (pghassembloid.org), a community for organoid researchers.