Faculty

Minjie Wu, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

PhD
Bioengineering, Biosignal and Imaging, University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
MS
Electrical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
Neurology, Northwestern University

Research Interests

Brain development and aging; Neuroimaging
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Wu M, Kumar A, Yang S. Development and Aging of Superficial White Matter Myelin from Young Adulthood to Old Age: Mapping by Vertex-Based Surface Statistics (VBSS). Human Brain Mapping. 37(5):17591769, 2016.
  2. Wu M, Kujawa K, Lu LH, Fitzgerald D, Fitzgerald KD, Monk CS, Phan KL. Age-Related Changes in Amygdala-Frontal Connectivity during Emotional Face Processing from Childhood into Young Adulthood. Human Brain Mapping, 37(5):16841695, 2016.
  3. Andreescu C, Wu M, Butters MA, Figurski J, Reynolds CF, Aizenstein HJ. The default mode network in late-life anxious depression. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(11):980-983, 2011.
  4. Wu M, Andreescu C, Butters MA, Tamburo R, Reynolds CF, Aizenstein HJ. Resting State Connectivity and White Matter Burden in Late-life Depression. Psychiatry Research: NeuroImaging, 194(1):39-46, 2011.
  5. Wu M, Rosano C, Butters MA, Whyte E, Nable M, Crooks R, Meltzer CC, Reynolds CF, Aizenstein HJ. Automated Method for Quantifying and Localizing White Matter Hyperintensities on MR images. Psychiatry Research: NeuroImaging, 148(2-3):133-142, 2006.

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...

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...

Pitt Psychiatry Awarded $33.5M National Institute on Aging Program Project Grant Focused on the Pathological and Clinical Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Pitt Psychiatry Investigators Awarded New Program Project Grant

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has awarded the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry a Program Project Grant (PPG) renewal for “The role of astrogliosis in aging and the pathological and clinical progression of Alzheimer's disease.” The Alzheimer’s PPG will be led by a multiple principal investigator team including Ann Cohen, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), Howard Aizenstein, MD, PhD...