Dr. Pezzone is an expert in neuro-immune interactions in the gut and the lower urinary tract as they relate to chronic pain, afferent nerve sensitization, and cross-sensitization of pelvic organs which can lead to chronic pelvic pain.
Additional research interests include: Macrophage phenotype modulation in tissue regeneration and down regulation of inflammation, the role of glial cells and the peripheral nervous system in the development of malignancy in chronic inflammatory states, modulation of mast cells and their role in visceral pain, neuromodulation of pain, development of pain biomarkers, and visceral afferents in the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts and their role in visceral hyperalgesia.
Dr. Pezzone directs patient gastroenterology services for UPMC Mercy. He has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of all gastroenterology diseases.
- AB, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Cornell University, 1987
- MD, PhD, Experimental Pathology, Neurobiology of Stress, University of Pittsburgh, 1994
- Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 1997
- Fellowship, Gastroenterology, University of Pittsburgh, 2000
Education & Training
Mupparapu SK, Pezzone MA. A Rare Case of Dual Cecae. ACG Case Rep J. 2015; 2(2): 76.
Silos-Santiago I, Hanning G, Eutamene H, Ustinova EE, Bernier SG, Ge P, Graul C, Jacobson S, Jin H, Liong E, Kessler MM, Reza T, Rivers S, Shea C, Tchernychev B, Bryant AP, Kurtz CB, Bueno L, Pezzone MA, Currie MG. Gastrointestinal Pain: Unraveling a Novel Endogenous Pathway through Uroguanylin/Guanylate Cyclase-C/cGMP Activation. Pain. 2013; 154(9): 1820-30.
Fitzgerald JJ, Usinova E, KoronowskiKB, deGroat WC, Pezzone MA. Evidence for the Role of Mast Cells in Colon-Bladder Cross Organ Sensitization. Auton Neurosci. 2013; 173(1-2): 6-13.
Turner NJ, Pezzone MA, Brown BN, Badylak SF. Quantitative Multispectral Imaging of Herovici's Polychrome for the Assessment of Collagen Content and Tissue Remodeling. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2013; 7(2): 139-48.
Ustinova EE, Fraser MO, Pezzone MA. Cross-Talk and Sensitization of Bladder Afferent Nerves. Neurourol Urodyn. 2010; 29(1): 77-81.
Bakdash S, Lyons JM, Bastacky SI, Pezzone MA, McGee JB, Schoen RE, Regueiro M, Lee KK, Bontempo FA. Management of Persistent Gastric Bleeding in a Patient with Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia. Am J Hematol. 2008; 83(5): 411-5.
Liang R, UstinovaEE, Patnam R, Fraser MO, Gutkin DW, Pezzone MA. Enhanced Expression of Mast Cell Growth Factor and Mast Cell Activation in the Bladder Following the Resolution of Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid (TNBS) Colitis in Female Rats. Neurourol Urodyn. 2007; 26(6): 887-93.
Christianson JA, Liang R, Usinova EE, Davis BM, Fraser MO, Pezzone MA. Convergence of Bladder and Colon Sensory Innervation Occurs at the Primary Afferent Level. Pain. 2007; 128(3): 235-43.
Ustinova EE, Gutkin DW, Pezzone MA. Sensitizationo f Pelvic nerve Afferents and Mast Cell Infiltration in the Urinary Bladder Following Chronic Colonic Irritation is Mediated by Neuropeptides. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2007; 292(1): 123-30.
Ustinova EE, Fraser MO, Pezzone MA. Colonic Irritation int he Rat Sensitizes urinary Bladder Afferents to Mechanical and Chemical Stimuli: An Afferent Origin of Pelvic Organ Cross-Sensitization. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2006; 290(6): F1478-87.
- Audrey Love Charitable Foundation Award for Research in IBS, 2007
- UPMC Recognition for Service Excellence “Above and Beyond”, 2007
- Pittsburgh Best Doctors (Pittsburgh Magazine & Castle Connolly), 2008 to present
- Fellow, American Gastroenterological Association, 2010 to present
- Visiting Scholar, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang City, Jiangxi, China, 2016
- Top Doctor in Gastroenterology in Lake/Sumter, FL,, 2019 to present
