Faculty

Amelia L Versace, MD

Amelia L Versace, MD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

MD
University of Verona, School of Medicine
Psychiatry, University of Verona School of Medicine
Internal Medicine, University of Verona
Psychiatry, University of Verona, School of Medicine
Neuroimaging, University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests

Adolescent concussion & brain development; Ultra-high field MRI in human brain organoids; Neural correlates of bipolar disorder course
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Lima Santos JP, Soehner AM, Biernesser CL, Ladouceur CD, Versace A. role of sleep and white matter in the link between screen time and depression in childhood and early adolescence. JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Jun 23:e251718. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1718. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40549406; PMCID: PMC12186512.
  2. Versace A, Hitchens TK, Wallace CT, Watkins SC, D'Aiuto L. 11.7T diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and tractography to probe human brain organoid microstructure. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2024 Jun 7;4(5):100344. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100344. PMID: 39099731; PMCID: PMC11295450.
  3. Lima Santos JP, Kontos AP, Holland CL, Suss SJ Jr, Stiffler RS, Bitzer HB, Colorito AT, Shaffer M, Skeba A, Iyengar S, Manelis A, Brent D, Shirtcliff EA, Ladouceur CD, Phillips ML, Collins MW, Versace A. The role of puberty and sex on brain structure in adolescents with anxiety following concussion. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Mar;9(3):285-297. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.09.013. Epub 2022 Oct 13. PMID: 36517369.
  4. Lima Santos JP, Jia-Richards M, Kontos AP, Collins MW, Versace A. Emotional regulation and adolescent concussion: Overview and role of neuroimaging. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jul 1;20(13):6274. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20136274. PMID: 37444121; PMCID: PMC10341732.
  5. Lima Santos JP, Bertocci M, Bebko G, Goldstein T, Kim T, Iyengar S, Bonar L, Gill M, Merranko J, Yendiki A, Birmaher B, Phillips ML, Versace A. White matter correlates of early-onset bipolar illness and predictors of one-year recurrence of depression in adults with bipolar disorder. J Clin Med. 2022 Jun 15;11(12):3432. doi: 10.3390/jcm11123432. PMID: 35743502; PMCID: PMC9225103.

Clinical Interests

Mild traumatic brain injury; Depression and anxiety in teens; Bipolar disorder

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical student education & mentorship

Molecular Psychiatry: Associations Among White Matter Microstructural Changes and the Development of Emotional Reactivity and Regulation in Infancy

Molecular Psychiatry

In infancy and throughout childhood, high levels of negative emotionality (for example, frequent and intense crying), low levels of positive emotionality (for example, limited smiling and laughter), and deficits in emotional regulation can predict future behavioral and affective disorders. White matter tracts in the brain develop rapidly in the first postnatal year, and their development is critical for...

Journal of Research in Personality: Facets of Trait Impulsivity and Their Relationships to Developmental Trajectories of Externalizing Behaviors from Childhood into Early Adolescence

Dr. Frances Wang

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for externalizing behaviors (e.g., disruptive, rule-breaking behaviors including aggression, delinquency, or substance use) as the ability to self-regulate behaviors and emotions is still maturing. Impulsivity is a risk factor for externalizing behaviors, although the unique relationships between specific impulsivity facets and externalizing behavior development are unclear...

Journal of Adolescent Health: The Impact of Insufficient Sleep on White Matter Development in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

Journal of Adolescent Health

Early adolescence is associated with major changes in sleep-circadian processes, which, combined with biopsychosocial factors, contribute to a decline in sleep duration. Insufficient sleep in childhood and adolescence is associated with future adverse cognitive and mental health outcomes including depression and anxiety. As part of a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant, scientists from...

Pitt Psychiatry Establishes Center for Neural Circuit-Based Technology Interventions in Psychiatry

Faculty of the New CNCTI-P Center

The Department of Psychiatry has established a Center for Neural Circuit-Based Technology Interventions in Psychiatry (CNCTI-P), which will be led by Mary Phillips, MD, MD (CANTAB) (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Bioengineering, and Pittsburgh Foundation-Emmerling Endowed Chair in Psychotic Disorders). Dr. Phillips is an international leader in affective neuroscience...

Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience Neuroimaging - Altered Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Functioning During Emotional Interference Resistance Is Associated with Affect Lability in Adults with Persisting Symptoms of ADHD from Childhood

Drs. Cecile Ladouceur and Brooke Molina

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), characterized by inattention and/or impulsivity/hyperactivity, can include emotional dysregulation (such as affect lability), especially when symptoms persist into adulthood. Some individuals with ADHD have trouble with modulating attention in the context of goal-directed behavior. They may perform significantly worse on cognitive tasks, relative to those without...