Faculty

David A Lewis, MD

David A Lewis, MD

Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Thomas Detre Professor of Academic Psychiatry, and Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
TNP
Lewis Lab
Assistant
Amy Noll
henricksa@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
The Ohio State University, College of Medicine
Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Neuroscience, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
American Board of Internal Medicine

Current Appointments

Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience,
Thomas Detre Professor of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry
Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Professional Affiliations

Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine
Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Elected Member, Association of American Physicians

Selected Honors & Awards

Gold Medal Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Research in Psychiatry Award, American Psychiatric Association
NARSAD Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Research Interests

Schizophrenia; Cognition; Cortical circuitry
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Gonzalez-Burgos G, Miyamae T, Nishihata Y, Krimer OL, Wade K, Fish KN, Arion D, Cai ZL, Xue M, Stauffer WR, Lewis DA: Synaptic alterations in pyramidal cells following genetic manipulation of neuronal excitability in monkey prefrontal cortex. J Neurophysiol 133:399-413, 2025.
  2. Arion D, Enwright JF, Gonzalez-Burgos G, Lewis DA: Cell type-specific profiles and developmental trajectories of transcriptomes in primate prefrontal layer 3 pyramidal neurons: Implications for schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 181:920-934, 2024.
  3. Schoonover KE, Dienel SJ, Bazmi HH, Enwright JF, Lewis DA: Altered excitatory and inhibitory ionotropic receptor subunit expression in the cortical visuospatial working memory network in schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 49:1183-1192, 2024.
  4. Fish KN, Sweet RA, MacDonald ML, Lewis DA: Regional specificity of cortical layer 3 dendritic spine deficits spine deficits in schizophrenia. JAMA Psychiatry, in press.
  5. Dienel SJ, Wade KL, Fish KN, Lewis DA: Alterations in prefrontal cortical somatostatin neurons in schizophrenia: Evidence for weaker inhibition of pyramidal neuron dendrites. Biol Psychiatry 98:156-166, 2025.

Clinical Interests

Schizophrenia; Psychosis
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Lewis DA, Dienel SJ, Chung DW: Searching for the final proof of schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 242:78-80, 2022.
  2. Dienel S and Lewis DA: Neural and circuit mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia: Human studies. In DS Charney, JD Buxbaum, Binder EB, Gordon JA, Picciotto MR, EJ Nestler (eds) Charney & Nestlers Neurobiology of Mental Illness, 6e, Oxford University Press, New York, pp.185-194, 2025.
  3. Volk DW, Jenkins AK, and Lewis DA: Schizophrenia. In RN Rosenberg and JM Pascual (eds) Rosenbergs Molecular and Genetic Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disease, 7e, Vol 2, Elsevier, San Diego, pp. 927-936, 2025.
  4. Dienel SJ, Schoonover K, Lewis DA: Cognitive dysfunction and prefrontal cortical circuit alterations in schizophrenia: Developmental trajectories. Biol Psychiatry 92:450-459, 2022.
  5. Chung DW, Geramita MA, Lewis DA: Synaptic variability and cortical gamma oscillation power in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry 179:277-287, 2022.

Education Interests

Research training; Career development
Selected Education Publications & Products
  1. Fertig AM, Tew JD, Douaihy AB, Nash KC, Solai LK, Travis MJ, Zippay LB, Matthews KA, Lewis DA: Developing a clinician educator faculty development program: Lessons learned. Acad Psychiatry 41:417-422, 2017
  2. Gopalan P, Azzam PN, Travis MJ, Schlesinger A, Lewis DA: Longitudinal interdisciplinary neuroscience curriculum. Acad Psychiatry 38:163-167, 2014

Biological Psychiatry – Alterations in Prefrontal Cortical Somatostatin Neurons in Schizophrenia: Evidence for Weaker Inhibition of Pyramidal Neuron Dendrites

Image of Cortical Somatostatin Neurons

Cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, including impaired working memory, is associated with altered GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) signaling in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Among GABA neurons, the somatostatin–expressing subtype appears to be especially affected because multiple postmortem studies have reported large somatostatin messenger RNA (mRNA) deficits in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of...

Pitt Psychiatry’s 2025 Research Day, Part I: A Celebration of Science

Research Day Attendees

The 23rd annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day, held on June 12, 2025, was the most highly attended Research Day ever, with 653 faculty members, trainees, and staff gathering at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Lunchtime Roundtables More than 300 individuals participated in or facilitated one of 30 roundtable discussion groups focused on topics including...

American Journal of Psychiatry: Cell Type-Specific Profiles and Developmental Trajectories of Transcriptomes in Primate Prefrontal Layer 3 Pyramidal Neurons: Implications for Schizophrenia

AJP

In schizophrenia, impaired working memory is associated with transcriptome alterations in layer 3 pyramidal neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Distinct subtypes of layer 3 pyramidal neurons that send axonal projections to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the opposite hemisphere (callosal projection neurons) or the parietal cortex in the same hemisphere (ipsilateral projection neurons) play critical...

Daniel Wonjae Chung, MD, PhD, and David Lewis, MD, Receive the American Psychiatric Association Kempf Award

Drs. Wonjae Chung and David Lewis

Congratulations to Daniel Wonjae Chung, MD, PhD (postdoctoral scholar), who, along with his mentor David Lewis, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Thomas Detre Professor of Academic Psychiatry), received the American Psychiatric Association 2024 Kempf Fund Award for Research Development in Psychobiological Psychiatry! The Kempf Award is given to support the career development of a young...

Highlights from the 2024 Department of Psychiatry Clinician-Educator Showcase

Clinician Educator Showcase Attendees in the Auditorium

On March 21, 2024, Pitt Psychiatry clinician-educator faculty and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) staff, residents, and fellows gathered in the WPH auditorium and classrooms for the Department’s Clinician-Educator Showcase. The Showcase is an annual opportunity for clinician-educators to learn about promising clinical innovations and the latest quality improvement initiatives, as well as to connect and...