Faculty

Howard J Aizenstein, MD, PhD

Charles F. Reynolds III and Ellen G. Detlefsen Endowed Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry and Professor of Bioengineering and Clinical and Translational Science

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Geriatric Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory
Assistant
Jackie Toboz
tobozjm2@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
University of Illinois
PhD
Computer Science, University of Illinois
General Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
General and Adult Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
Geriatric Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Geriatric Psychiatry)

Current Appointments

Director, Clinical Research Training in Late-Life Mood Disorders
Director, Geriatric Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory
Co-Director, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

Chair, Research Committee, American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry
Triage Editor, American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Scientific Advisor, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Selected Honors & Awards

Pfizer-Eisai Alzheimer's Disease Research Award, American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry
Outstanding Mentorship Award, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC

Research Interests

Computational psychiatry; Geriatric mental health; Neuroimaging
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Karim, H. T., et al. \Intrinsic functional connectivity in late-life depression: trajectories over the course of pharmacotherapy in remitters and non-remitters.\" Molecular psychiatry 22.3 (2017): 450.
  2. Lim HK, Nebes R, Snitz B, Cohen A, Mathis C, Price J, Weissfeld L, Klunk W & Aizenstein HJ. (2014) Regional amyloid burden and intrinsic connectivity networks in cognitively normal elderly subjects. Brain. 137: 3327-3338. PMCID: PMC4240287
  3. Aizenstein HJ, Andreescu C, Edelman KL, Cochran JL, Price J, Butters MA, Karp J, Patel M, & Reynolds CF 3rd. (2011) fMRI correlates of white matter hyperintensities in late-life depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 168(10):1075-82. PMCID: PMC3656408
  4. Aizenstein HJ, Nebes RD, Saxton JA, Price JC, Mathis CA, Tsopelas ND, Ziolko S, James JA, Snitz B, Houck P, Bi W, Cohen A, Lopresti BJ, DeKosky ST, Halligan E, & Klunk WE. (2008) Frequent amyloid deposition without significant cognitive impairment among the elderly. Archives of Neurology. 65(11):1509-17. PMCID: PMC2636844
  5. Aizenstein HJ, Butters MA, Figurski JL, Meltzer CC, Stenger VA, Reynolds CF 3rd, Carter CS. (2004) Prefrontal and striatal activation during sequence learning in geriatric depression. Presented at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA."

Clinical Interests

Late-life depression; Dementia

Education Interests

Geriatric mental health research mentorship and tr; Mentoring in translational mental health research; Bioengineering in Psychiatry

Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Reproductive Hormones in Relation to White Matter Hyperintensity Volumes Among Midlife Women

Silhouette of Woman

Although reproductive hormones are implicated in cerebral small vessel disease in women, few studies consider measured hormones in relation to white matter hyperintensity volume, a key indicator of cerebral small vessel disease linked to future risk for stroke, dementia, and mortality. Studies of hormones and the brain in women typically focus on estradiol, the main ovarian estrogen. However, hallmark changes of...

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...

Carotid Intima Media Thickness and White Matter Hyperintensity Volume among Midlife Women

Dr. Rebecca Thurston

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and cardiovascular disease are major women's health issues, and among the leading causes of death in women. Midlife—here defined as the ages of 40 up to 65 years old—is of particular importance for women's brain and cardiovascular health. The neuropathological hallmarks of dementia due to ADRD, including amyloid beta and hyperphosphorylated tau, begin to accumulate...

Howard Aizenstein, MD, PhD, Honored with American College of Psychiatrists Geriatric Research Award

Dr. Howard Aizenstein

We are delighted to announce that Howard Aizenstein, MD, PhD (Charles F. Reynolds III and Ellen G. Detlefsen Endowed Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry and Professor of Bioengineering and Clinical and Translational Science), has received the American College of Psychiatrists (ACP) 2023 Geriatric Research Award. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions to research in geriatric psychiatry. An internationally...

Independent Replication of Advanced Brain Age in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: Detection of Future Cognitive Dysfunction

Karim et al. Molecular Psychiatry 2022 Article

Models of the aging process are becoming prevalent in multiple fields, and over the last decade, scientists have used brain aging markers to identify important neuroanatomical differences in multiple psychiatric disorders. These markers may provide individualized risk assessments and predictions for age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, and have recently been used to demonstrate the association between greater...