We are kicking off our Fall 2020 lecture series with a Meet the PI lecture featuring the work of Alison Hipwell, ClinPsyD, Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr Hipwell is a clinical and developmental psychologist with a program of research focused on developmental psychopathology, infant behavioral science, intergenerational risk transmission and reproductive mental health in women. She completed her research doctorate (PhD) at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, U.K. and obtained a clinical doctorate (ClinPsyD) from the University of East Anglia, UK. She was appointed to the Department of Psychiatry faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2001, where she has been actively engaged in research, teaching and mentorship. Her early research work examined the effects of postpartum psychosis on offspring jointly admitted to a psychiatric mother-baby unit, and led to the development of a tool to aid detection of infants at risk of neglect or injury in this clinical context as well as in mother-baby units in prison settings. Postdoctoral research continued themes of risk for child emotion dysregulation and peer conflict as well as prosocial adjustment among offspring of mothers with postpartum psychopathology. Dr Hipwell has been integrally involved in the Pittsburgh Girls Study for the past 18 years, and other current projects include examination of preconception stress exposures on prenatal stress regulation and infant neurodevelopmental outcomes (part of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium), and investigation of the moderating effects of caregiving on infant brain-behavior associations. She has supported her research activities through federal awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH, NIMH, NIDA, NHLBI, NICHD) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  

Date & Time. Sept. 11, 2020, 12:00pm to 1:30pm

MS Teams Live Event. This lecture will be offered via MS Teams. To join the event, click here. 

Learning Objectives. At the conclusion of this lecture, participants will be able to:

1. Recognize the importance of a lifespan perspective for understanding mental health risk

2. Discuss the ways in which preconception and prenatal stress may increase risk for child neurodevelopmental problems

3. Describe the potential role of nutrition in reducing the transmission of stress effects across generations

The entirety of this program will be a lecture by the speaker(s). All individuals able to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any proprietary entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients. Registration is not required for this event. This event is free and there will be no refunds. The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.

For More Information. Please contact Frances Patrick (patrickfm@upmc.edu).

Continuing Education Credit:  The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.  The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM.  Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours.  In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference.  WPH is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists.  WPH maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.  This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits.

The indicated number of clock hours of continuing education is provided through UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital’s Office of Educational Resources and Planning, a PA-approved provider of social work continuing education in accordance with all the applicable educational and professional standards of the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapist.  These clock hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT renewal.  For more information, call (412) 204-9085.