Faculty

Alison E Hipwell, PhD, PsyD

Alison E Hipwell, PhD, PsyD

Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Pittsburgh Girls Study
Assistant
Jen Wilson
bresjl@upmc.edu

Education & Training

PhD
Developmental Psychology, Kings College London, Great Britain, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience
MA
Developmental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Great Britain, Clare Hall
PsyD
Clinical Psychology, University of East Anglia, Great Britain, School of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

Member, International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
Member, International Marce Society for Perinatal Mental Health
Member, International Congress for Infant Studies

Research Interests

Reproductive mental health; Stress response; Intergenerational studies
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Hipwell AE, Keenan K, Tung I, Quick A, Simhan H, Bodnar L, Buckner N. Preconception and prenatal vitamin D associations with positive behavioral health in Black children. Psychol Med. 2024 Oct 23;54(14):1-12. PMCID: PMC11579652.
  2. Tung I, Hipwell AE, Grosse P, Battaglia L, Cannova E, English G, Quick A, Llamas B, Taylor M, Foust JE. Prenatal stress and externalizing behaviors in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis. Psychol Bull. 2024 Feb;150(2):107-131. PMID: 37971856.
  3. Hipwell AE, Tung I, Sherlock P, Tang X, McKee K, McGrath M, Alshawabkeh A, Bastain T, Breton C, Cowell W, Dabelea D, Duarte C, Dunlop A, Ferrera A, Herbstman J, Hockett C, Keenan K, Krafty R, Monk C, Nozadi S, OConnor T, Oken E, Osmundson S, Schantz S, Wright R, and Comstock S; program collaborators for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes. Impact of sedentary behavior and emotional support on prenatal psychological distress and birth outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychol Med. 2023 Mar 8;53(14)1-14. PMID: 36883203. PMCID: PMC10485176.
  4. Hipwell AE, Tung I, Krafty RT, Leong AW, Spada M, Vaccaro H, Homitsky SC, Moses-Kolko E, Keenan K. A lifespan perspective on depression in the postpartum period in a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of young mothers. Psychol Med. 2023 Jul;53(10):4415-4423. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9637236.
  5. Hipwell AE, Fu H, Tung I, Stiller A, Keenan K. Preconception stress exposure from childhood to adolescence and birth outcomes: The impact of stress type, severity and consistency. Front Reprod Health Special Issue: Opportunities and Challenges of Human Preconception Research. 2023 Jan 11;4:1007788. PMCID: 9876597.

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical student and resident education

Molecular Psychiatry: Associations Among White Matter Microstructural Changes and the Development of Emotional Reactivity and Regulation in Infancy

Molecular Psychiatry

In infancy and throughout childhood, high levels of negative emotionality (for example, frequent and intense crying), low levels of positive emotionality (for example, limited smiling and laughter), and deficits in emotional regulation can predict future behavioral and affective disorders. White matter tracts in the brain develop rapidly in the first postnatal year, and their development is critical for...

M-PIRE: The Psychiatry Maternal Perinatal Infant Research Collaborative

Drs. Rachel Kolko Conlon and Heather Joseph

Two years ago, Rachel Kolko Conlon, PhD (Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), and Heather Joseph, DO (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics), were looking for opportunities to merge their mutual research interests in perinatal and infant mental health. They formed the Psychiatry Maternal Perinatal Infant Research Collaborative, which brings together faculty and trainees with both research and...

International Journal of Eating Disorders: The Association between Preconception Loss of Control Over Eating and Depressive Symptom Trajectories from Childhood through First Pregnancy

Drs. Magee and Levine

Loss of control over eating (the ingestion of food accompanied by the perception of being unable to control the amount of food consumed) is the core psychological phenomenon associated with binge eating. Loss of control over eating during pregnancy impacts prenatal health and often co-occurs with depressive symptoms. Importantly, both loss of control over eating and depression during pregnancy confer risk for poor...

Biological Psychiatry: Neural Network Functional Interactions Mediate or Suppress White Matter–Emotional Behavior Relationships in Infants 

Infant and Mother

Complex and coordinated brain development progresses rapidly within the first year of a baby’s life, and infant white matter development is associated with future cognitive processes and behavioral problems. Elucidating the neural basis of infant emotional behaviors can identify biomarkers of pathophysiological risk for subsequent behavioral and emotional problems. In Biological Psychiatry, investigators including...

University of Pittsburgh Awards Tenure to Alison Hipwell, PhD, PsyD

University of Pittsburgh Awards Tenure to Alison Hipwell, PhD, PsyD

We are delighted to announce that Alison Hipwell, PhD, PsyD, has been appointed Tenured Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology by the University of Pittsburgh. A nationally and internationally recognized pioneer in the study of mental health of mothers and children, Dr. Hipwell’s research focuses on transgenerational influences on postpartum psychopathology and early parenting, as well as developmental origins and...