Faculty

Max E Joffe, PhD

Max E Joffe, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

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

Education & Training

PhD
Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University
Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University

Professional Affiliations

Member, Society for Neuroscience
Member, Research Society on Alcoholism

Selected Honors & Awards

Avenir Award for Chemistry and Pharmacology of Substance Use Disorders (DP1), National Institute on Drug Abuse
NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
Hamilton Family Award for Basic Neuroscience Research in Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry

Research Interests

Prefrontal cortex; interneurons; Novel pharmacology; Alcohol and opioid use disorders
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Fabian CB, Jordan ND, Cole RH, Carley LG, Thompson SM, Seney ML, Joffe ME. Parvalbumin interneuron mGlu5 receptors govern sex differences in prefrontal cortex physiology and binge drinking. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024 May 21. doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-01889-0. PMID: 38773314.
  2. Thompson SM, Fabian CB, Ferranti AS, Joffe ME. Acute alcohol and chronic drinking bidirectionally regulate the excitability of prefrontal cortex vasoactive intestinal peptide interneurons. Neuropharmacology. 2023 Nov 1;238:109638. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109638. Epub 2023 Jul 22.
  3. Ferranti AS, Johnson KA, Winder DG, Conn PJ, Joffe ME. Prefrontal cortex parvalbumin interneurons exhibit decreased excitability and potentiated synaptic strength after ethanol reward learning. Alcohol. 2022 Feb 26; 101:17-26. doi: 10.1016.j.alcohol.2022.02.003
  4. Joffe ME, Maksymetz J, Luschinger JR, Dogra S, Ferranti AS, Luessen DJ, Gallinger IM, Xiang Z, Branthwaite H, Melugin PR, Williford KM, Centanni SW, Shields BC, Lindsley CW, Calipari ES, Siciliano CA, Niswender CM, Tadross MR, Winder DG, Conn PJ. Acute restraint stress redirects prefrontal cortex circuit function through mGlu5 receptor plasticity on somatostatin-expressing interneurons. Neuron. 2022 Jan 13:S0896-6273(21)01044-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.027.
  5. Joffe ME, Santiago CI, Oliver KH, Maksymetz J, Harris NA, Engers JL, Lindsley CW, Winder DG, Conn PJ. mGlu2 and mGlu3 negative allosteric modulators divergently potentiate thalamocortical transmission and exert rapid antidepressant-like effects. Neuron. 2020 Jan 8;105(1)46-59. pii: S0896-6273(19)30847-5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.044. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

Education Interests

Research mentoring; Graduate & medical student education

Neuropsychopharmacology: Parvalbumin Interneuron mGlu5 Receptors Govern Sex Differences in Prefrontal Cortex Physiology and Binge Drinking

Dr. Max Joffe

Despite established sex differences in the prevalence and presentation of psychiatric disorders, little is known about the cellular and synaptic mechanisms that guide these differences under basal conditions. Proper function of the prefrontal cortex is essential for the top-down regulation of motivated behaviors. The activity of the prefrontal cortex is tightly controlled by parvalbumin-expressing interneurons, a...

The Department of Psychiatry’s Biggest-Ever Research Day

2023 Pitt Psychiatry Research Day Session

The 21st annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day, held on June 8, 2023 was the biggest Research Day ever, attended by more than 500 faculty members, trainees, and staff, and featuring 160 posters at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.   Lunchtime roundtables followed the morning poster session. More than 250 participants joined one of 30 roundtable discussion groups...

The Department of Psychiatry’s 20th Annual Research Day

The 20th annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day on June 9, 2022, represented a joyful reunion for more than 400 faculty members, trainees, and staff, who had not attended a large in-person event together since 2019. The morning session featured 110 posters at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. In the afternoon, attendees gathered across the street at the University...

Neuron: New Research on Acute Stress and the Prefrontal Cortex

Neuron: New Research on Acute Stress and the Prefrontal Cortex

Acute stressors affect how we perceive the world, allocate our mental energy, and make decisions. Although the prefrontal cortex is known to be an essential brain region involved in adaptive behaviors related to stress, our understanding of the individual cell types and synaptic plasticity mechanisms in the prefrontal cortex is limited. In a recent study published in Neuron, a team of investigators including co...

The Department of Psychiatry Welcomes New Faculty Members

Pitt Psychiatry Welcomes New Faculty

The Department of Psychiatry extends a warm welcome to four new faculty members: Tiffany Clark, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry) Dr. Clark earned her medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine. Following psychiatry residency at Temple University, she completed her consultation-liaison fellowship at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH). At the Temple University Hospital Health System, Dr...