Christopher Divito, Ph.D.

Dr. Christopher Divito completed his doctoral studies on conducting states of neurotransmitter transporters at the University of Pittsburgh, Department of Neurobiology in 2013. He then continued at the University of Pittsburgh as a post-doctoral scholar researching how alteration in glutamatergic transmission through loss of VGLUT3 created a neuroprotective plasticity in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Divito then moved to Duquesne University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2016 studying chemical modification of glycine channels using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Dr. Divito then transitioned into biotechnology industry where he employed at MolecularDx, LLC (MDx) as a research scientist and assistant director. During his time at MDx, Dr. Divito served as the operations director, quality assurance director, and then interim director of business development. Dr. Divito continued research while at MDx, studying the use of alternative matrices and instrumental methods in postmortem toxicology. In 2022, Dr. Divito re-joined academia as an Assistant Professor of Basic Science at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, located at the Seton Hill campus. Dr. Divito facilitates OMS-II problem-based learning and lectures on occasion on topics in neuropharmacology.

Research Interests

1. Investigations into the use of alternative matrices and methods in postmortem toxicological analysis.

These projects focus on comparison between concentrations and frequency of observation between whole blood samples and alternative specimens from postmortem forensic casework. These alternative specimens include vitreous fluid, cerebral spinal fluid, liver, and others. Additionally, we are studying the use of alternative data collection and identification techniques and parameters for toxicological analysis using chromatography and mass spectrometry.

2. Pharmacokinetics and dynamics of novel psychoactive substances.

This project aims to elucidate the interactions and metabolism of novel psychoactive substances (NPS). NPS are newly developed and synthesized derivatives to know drugs of abuse. Due to their novelty, they are typically unscheduled, and little is know about their toxicity and detection parameters. We plan to used heterologous expression systems and liver hepatocytes cultures to assay for interaction with drug targets (receptors, transporters, etc.) as well as metabolism through cytochrome P450 enzymes isoforms. Identification of metabolites with also allow for the development of robust detection and quantification assays for toxicological analysis.