Faculty

Carmen Andreescu, MD

Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
ARGO Neuroscience of Aging Research Laboratory
Assistant
Sally Lagattuta
lagattutase@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
Geriatric Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC

Current Appointments

Co-Director, Clinical Research Training in Late-Life Mood Disorders

Professional Affiliations

Member, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Selected Honors & Awards

Hartford-Jeste Award for Future Leaders in Geriatric Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association
Young Investigator Award, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Research Interests

Accelerated aging in late-life mood disorders; Neural basis of anxiety & depression in late-life; Biomarkers of treatment response
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Gerlach AR, Karim HT, Kolobaric A, Boyd BD, Kahru K, Krafty RT, Ajilore O, Taylor WD, Andreescu C. Network homeostasis: Functional brain network alterations and relapse in remitted late-life depression. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025 May 29
  2. Kraynak TE, Karim HT, Banihashemi L, Krafty RT, Butters MA, Ajilore OA, Taylor WD, Andreescu C. Brain and cardiovascular responses to acute stress in remitted and recurrent late-life depression. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025 May 50 (6): 956-964
  3. Wilson JD, Gerlach AR, Karim HT, Aizenstein HJ, Andreescu C. Sex matters: acute functional connectivity changes as markers of remission in late-life depression differ by sex. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 28(12):5228-5236
  4. Karim HT, Ly M, Yu G, Krafty R, Tudorascu DL, Aizenstein HJ, Andreescu C. Aging faster: Worry and rumination in late life are associated with greater brain age. Neurobiol Aging. 2021 May; 101:13-21
  5. Andreescu C, Lenze E, Lavretsky H. Is anxiety in late life an uncharted territory? Questioning the federal guidelines for anxiety screening in older adults. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023;80(3):197-198

Clinical Interests

Late-life mood and anxiety disorders; Neurocognitive disorders; Brain stimulation therapies
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Andreescu C, Aijilore O, Aizenstein HJ, Albert K, Butters MA, Landman BA, Karim HT, Krafty R, Taylor WD. Disruption of neural homeostasis as a model of relapse and recurrence in late-life depression. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 Dec 27; 27(12):1316-1330.
  2. Andreescu C, Varon D. New research on anxiety disorders in the elderly and an update on evidence-based treatments. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015
  3. Aizenstein HJ, Khalaf A, Walker SE, Andreescu C. Magnetic resonance imaging predictors of treatment response in late-life depression. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2014
  4. Andreescu C, Aizenstein H. MRI studies in late-life mood disorders. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2012

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Resident education
Selected Education Publications & Products
  1. Varon D, Andreescu C: Amnestic Disorders and Mild Cognitive Impairment, in Kaplan & Sadocks Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 10th edition. Eds Benjamin J. Sadock, Virginia Alcott Sadock, Pedro Ruiz; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 2016.
  2. Karim HT and Andreescu C. Anxiety disorders in older adults, in Kaplan & Sadocks Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 11th edition. Eds Benjamin J. Sadock, Virginia Alcott Sadock, Pedro Ruiz; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, 2024
  3. Lenze EJ, Wetherell JL, Andreescu C: Anxiety disorders, in Essentials of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2nd edition. Eds Dan G. Blazer, David C. Steffens, American Psychiatric Publishing Press, Arlington VA, 2012
  4. Lenze EJ, Wetherell JL, Andreescu C: Anxiety disorders in the elderly, in American Psychiatric Association Textbook of Geriatric Neuropsychiatry, 3rd edition. American Psychiatric Publishing Inc., 2011
  5. Andreescu C, Aizenstein HJ: Amnestic disorders and mild cognitive impairment, in Kaplan & Sadocks Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 9th edition. Eds Benjamin J. Sadock, Virginia Alcott Sadock, Pedro Ruiz; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 2010

Recent Research on Neural Network Connectivity in Late-Life Depression and Anxiety

Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry: CNNI

Recent papers in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging examine neural connectivity in late-life anxiety and depression. “Together, these two studies highlight the central role of the default mode network—a diverse set of brain regions theorized to integrate our experiences and sense of self—and its relationship with other large-scale brain networks in affective...

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...

Neuropsychopharmacology: Brain and Cardiovascular Responses to Acute Stress in Remitted and Recurrent Late-Life Depression

Neuropsychopharmacology

Among older adults who successfully achieve clinical remission from depression, 35%-45% will experience a new depressive episode within two years. The factors that contribute to the emergence of recurrent depressive episodes in older adults are not well understood. Psychological stress may play a role in depression remission and recurrence, yet important questions remain about the brain and physiological profiles...

Psychiatry Residents Present Robust Research at the 7th Annual Psychiatry Research Pathway Symposium

PRP Residents and Mentors

The Psychiatry Research Pathway (PRP) Symposium provides UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital residents engaged in research the opportunity to present their work to fellow residents, faculty mentors, T32 postdoctoral research program directors, and interested members of our academic community. This year, the PRP Symposium began with a panel discussion focused on interventional psychiatry, moderated by Katherine Lyman...

Carmen Andreescu, MD, Honored by Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Carmen Andreescu

We are delighted to report that Carmen Andreescu, MD (Professor of Psychiatry), has received the Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Psychiatry Perry Award, presented in memory of Samuel Wesley Perry III, MD. The Perry Award recognizes Dr. Andreescu’s exceptional program of research and mentorship that has advanced our understanding of the neural basis of depression and anxiety in older adults, and guided the use...