Faculty

Robert A Sweet, MD

UPMC Endowed Professor in Psychiatric Neuroscience and Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Sweet Lab
Assistant
Tracey Capotosto
CapotostoLT@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
University of Maryland, School of Medicine
Psychiatry, Albany Medical Center

Professional Affiliations

Fellow, American College of Neuropspychopharmacology
Member, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
Member, Society for Biological Psychiatry
Member, Society for Neuroscience

Selected Honors & Awards

APA/AACDP Research Mentorship Award, American Psychiatric Association (APA) and APA Foundation
Geriatric Research Award, American College of Psychiatrists
Distinguished Scientist Award, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

Research Interests

Psychosis in Alzheimer's disease; Molecular mechanisms of psychosis; Synaptic alterations in schizophrenia
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Krivinko JM, Fan P, Sui Z, Happe C, Hensler C, Gilardi J, Ikonomovic MD, McKinney BC, Newman J, Ding Y, Wang L, Sweet RA, MacDonald ML. Age-related loss of large dendritic spines in the precuneus is statistically mediated by proteins which are predicted targets of existing drugs. Mol Psychiatry. 2025 May;30(5):2059-2067. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02817-w. Epub 2024 Nov 13. PMID: 39537705.
  2. Lyu J, MacDonald ML, Ruiz S, Chou S, Gilardi J, Buchwald SC, Grubisha MJ, Sweet RA. Deciphering the alteration of MAP2 interactome caused by a schizophrenia-associated phosphorylation. Neurobiol Dis. 2024 Dec;203:106731. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106731. Epub 2024 Nov 10. PMID: 39532265.
  3. Chou S, Fish KN, Lewis DA, Sweet RA. Terminal type-specific cannabinoid CB1 receptor alterations in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study. Neurobiol Dis. 2023 Sep;185:106262. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106262. Epub 2023 Aug 15. PMID: 37586566; PMC10120624
  4. Krivinko JM, DeChellis-Marks MR, Zeng L, Fan P, Lopez OL, Ding Y, Wang L, Kofler J, MacDonald ML, Sweet RA. Targeting the post-synaptic proteome has therapeutic potential for psychosis in Alzheimer Disease. Commun Biol. 2023 Jun 2;6(1):598. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04961-5. PMID: 37268664; PMCID: PMC10238472.
  5. DeMichele-Sweet MA, Klei L, Creese B, Harwood JC, Weamer EA, McClain L, Sims R, Hernandez I, Moreno-Grau S, Trraga L, Boada M, Alarcn-Martn E, Valero S; NIA-LOAD Family Based Study Consortium, Alzheimers Disease Genetics Consortium (ADGC), Liu Y, Hooli B, Aarsland D, Selbaek G, Bergh S, Rongve A, Saltvedt I, Skjellegrind HK, Engdahl B, Stordal E, Andreassen OA, Djurovic S, Athanasiu L, Seripa D, Borroni B, Albani D, Forloni G, Mecocci P, Serretti A, De Ronchi D, Politis A, Williams J, Mayeux R, Foroud T, Ruiz A, Ballard C, Holmans P, Lopez OL, Kamboh MI, Devlin B, Sweet RA. Genome-wide association identifies the first risk loci for psychosis in Alzheimer disease. Mol Psychiatry. 2021 Oct;26(10):5797-5811. PMCID: PMC8660923

Clinical Interests

Alzheimer's disease

Education Interests

Research training; Postdoctoral career and research development

Recent Research on the Association Between Aberrant Dendritic Development and Risk for Schizophrenia

Images of Brains

Melanie Grubisha, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), investigates the molecular underpinnings of psychiatric and neurological disease, focusing on the molecular pathways responsible for both typical and aberrant dendritic development across adolescence. Two recent papers in Neurobiology of Disease describe recent findings on the association between dendritic alterations and risk for schizophrenia...

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...

Pitt Psychiatry Research Published in Molecular Psychiatry

Collage of Molecular Psychiatry Co-Authors

Multiple Pitt Psychiatry investigators have recently published studies in Molecular Psychiatry. Below is a roundup of recent original research on adolescent neurodevelopment, aging and cognition, and the association between sleep and psychosis. Adolescent maturation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex glutamate: GABA and cognitive function is supported by dopamine-related neurobiology Pitt Psychiatry investigators...

Mindscapes PGH Art Exhibition: Merging Art and Science to Promote Community Awareness of Mental Illness

Mindscapes Exhibits

The annual Mindscapes PGH art exhibition merges art and science to promote community awareness of mental illness, and raise funds for local organizations that provide services for individuals with mental illness. Mindscapes 2022 was a hybrid event, with an online sale and an in-person reception at Imagebox gallery in Pittsburgh. The exhibition was organized by Rebecca A. DeGiosio (University of Pittsburgh Center...

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...