Faculty

Brooke S G Molina, PhD

Brooke S Molina, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, Pediatrics, and Psychology

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Youth and Family Research Program
Developmental Alcohol Research Training Program
Assistant
Carol Walker Hundiak
walkercb@upmc.edu

Education & Training

PhD
Clinical Psychology, Arizona State University
Alcohol Research Training Program, University of Pittsburgh

Current Appointments

Director, Youth and Family Research Program
Co-Director, Developmental Alcohol Research Training Program

Professional Affiliations

Fellow, American Psychological Association
Member, International Society for Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
Member, Research Society on Alcohol

Selected Honors & Awards

Outstanding Mentor Award, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Method to Extend Research in Time Award, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Research Interests

Etiology, course & treatment of ADHD/substance use; ADHD treatment in primary care; ADHD risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Molina BSG, Walther CAP, Wang FL, Kennedy T, Curran PJ, Gnagy EM & Pedersen SL. (2025). Pathways to alcohol use and problems in adulthood for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The role of common impairments above and beyond ADHD symptom persistence. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 134(6), 651-662. PMCID: PMC12259370.
  2. Leffa DT, Povala G, Bellaver B, Ferrari-Souza JP, Ferreira PCL, Lussier F, Aguzzoli CS, Soares C, Zalzale H, Rohden F, Bauer-Negrini G, Abbas S, Schneider M, Therriault J, Lopez O, Villemagne V, Klunk W, Tudorascu D, Cohen A, Rosa-Neto P, Zimmer E, Karikari T, Rohde LA, Molina B, Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2025). Impact of the polygenic risk scores for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Alzheimers disease. Alzheimers & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimers Association, 21(1):e70003. PMCID: PMC11853731.
  3. Molina BSG, Kennedy TM, Howard AL, Swanson JM, Arnold LE, Mitchell JT, Stehli A, Kennedy EH, Epstein JN, Hechtman LT, Hinshaw SP & Vitiello B. (2023). Association between stimulant treatment and substance use through adolescence into early adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(9), 933-941. PMCID: PMC10323757.
  4. McGuier, EA, Kolko DJ, Pedersen SL, Kipp HL, Joseph HM, Lindstrom RA, Bauer DJ, Subramaniam GA & Molina BSG. (2022). Effects of training on use of stimulant diversion prevention strategies by pediatric primary care providers: Results from a cluster-randomized trial. Prevention Science, 23(7), 12991307. PMCID: PMC9489672
  5. Versace A, Jones NP, Joseph HM, Lindstrom R, Wilson TK, Lima Santos JP, Gnagy EM, Pelham, Jr. WE, Ladouceur CD & Molina BSG. (2021). White matter abnormalities associated with ADHD outcomes in adulthood. A tract-profile study in adults with research-quality childhood diagnoses. Molecular Psychiatry, 26(11), 6655-6665. PMCID: PMC8613296.

Clinical Interests

ADHD across the lifespan; Substance use across the lifespan; Primary care and ADHD treatment

Education Interests

Research mentorship at all levels; Faculty development

Pitt Psychiatry Research Published in Alzheimer's & Dementia

Investigators

Pitt Psychiatry investigators have recently published studies in Alzheimer's & Dementia. Below is a summary of recent original research on neural factors underlying cognitive and depressive symptoms in late life, sleep and rest–activity rhythms across different cognitive aging pathways, and the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Altered Triple Network Model...

Pitt Psychiatry’s 2024 Research Day, Part I: A Research and Networking Bonanza

Research Day 2024

The 22nd annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day, held on June 13, 2024, was the most highly attended Research Day ever, with 544 faculty members, trainees, and staff gathering at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Lunchtime Roundtables More than 260 individuals participated in or facilitated one of 19 roundtable discussion groups focused on topics including...

Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience Neuroimaging - Altered Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Functioning During Emotional Interference Resistance Is Associated with Affect Lability in Adults with Persisting Symptoms of ADHD from Childhood

Drs. Cecile Ladouceur and Brooke Molina

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), characterized by inattention and/or impulsivity/hyperactivity, can include emotional dysregulation (such as affect lability), especially when symptoms persist into adulthood. Some individuals with ADHD have trouble with modulating attention in the context of goal-directed behavior. They may perform significantly worse on cognitive tasks, relative to those without...

Brooke Molina, PhD, Named President-Elect of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders

Dr. Brooke Molina

We are pleased to announce that Brooke Molina, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Pediatrics), has been named president-elect of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD). APSARD is dedicated to enhancing outcomes for individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their families by fostering lifespan research on ADHD and sharing evidence-based practices...

JAMA Psychiatry: Association Between Stimulant Treatment and Substance Use Through Adolescence Into Early Adulthood

Molina et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2023 Figure

In treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is use of stimulant medication associated with subsequent use of alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, or other drugs? Investigators including Brooke Molina, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Pediatrics), and Traci Kennedy, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), from Pitt Psychiatry, conducted a cohort study of 579 children ages 7...