Faculty

William E Klunk, MD, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Levidow-Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Disorders

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Assistant
Manik Debnath
debnathml@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
Washington University, School of Medicine Medicine
PhD
Washington University, School of Medicine Neuropharmacology
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMCGeneral Psychiatry and Medicine
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMCPsychiatry
University of PittsburghGeriatric Neuropsychopharmacology

Current Appointments

Director, Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology
Co-Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

Selected Honors & Awards

Zaven Khachaturian Award, Alzheimer's Association
Worlds Most Influential Scientific Minds, Thomson Reuters
Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute Award for research in Alzheimers disease, Alzheimer's Association
Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick's, Alzheimer's, and Related Diseases, American Academy of Neurology
MetLife Foundation Awards for Medical Research, MetLife Foundation

Research Interests

Alzheimer's disease; Neuroimaging
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. KLUNK WE, Engler H, Nordberg A, Wang Y, Blomqvist G, Holt DP, Bergstrom M, Savitcheva I, Huang G-F, Estrada S, Ausen B, Debnath ML, Barletta J, Price JC, Sandell J, Lopresti BJ, Wall A, Koivisto P, Antoni G, Mathis CA and Langstrom,B. Imaging brain amyloid in Alzheimers disease with Pittsburgh Compound-B (PIB). Annals of Neurology 2004;55:306-319.
  2. Handen BL, Cohen AD, Channamalappa U, Bulova P, Cannon SA, Cohen WI, Mathis CA, Price JC and KLUNK WE. Imaging brain amyloid in nondemented young adults with Down syndrome using Pittsburgh compound B. Alzheimers & Dementia 2012;8:496-501.
  3. Lopez OL, KLUNK WE, Mathis C, Coleman RL, Price J, Becker JT, Aizenstein HJ, Snitz B, Cohen A, Ikonomovic M, McDade E, DeKosky ST, Weissfeld L and Kuller LH. Amyloid, neurodegeneration, and small vessel disease as predictors of dementia in the oldest-old. Neurology 2014;83:1804-1811.
  4. KLUNK WE, Koeppe RA, Price JC, Benzinger TL, Devous MD, Sr., Jagust WJ, Johnson KA, Mathis CA, Minhas D, Pontecorvo MJ, Rowe CC, Skovronsky DM and Mintun MA. The Centiloid Project: Standardizing quantitative amyloid plaque estimation by PET. Alzheimers Dement 2015;11:1-15.
  5. Yau WY, Tudorascu DL, McDade EM, Ikonomovic S, James JA, Minhas D, Mowrey W, Sheu LK, Snitz BE, Weissfeld L, Gianaros PJ, Aizenstein HJ, Price JC, Mathis CA, Lopez OL and KLUNK WE. Longitudinal assessment of neuroimaging and clinical markers in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Neurol 2015;14:804-813.

Clinical Interests

Dementia

Publications by Department of Psychiatry Faculty Rank Among the Top 1% of Cited Works in 2018

2018 Highly Cited Psychiatry Researchers

Pictured above (left to right): Drs. William Klunk, David Lewis, Mary Phillips, Boris Birmaher, and Bernie Devlin The Department of Psychiatry is proud to announce that five current members of the faculty have been named Highly Cited Researchers for 2018: Boris Birmaher, MD; Bernie J. Devlin, PhD; William E. Klunk, MD, PhD; David A. Lewis, MD; and Mary L. Phillips, MD. Distinguished Emeritus Professor David J....

Accumulation of Amyloid Beta in Down Syndrome and Early-onset Alzheimer’s Follows a Different Path Than Late-onset Buildup

Cohen et al Alzheimers and Dementia 2018

The brains of people with early-onset Alzheimer’s and Down syndrome share a distinct pattern of amyloid buildup that is not seen in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Future studies on the origin of this unique pattern could reveal important mechanisms of amyloid beta accumulation and possibly targets for early intervention. People with early-onset Alzheimer's disease often develop symptoms of cognitive decline in...