Faculty

Rasim S Diler, MD

Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services

Education & Training

MD
Istanbul University

Current Appointments

Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Disorders Inpatient Unit

Professional Affiliations

Member, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Member, International Society for Bipolar Disorders
Member, Turkish Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Member, Bridging Eastern and Western Psychiatry

Selected Honors & Awards

Excellence in Care Award, Hospital & Healthsytem Association of Pennsylvania
Health Information and Technology Award, National Council for Mental Health and Addiction
Innovation Award, The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association
Excellence in Clinical Medicine Inspiring Hope Award, National Council for Mental Health and Addiction
New Investigator Award, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology
Achievement Award in Patient Care, Hospital & Healthsytem Association of Pennsylvania

Research Interests

Pediatric bipolar disorders; Neuroimaging; Developmental psychopathology
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Diler RS, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Goldstein B, Gill MK, Strober M, Kolko D, Goldstein T, Hunt J, Yang M, Ryan N, Dahl RE, Dorn LD, Keller M (2009). The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the CBCL-Bipolar Phenotype are not useful in diagnosing Pediatric Bipolar Disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 19:23-30, 2009. PMC2753490
  2. Diler RS, Almeida JR, Ladouceur CD, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Phillips ML. Neural activity to positive versus negative stimuli can help differentiate bipolar disorder from unipolar major depressive disorder in depressed adolescents: A pilot fMRI study. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 2013 Sep 27. PMC3856642
  3. Diler RS, Pan LA, Segreti AM, Ladouceur CD, Forbes E, Romero-Cela S, Almeida JR, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Phillips ML. Differential anterior cingulate activity during response inhibition in depressed adolescents with bipolar and unipolar major depressive disorder. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 23:10-19, 2014. PMC3917665
  4. Diler RS, Ladouceur CD, Segreti AM, Almeida JR, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Phillips ML, Pan L. Neural correlates of treatment response in depressed bipolar adolescents during emotion processing. Brain Imaging and Behavior 7: 227-235, 2013. PMID: 23355265
  5. Diler RS, Segreti AM, Ladouceur CD, Almeida JR, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Phillips ML, Pan L. Neural correlates of treatment in adolescents with bipolar depression during response inhibition. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 23: 214-221, 2013. PMC3678567

Clinical Interests

Bipolar disorders in youth; Depressive disorders in youth; Digital mental health
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Diler RS, Birmaher B, Axelson D, Obreja M, Monk K, Hickey MB, Goldstein B, Goldstein T, Sakolsky D, Iyengar S, Brent D, and Kupfer D. Dimensional Psychopathology in Offspring of Parents with Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorders 13: 670-678, 2011. PMC4017915
  2. Diler RS. Goldstein TR, Hafeman D, Rooks BT, Sakolsky D, Goldstein BI, Monk K, Hickey MB, Axelson D, Iyengar S, Birmaher B. Characteristics of depression among offspring at high and low familial risk of bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord. 2017 Jun 14. doi: 10.1111/bdi.12508. PMID: 28612977
  3. Diler RS, Goldstein TR, Hafeman D1, Merranko J, Liao F, Goldstein B, Hower H, Gill MK, Hunt J, Yen S, Keller MB, Axelson D, Strober M, Iyengar S, Ryan ND, Birmaher B. Distinguishing Bipolar Depression from Unipolar Depression in Youth: Preliminary Findings. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 27:310-319, 2017. doi: 10.1089/cap.2016.0154. Epub 2017 Feb 28
  4. Diler RS, Uguz S, Seydaoglu G, Avci A. Mania profile in community sample of prepubertal children in Turkey. Bipolar Disorders 10:546-553, 2008
  5. Dickstein DP, Axelson D, Weissman AB, Yen S, Hunt JI, Goldstein BI, Goldstein TR, Liao F, Gill MK, Hower H, Frazier TW, Diler RS, Youngstrom EA, Fristad MA, Arnold LE, Findling RL, Horwitz SM, Kowatch RA, Ryan ND, Strober M, Birmaher B, Keller MB. Cognitive flexibility and performance in children and adolescents with threshold and sub-threshold bipolar disorder.Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;25(6):625-38. doi: 10.1007/s00787-015-0769-2. Epub 2015 Oct 5. PMID:26438382

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Mentorship of child & adolescent clinical fellows
Selected Education Publications & Products
  1. Diler RS, Birmaher B. Bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. In International E-Textbook of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr. Rey (Ed), by International Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professionals (IACAPAP) (chapter in the e-textbook; http://iacapap.org/wp-content/uploads/E.2-BIPOLAR-072012.pdf). Chapter #E2, 1-30, 2012/2017
  2. Diler RS. Early diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescent. Synergy by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), CME Activity, 9, 2012. http://www.upmcphysicianresources.com/cme-course/upmc-synergies-fall-2012
  3. Diler RS (Editor). Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: A Global Perspective (international monograph). Nova Science Publications, NY. From the perspectives of America (North), Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, China, Japan, India, Italy, Israel, Spain, Russia, and Turkey, 2007 (book)
  4. Diler RS. Clinical Characteristics of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents. In: Figueira ML & Akiskal HS (eds), Clinical Aspects of Mania. Wolters Kluwer. Madrid, Spain. 63-82, 2009
  5. Goldstein BI, Sassi R, Diler RS. Pharmacologic treatment of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 21(4): 911-39, 2012

Psychiatry Research: Neural Markers of Mania That Distinguish Inpatient Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder from Those with Other Psychopathology

Drs. Rasim Diler and Michele Bertocci

Adolescents with manic or hypomanic episodes—key features of bipolar disorder (BD)—may experience delayed correct diagnosis or inappropriate treatment because some symptoms of BD are also seen in other disorders (such as unipolar depressive disorders and attention deficit/hyperactive disorder). A team of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh including Michele Bertocci, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)...

Behavioral Health Experts, Patients & Families Attend Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services Conference

Rasim Diler, MD and Boris Birmaher, MD

The fifth Child and Adolescent Bipolar Services (CABS) conference, focused on pediatric bipolar disorder spectrum disorders, addressed the theme, “Irritability and Bipolar Spectrum Disorders in Youth: Facts and Myths-Assessment, Monitoring and Treatment.” The CABS conference presents current research and clinical knowledge about the treatment of bipolar disorder and comorbid conditions to professionals, patients...

JAMA Psychiatry: Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder 

Dr. Tina Goldstein

Up to 50% of youth with bipolar spectrum disorder attempt suicide, and of all psychiatric diagnoses, bipolar spectrum disorder imparts the greatest risk of death by suicide in adolescents. Although multiple psychosocial interventions are effective for mood stabilization and for decreasing the risk of mood episode recurrence, no treatment specifically targets suicidal behavior in youth with bipolar spectrum disorder...

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 Experts, Patients & Families Gather Virtually for Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services Conference

Drs. Rasim Diler and Boris Birmaher at the CABS Conference

The fourth biennial Child and Adolescent Bipolar Services (CABS) conference, held virtually, addressed the theme “Untangling Bipolar Disorder in Youth: Comorbidity, Differential Diagnosis and Treatment.” The CABS conference presents current research and clinical knowledge about the treatment of bipolar disorder and comorbid conditions to professionals, patients, and families, and is organized by Boris Birmaher, MD...