Zachary Z Freyberg, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology
Contact Details
3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
PA
15213
Email freybergzz@upmc.edu
Website
Education & Training
MD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
PhD
Developmental & Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Psychiatry, Payne Whitney Clinic of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell University
Schizophrenia Research, Columbia University
Specialty Certifications
Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Current Appointments
Associate Director, Psychiatry Research Pathway
Professional Affiliations
Member, Society for Neuroscience
Member, Genetics Society of America
Member, Schizophrenia International Research Society
Selected Honors & Awards
Elected Member, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Elected Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation
A.E. Bennett Award for Basic Research, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Rising Star Research Award, Pittsburgh Foundation
Leon Levy Foundation Investigator Award, Leon Levy Foundation
Research Interests
Activity-dependent local translation in Alzheimers; Dopamine neuron vulnerability; aging & Parkinson's; Antipsychotic drug-induced metabolic syndrome
Selected Research Publications & Products- Buck SA, Steinkellner T, Aslanoglou D, Villeneuve M, Bhatte SH, Childers VC, Rubin SA, De Miranda BR, OLeary EI, Neureiter EG, Fogle KJ, Palladino MJ, Logan RW, Glausier JR, Fish KN, Lewis DA, Greenamyre JT, McCabe BD, Cheetham CEJ, Hnasko TS, Freyberg Z. Vesicular glutamate transporter modulates sex differences in dopamine neuron vulnerability to age-related neurodegeneration. Aging Cell 2021; 20(5):e13365. doi: 10.1111/acel.13365. PubMed PMID: 33909313.
- Aslanoglou D, Bertera S, Sanchez-Soto M, Free RB, Lee J, Zong W, Xue X, Shrestha S, Brissova M, Logan RW, Wollheim C, Trucco M, Yechoor V, Sibley D, Bottino R, Freyberg Z. Dopamine regulates pancreatic glucagon and insulin secretion via adrenergic and dopaminergic receptors. Translational Psychiatry 2021; 11(1):59. doi:10.1038/s41398-020-01171-z. PubMed PMID: 33589583.
- Carter SD, Hampton CM, Langlois R, Melero R, Farino ZJ, Li W, Calderon MJ, Wallace CT, Tran NH, Grassucci RA, Siegmund SE, Pemberton J, Morgenstern TJ, Aguilar JI, Greenberg NL, Levy ES, Yi E, Mitchell WG, Rice WJ, Wigge C, Pilli J, George EW, Aslanoglou D, Courel M, Freyberg RJ, Javitch JA, Area-Gomez E, Shiva S, Bartolini F, Volchuk A, Murray SA, Aridor M, Fish KN, Walter P, Balla T, Fass D, Wolf SG, Watkins SC, Carazo JM, Jensen GJ, Frank J, Freyberg Z. Ribosome-Associated Vesicles: a dynamic vesicular endoplasmic reticulum in secretory cells. Science Advances 2020; 6(14):eaay9572. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay9572. PubMed PMID: 32270040.
- Aguilar JI, Dunn M, Mingote S, Karam CS, Farino ZJ, Sonders MS, Choi SJ, Grygoruk A, Zhang Y, Cela C, Choi BJ, Flores J, Freyberg RJ, McCabe BD, Mosharov EV, Krantz DE, Javitch JA, Sulzer D, Sames D, Rayport S, Freyberg Z. Neuronal depolarization drives increased dopamine synaptic vesicle loading via VGLUT. Neuron 2017; 95(5):1074-1088. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.038. PubMed PMID: 28823729.
- Freyberg Z, Sonders MS, Aguilar JI, Hiranita T, Karam CS, Flores J, Pizzo AB, Zhang Y, Farino ZJ, Chen A, Martin CA, Kopajtic TA, Fei H, Hu G, Lin YY, Mosharov EV, McCabe BD, Freyberg R, Wimalasena K, Hsin LW, Sames D, Krantz DE, Katz JL, Sulzer D, Javitch JA. Mechanisms of amphetamine action illuminated through in vivo optical monitoring of dopamine synaptic vesicles. Nature Communications 2016 Feb 16; 7:10652 doi: 10.1038/ncomms10652. PubMed PMID: 26879809.
Clinical Interests
Antipsychotic drug-induced metabolic disorders; Mechanisms of antipsychotic drug actions
Selected Clinical Publications & Products- Freyberg R, Chung CK, Freyberg, Z, Barnhill J, Ferrando S, Pennebaker, JW. The Write Stuff: Relationships between narrative content and psychiatric illness. Narrative Inquiry 2014; 24: 28-39.
- Freyberg Z, Ferrando SJ, Javitch JA. Roles of the Akt/GSK-3 and Wnt signaling pathways in schizophrenia and antipsychotic drug action. Am J Psychiatry 2010 Apr; 167(4): 388-396. PubMed PMID: 19917593.
- APA Work Group on Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias, Rabins PV, Blacker D, Rovner BW, Rummans T, Schneider LS, Tariot PN, Blass DM; Steering Committee on Practice Guidelines, McIntyre JS, Charles SC, Anzia DJ, Cook IA, Finnerty MT, Johnson BR, Nininger JE, Schneidman B, Summergrad P, Woods SM, Berger J, Cross CD, Brandt HA, Margolis PM, Shemo JP, Blinder BJ, Duncan DL, Barnovitz MA, Carino AJ, Freyberg Z, Gray SH, Tonnu T, Kunkle R, Albert AB, Craig TJ, Regier DA, Fochtmann LJ. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Second edition. Am J Psychiatry 2007 Dec; 164 (12 Suppl): 5-56. PubMed PMID: 18340692.
- Ferrando SJ, Freyberg Z. Treatment of depression in HIV positive individuals: a critical review. Int Rev Psychiatry 2008 Feb; 20(1): 61-71. PubMed PMID: 18240063.
- Floyd S, Butler MH, Cremona O, David C, Freyberg Z, Zhang X, Solimena M, Tokunaga A, Ishizu H, Tsutsui K, De Camilli P. Expression of amphiphysin I, an autoantigen of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes, in breast cancer. Mol Med. 1998 Jan; 4(1): 29-39. PubMed PMID: 9513187.
Education Interests
Medical, graduate student & resident education; Research mentorship
Selected Education Publications & Products- Freyberg R, Freyberg Z. Behavioral and Social Sciences. in: Ferrando S, (ed.), Psychiatry-In-Review 2006. Educational Testing and Assessment Systems, NY, NY.
- Freyberg Z, Savitz A. Schizophrenia. in Ferrando S, (ed.), Psychiatry-In-Review 2006. Educational Testing and Assessment Systems, NY, NY.
- Freyberg Z. Schizophrenia and Violence. in: Barnhill J, (ed.), Approaching the Psychiatric Patient 1st Edition 2008. APA Press, Washington, D.C.
