Faculty

Helmet T Karim, PhD

Helmet T Karim, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Website

Education & Training

PhD
Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, School of Engineering
Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Current Appointments

Co-Director, Carnegie Mellon University-University of Pittsburgh Brain Imaging Data Generation & Education (BRIDGE) Center

Professional Affiliations

Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Member, American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry

Selected Honors & Awards

Replication Award, Organization for Human Brain Mapping

Research Interests

Prediction of treatment response, machine learning; Risk assessment in Alzheimer's disease; Novel interventions using TMS
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Karim HT, Aizenstein HJ, Mizuno A, Ly M, Andreescu C, Wu M, Hong CH, Roh HW, Park B, Lee H, Kim NR. Independent replication of advanced brain age in mild cognitive impairment and dementia: detection of future cognitive dysfunction. Molecular psychiatry. 2022 Dec;27(12):5235-43.
  2. Karim HT, Wang M, Andreescu C, Tudorascu D, Butters MA, Karp JF, ... & Aizenstein HJ. (2018). Acute trajectories of neural activation predict remission to pharmacotherapy in late-life depression. NeuroImage: Clinical, 19, 831-839.
  3. Karim HT, Andreescu C, Tudorascu D, Smagula SF, Butters MA, Karp JF, ... & Aizenstein HJ. (2017). Intrinsic functional connectivity in late-life depression: trajectories over the course of pharmacotherapy in remitters and non-remitters. Molecular psychiatry, 22(3), 450-457.
  4. Kolobaric A, Andreescu C, Gerlach AR, Jaarevic E, Aizenstein H, Pascoal TA, Ferreira PC, Bellaver B, Hong CH, Roh HW, Cho YH. Altered triple network model connectivity is associated with cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2025 Mar;21(3):e14493.
  5. Gupta T, Karim HT, Jones NP, Ferrarelli F, Nance M, Taylor SF, Rogers D, Pogue AM, Seah TS, Phillips ML, Ryan ND. Continuous theta burst stimulation to dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in young adults with depression: changes in resting frontostriatal functional connectivity relevant to positive mood. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2024 Mar 1;174:104493.

Clinical Interests

Novel clinical interventions; Maximizing clinical efficacy; Anxiety, depression, dementia

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Graduate student advising; Postdoctoral mentorship

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 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...

Recently Published in Autism Research & Psychological Medicine: Advances in Understanding of Self-Injury and Adult Outcome Measurement to Improve Quality of Life

Drs. Antezana, Conner and Mazefsky

Recent studies led by Carla Mazefsky, PhD (Nancy J. Minshew, MD Chair in Autism Research and Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Psychology), highlight current advances in autism research. Dr. Mazefsky is an expert in emotion regulation in autism, which had been previously understudied in autism research. She directs the Regulation of Emotion in Autistic Adults, Children, and Teens...

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...

Pitt Psychiatry Hosts Second Annual Interventional Psychiatry Showcase

Collage of Interventional Psychiatry Showcase

In interventional psychiatry research, investigators marry technology development with new knowledge of alterations in neural circuitry in psychiatric disorders. The 2025 Department of Psychiatry Interventional Psychiatry Showcase, attended by faculty, staff, and trainees, focused on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS). Through lively lunchtime roundtables...