Faculty

Vishwajit L Nimgaonkar, MD, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry and Human Genetics

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Program for Genetics and Psychoses
Assistant
Wesesky, Maribeth
weseskyma@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
Madras University, Christian Medical College
PhD
Neuropharmacology, University of Oxford, Faculty of Medicine
Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Community Health, Christian Medical College
Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
Psychiatry, Maudsley Hospital, London, United Kingdom
Biochemistry, University of London, United Kingdom
Biochemistry, University of London, United Kingdom

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Current Appointments

Director, Program for Genetics and Psychosis

Professional Affiliations

Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Member, International Society of Psychiatric Genetics
Member, American Society of Human Genetics
Member, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK

Selected Honors & Awards

International Mentorship Award, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Sir Dennis Hill Prize for Best Psychiatric Resident, Maudsley Hospital, Institute of Psychiatry, United Kingdom
Rhodes Scholarship, Rhodes Trust, India

Research Interests

Genetic/environmental roots of cognitive variables; Cellular models for psychosis; Neurovirology
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. DAiuto L, Williamson K, Dimitrion P, McNulty J, Brown CE, Dokuburra CB, Nielsen AJ, Lin WJ, Piazza P, Schurdak ME, Wood J, Yolken RH, Kinchington PR, Bloom DC, Nimgaonkar VL (2017). Comparison of three cell-based drug screening platforms for HSV-1 infection. Antiviral Research. 142, 136-140.
  2. Ganapathiraju MK, Thahir M, Handen A, Sarkar SN, Sweet RA, Nimgaonkar VL, Loscher CE, Bauer EM, Chaparala S: Schizophrenia interactome with 504 novel proteinprotein interactions (2016). Schizophrenia, 2:16012
  3. Das DK, Tapias V, DAiuto L, Chowdari KV, Francis L, Zhi Y, Ghosh A, Surti U, Tischfield J, Sheldon M, Moore JC, Fish K, Nimgaonkar VL (2015). Genetic and morphological features of human iPSC-derived neurons with chromosome 15q11.2 (BP1-BP2) deletions. Molecular Neuropsychiatry. 1:116-123 (DOI:10.1159/000430916). PMID: 26528485.
  4. Prasad KM, Eack SM, Keshavan MS, Yolken RH, Iyengar S, Nimgaonkar VL. (2013) Antiherpes VirusSpecific Treatment and Cognition in Schizophrenia: A Test-of-Concept Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 39(4):857-66. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbs040. Epub 2012 Mar 23. PMID: 22446565, PMCID: PMC3686443.
  5. Nimgaonkar VL, Fujiwara TM, Dutta M, Wood J, Gentry K, Maendel S, Morgan K, Eaton J (2000). Low prevalence of psychoses among the Hutterites, an isolated religious community. American Journal of Psychiatry 157(7):1065-1070. PMID: 10873912.

Clinical Interests

Treatment of psychotic disorders; Treatment of cognitive disorders; Translational virology

Education Interests

Research mentorship; International research training/mentorship; Medical student & resident mentorship

JAMA Psychiatry: Genetic Variants Are Associated with Risk for Bipolar Disorder

Birmaher et al. JAMA Psychiatry 2021

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a familial illness that is associated with functional impairment and increased risk for suicide and substance use. The disorder is highly heritable, and research has identified many common genetic variants associated with risk for the disorder. Studies including the Pittsburgh Bipolar Offspring Study (BIOS) have found that offspring of parents with BD are at elevated, specific risk to...

Behavioral Health Clinicians, Researchers, Patients and Families Gather Virtually for the 38th Annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference

Behavioral Health Clinicians, Researchers, Patients and Families Gather Virtually for the 38th Annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference

The annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference, now in its 38th year, presents the latest clinical and research findings to an audience of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, service coordinators, researchers, and mental health policy administrators, as well as to patients and families. Conference course director K.N. Roy Chengappa, MD (Professor of Psychiatry) leads UPMC Western Psychiatric...

Now in Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine: New Research on Insomnia in Older Adults

Wilkens & Colleagues Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 2020

Many older adults experience sleep difficulties associated with insomnia. Difficulties with staying asleep are thought to arise partially from reduced sleep depth. Sleep depth can be operationalized as low frequency slow-wave (.5-4 Hz) electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during sleep. However, studies to date have not shown a consistent pattern of EEG differences between individuals with and without insomnia...

Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, MD, PhD, Assumes Behavioral Health Leadership Role at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Dr. Vishwajit Nimgaonkar

Congratulations to Dr. Vishwajit Nimgaonkar , Professor of Psychiatry and Human Genetics … and now, Associate Chief of Staff for Behavioral Health at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System ! Dr. Nimgaonkar assumes his new role today, May 13, 2019. Dr. Nimgaonkar is the director of the Program for Genetics and Psychoses , where he seeks to identify genetic and environmental factors that can increase the risk for...

Department Researchers Pioneer Method for Growing Human Neurons That Could Create Better Models of Brain Diseases and More Accurately Identify New Treatments

Drs. Leonardo D'Aiuto and Vishwajit Nimgaonkar

Pictured above: Vishwajit Nimgaonkar, MD, PhD and Leonardo D'Aiuto, PhD Unlike cells from other organs such as the liver or lungs, neurons are very difficult to collect from a living patient. In fact, one of the biggest hurdles to treating brain diseases is a lack of cells that researchers can use to study the conditions and develop new therapies. Over the last decade, a method to “reprogram” human skin cells into...