Faculty

Dana L Tudorascu, PhD

Dana L Tudorascu, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Biostatistics

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Study Design and Analysis Group in Psychiatry

Education & Training

PhD
Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh

Professional Affiliations

Member, American Statistical Association

Research Interests

Neuroimaging studies of age-related pathology; Statistical methods for multimodal imaging studies; Alzheimer's disease
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Lopresti BJ, Campbell EM, Yu Z,Anderson SJ,Cohen AD, Minhas DS, Snitz BE,Royse SK,Becker CR, Aizenstein HJ, Mathis CA, Lopez OL, Klunk WE, Tudorascu, DL Influence of apolipoprotein-E genotype on brain amyloid load and longitudinal trajectories, Neurobiology of Aging, May 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.05.012, In Press.
  2. Snitz BE, Tudorascu DL, Yu Z, Campbell E, Lopresti BJ, Laymon CH, Minhas DS, Nadkami NK, Aizenstein JH, Klunk WE, Weintraub S, Gershon RC, Cohen AD. Associations between NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and in vivo brain amyloid and tau pathology in non-demented older adults. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2020;12(1):e12018. Published 2020 May 15. doi:10.1002/dad2.12018, PubMed PMID: 32426450.
  3. Karim HT, Tudorascu DL, Cohen A, Price JC, Lopresti B, Mathis C, Klunk W, Snitz BE, Aizenstein HJ. Relationship Between Executive Control Circuit Activity, Amyloid Burden, and Education in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults, Am J Geriatric Psychiatry, 2019 Jul 19, pii: S1064-7481(19)30437-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2019.07.008, PMID:31402087.

JAMA Network Open: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Microglial Activation in Patients with Alzheimer Disease

Image of Brain

Neuropsychiatric symptoms including irritability, nighttime disturbances, and agitation are highly prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are clinically well characterized in individuals with Alzheimer’s, scientists have more to learn regarding these symptoms’ neurobiological underpinnings. Investigators including Cristiano Schaffer Aguzzoli, MD (former Pitt...

The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: White Noise—Is Anxiety in Late-Life Associated With White Matter Hyperintensity Burden?

Drs. Andrew Gerlach and Carmen Andreescu

Anxiety disorders are prevalent in late life, with symptoms including severe (uncontrollable) worry and rumination. Late-life anxiety, worry, and rumination in the context of the aging brain can be associated with differences in volume and thickness of gray matter regions in the brain, as well as altered functional connectivity in the networks involved in emotion generation and regulation, but these changes may...

Associations Between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Cardiovascular and Brain Health in Women; Sex-Dependent Alterations in the Memory Network 

Drs. Rebecca Thurston and Minjie Wu

Recent studies led by Pitt Psychiatry investigators examine the associations between post-traumatic stress disorder and cardiovascular and brain health in women ( JAMA Network Open), and sex-dependent alterations in the memory network ( Alzheimer’s & Dementia). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Cardiovascular and Brain Health in Women Most women in the United States will experience at least one major...

Alzheimer's & Dementia and Nature Aging: New Alzheimer's Disease Research

Ferrari-Souza et al. Nature Aging 2023 Authors

The Pascoal Lab (PI: Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD; Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology) and colleagues have published recent research findings in Alzheimer's & Dementia and Nature Aging examining biomarkers and pathophysiological progression of Alzheimer's disease. “These two publications contribute to our understanding of the biomarkers and pathophysiological processes associated with the progression of...

Microglial and Astrocyte Reactivity Are Key to Determining Alzheimer’s Disease Progression

Dr. Tharick Pascoal

Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry) is an internationally recognized expert on the imaging and fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He recently published two papers examining the multifaceted but interactive nature of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. “Microglia and astrocytes are glial cells that act together and play a major role in the immune response in the human...