
Susanne E Ahmari, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Contact Details
450 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh
PA
15219
Phone 412-624-3183
Email ahmarise@upmc.edu
Education & Training
MD
Stanford University
PhD
Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University
Psychiatry, Columbia University
Anxiety and Affective Disorders, Columbia University
Specialty Certifications
Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Professional Affiliations
Associate Member, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Member, Society for Neuroscience
Selected Honors & Awards
A.E. Bennett Research Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences, Klingenstein-Simons Foundation
Emerging Female Scientist Award, Carnegie Science Center
McKnight Scholar Award, McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience
Rising Star Award, Pittsburgh Foundation
Career Award for Medical Scientists, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Research Interests
Cortico-striatal circuit abnormalities; OCD; Cell/circuit mechanisms; negative reinforcement; Human post-mortem studies; synaptic abnormalities
Selected Research Publications & Products- Corbit VL, Piantadosi SC, Wood J, Madireddy SS, Choi CJY, Witten IB, Gittis AH & *Ahmari SE. (2025) Dissociable roles of central striatum and anterior lateral motor area in initiating and sustaining naturalistic behavior. Cell Reports. 4:115181. PMID: 39786992.
- Piantadosi SC, Manning EE, Chamberlain BL, Hyde J, LaPalombara Z, Bannon NM, Pierson JL, Namboodiri VMK & *Ahmari SE. (2024) Hyperactivity of indirect pathway-projecting spiny projection neurons promotes compulsive behavior. Nature Communications. 15 (1): 4434. PMID: 38789416.
- Manning EE, Geramita MA, Piantadosi SC & *Ahmari SE. (2023) Distinct patterns of abnormal lateral orbitofrontal cortex activity during compulsive grooming and reversal learning normalize after fluoxetine. Biological Psychiatry. 93 (11): 989-999. PMID: 35094880.
- Price RB, Gillan CM, Hanlon C, Ferrarelli F, Kim T, Karim HT, Renard M, Kaskie R, Degutis M, Wears A, Vienneau EP, Peterchev AV, Brown V, Siegle GJ, Wallace M & *Ahmari SE. (2021) Effect of experimental manipulation of the OFC on short-term markers of compulsive behavior: A theta-burst stimulation study. American Journal of Psychiatry. 178(5): 459-468. PMID: 33726523.
- Piantadosi SC, Chamberlain BL, Glausier JR, Lewis DA & *Ahmari SE. (2021) Lower excitatory synaptic gene expression in orbitofrontal cortex and striatum in an initial study of subjects with obsessive compulsive disorder. Molecular Psychiatry. Mar;26(3):986-98. PMID: 31168067
Clinical Interests
Obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorder; Evaluation of appropriateness for DBS
Education Interests
Research mentorship; Medical/graduate student & resident education; Combatting research racial and ethnic disparities