Faculty

David A Brent, MD

Endowed Chair in Suicide Studies and Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Epidemiology, and Clinical and Translational Science

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Phone 412-246-5596
Email
Website
Star Center
IMPACT
Assistant
Jamey Covaleski
covaleskijj@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
Jefferson Medical College Medicine
MSHyg
University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health Epidemiology
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMCGeneral Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania Cognitive Therapy InstituteCognitive Therapy
Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic of UPMCPsychiatric Epidemiology

Selected Honors & Awards

Morselli Medal, International Academy of Suicide Research
Ruane Prize, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders
Top 10 Advancements and Breakthroughs in 2016, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Research Interests

Adolescent mood disorders and suicidal behavior; Bereavement, mental and physical health sequele; Clinical trials and therapeutics
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Brent DA, Perper JA, Goldstein CE, Kolko DJ, Allan MJ, Allman CJ, Zelenak JP. Risk factors for adolescent suicide. A comparison of adolescent suicide victims with suicidal inpatients. Arch GenPsychiatry. 1988;45:581-588.
  2. Brent D, Emslie G, Clarke G, Wagner KD, Asarnow JR, Keller M, Vitiello B, Ritz L, Iyengar S, Abebe K,Birmaher B, Ryan N, Kennard B, Hughes C, DeBar L, McCracken J, Strober M, Suddath R, Spirito A,Leonard H, Melhem N, Porta G, Onorato M, Zelazny J. Switching to another SSRI or to venlafaxinewith or without cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with SSRI-resistant depression: theTORDIA randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2008;299:901-913.
  3. Brent DA, Melhem NM, Oquendo M, Burke A, Birmaher B, Stanley B, Biernesser C, Keilp J, Kolko D, Ellis S, Porta G, Zelazny J, Iyengar S, Mann JJ. Familial pathways to early-onsetsuicide attempt: a 5.6 year prospective study. JAMA Psychiatry. Feb 2015;72(2):160-168.
  4. Brent D, Melhem N, Donohoe MB, Walker M. The incidence and course of depression inbereaved youth 21 months after the loss of a parent to suicide, accident, or sudden natural death. Am J Psychiatry. 2009;166:786-794.
  5. Brent DA, Brunwasser SM, Hollon SD, Weersing VR, Clarke GN, Dickerson JF, Beardslee WR, Gladstone TR, Porta G, Lynch FL, Iyengar S, Garber J. Effect of a cognitive-behavioralprevention program on depression 6 years after implementation among at-riskadolescents: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psych. 2015;72(11):1110-1118.

Clinical Interests

Adolescent depression; Suicidal behavior; Mild traumatic brain injury
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Brent DA, Poling K. Cognitive Therapy Manual for Depressed and Suicidal Youth. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh; 1997.
  2. Poling K, Brent DA, Birmaher B. Understanding and Coping with Bipolar Illness: A Survival Manual for Families. Pittsburgh: WPIC; 1998.
  3. Kerr MM, Brent DA, McKain B, McCommons PS. Postvention Standards Manual - A Guide for a School's Response in the Aftermath of a Sudden Death. Pittsburgh:University of Pittsburgh; 2010.
  4. Brent DA, Poling K, Goldstein TR. Treating Depressed and Suicidal Adolescents: A Clinician's Guide New York: Guilford Press; 2011.

Education Interests

Teaching about adolescent suicide & behavior; Supervision of child psychiatry residents; Mentoring medical students, residents & postdocs

New Center for Interventions to Enhance Community Health (CiTECH) Aims to Improve Quality of Life for Individuals with Behavioral Health Conditions by Translating Research into Innovative Community-Based Interventions 

CiTech Faculty

Investigators in the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and the Department of Psychiatry have established the Center for Interventions to Enhance Community Health (CiTECH) to study, understand, and improve community behavioral health services. Mental and behavioral health are cornerstones of a good quality of life, yet most people cannot obtain effective, evidence-based behavioral health services in the...

Dr. Sansea Jacobson Leads SAVE’s Clinician Subgroup to Develop 13 Reasons Why Toolkit

13 Reasons Why Toolkit

Prior to the debut of Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why on May 18, an international coalition headed by SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) developed the online 13 Reasons Why Toolkit to address concerns regarding how the show’s first season portrayed suicide, sexual health, bullying, and other sensitive topics facing today’s youth. Sansea Jacobson, MD , Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Child...

K-SADS Becomes One of the Most Widely Used Diagnostic Tools in Research and Clinical Care and Is An Example of How Our Researchers Have Contributed to Improving Assessment of Mental Health Disorders

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One of the most significant contributions to the field by Department of Psychiatry investigators is the development and testing of diagnostic tools for research and clinical practice. Assessment of children and adolescents can present unique challenges. For example, mood symptoms are more challenging to evaluate in children than in adults. In 1978 the late Joachim Puig-Antich, MD, a distinguished researcher and...

Hafeman et al. Report on the Usefulness of a Risk Calculator to Predict New-Onset Bipolar Spectrum Disorder in Youth in JAMA Psychiatry

Hafeman et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2017

Early identification of individuals at high risk for the onset of bipolar spectrum disorder (BPSD) is key from both a clinical and research perspective. In this study, Dr. Hafeman and colleagues built a risk calculator to predict the five-year onset of BPSD in youth at familial risk. This study tested the degree to which a time-to-event model, including measures of mood and anxiety, general psychosocial functioning...