Dr. Treble-Barna is a tenure-stream associate professor, pediatric neuropsychologist, and faculty developer. Building upon her expertise in psychology and neuroscience, her scholarship encompasses two distinct areas. Her clinical research program aims to account for unexplained heterogeneity in outcomes following pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), with the long-term goal of moving the field towards precision medicine to improve individual prognostication, predict response to rehabilitation, and identify novel targets for treatment development. The second area advances the science of faculty development, focusing on faculty wellbeing and vitality and on professional and peer coaching to support the thriving and career sustainability of academic faculty.
Pediatric Brain Injury Research
Dr. Treble-Barna is Principal Investigator of the Epigenetic Effects on pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (EETR) study, which has been enrolling since 2017 and consistently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2019 (K01HD097030; R01NS135492). The aims of the project are to examine DNA methylation (a major epigenetic regular of gene expression) in association with acute TBI occurrence, long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, and psychosocial adversity. She was also Multiple Principal Investigator on an NIH-funded study to develop and validate a caregiver-report measure of rehabilitation service use after acquired brain injury, the Rehabilitation Utilization Measure (RUM).
The Treble-Barna Lab for Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Research is located at The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Faculty Development Research
Dr. Treble-Barna serves as Co-Investigator and lead interventionist on an NIH-funded, multi-site R01 randomized controlled trial of a peer coaching intervention designed to promote the thriving of early career investigators. She is also developing and validating several new measures in this area, including a measure of coaching skills in professional interactions and a measure of faculty vitality. In addition, she regularly conducts and disseminates research on the effectiveness and impact of the many faculty development programs she directs.
Service
Dr. Treble-Barna serves as the Director of Faculty Wellbeing & Vitality across the six Schools of the Health Sciences. In this role, she provide visionary, strategic, and operational leadership to develop, implement, and evaluate initiatives that enhance faculty wellbeing, vitality, resilience, engagement, and professional fulfillment. She serves as a key resource for faculty coaching and consultation and fosters a culture that prioritizes wellbeing and career sustainability.
Dr. Treble-Barna is the Director of the MOMENTUM program offered through the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Clinical and Research Education (ICRE). MOMENTUM is a competitive, year-long, leadership development program for research-intensive faculty in the health sciences who identify as primary caregivrs of school age and/or younger children. The purpose of the program is to promote faculty wellbeing, professional fulfillment, and career advancement. Dr. Treble-Barna pursued certification as a professional executive coach in support of her work with MOMENTUM.
She also serves on the Provost’s Advisory Committee for Women’s Concerns and the Pitt Scientist Wellbeing Steering Group.
- BSc, Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 2008
- MA, Clinical Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 2010
- PhD, Clinical Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 2014
- Clinical Internship, Nationwide Children's Hospital, 2014
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Clinical Neuropsychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2016
Education & Training
Dr. Treble-Barna's publications are indexed in PubMed
Pediatric traumatic brain injury; Rehabilitation service use; Epigenetics; Biomarkers; Social determinants of health; Faculty development; Faculty wellbeing and vitality; Professional coaching; Peer coaching
- NIH R01GM155395, Peers Investing in Each Other (Co-I, 30% effort), 2025-2029
- NIH R01NS135492, Methylomics of pediatric traumatic brain injury and neurobehavioral recovery (PI, 40% effort), 2024-2029
- NIH R03HD101746, Development and initial validation of a caregiver-report measure of rehabilitation utilization (MPI, 15% effort), 2021-2023.
- NIH K01HD097030, Epigenetic influences on neurobehavioral recovery following pediatric traumatic brain injury (PI, 75% effort), 2019-2024.