Faculty

David A Lewis, MD

David A Lewis, MD

Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Thomas Detre Professor of Academic Psychiatry, Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
TNP
Lewis Lab
Assistant
Amy Noll
henricksa@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD
The Ohio State University, College of Medicine
Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Neuroscience, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
American Board of Internal Medicine

Current Appointments

Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience,
Thomas Detre Professor of Academic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry
Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Professional Affiliations

Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine
Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Elected Member, Association of American Physicians

Selected Honors & Awards

Gold Medal Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Research in Psychiatry Award, American Psychiatric Association
NARSAD Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Research Interests

Schizophrenia; Cognition; Cortical circuitry
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Dienel SJ, Fish KN, Lewis DA. The nature of prefrontal cortical GABA neuron alterations in schizophrenia: Markedly lower somatostatin and parvalbumin gene expression without missing neurons. Am J Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 1;180(7):495-507.
  2. Dowling KF, Dienel SJ, Barile Z, Bazmi HH, Lewis DA. Localization and diagnostic specificity of glutamic acid decarboxylase transcript alterations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 15;94(4):322-331.
  3. Dienel SJ, Dowling KF, Barile Z, Bazmi HH, Liu A, Vespoli JC, Fish KN, Lewis DA. Diagnostic specificity and association with cognition of molecular alterations in prefrontal somatostatin neurons in schizophrenia. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 30. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2972. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37647039
  4. Arion D, Enwright JF, Gonzalez-Burgos G, Lewis DA: Differential gene expression between callosal and ipsilateral projection neurons in the monkey dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices. Cereb Cortex. 2023 Feb 20;33(5):1581-1594.
  5. Gonzalez-Burgos G, Miyamae T, Nishihata Y, Krimer OL, Lewis DA: Strength of excitatory inputs to layer 3 pyramidal neurons during synaptic pruning in the monkey prefrontal cortex: relevance for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 94:288-296, 2023.

Clinical Interests

Schizophrenia; Psychosis
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Schoonover KE, Dienel SJ, Lewis DA: Prefrontal cortical alterations of glutamate and GABA neurotransmission in schizophrenia: Insights for rational biomarker development. Biomarkers in Neuropsychiatry ePub May 18, 2020.
  2. Bechtold J, Hipwell A, Lewis DA, Loeber R, Pardini D: Concurrent and sustained cumulative effects of adolescent marijuana use on subclinical psychotic symptoms. Am J Psychiatry 173:781-789, 2016
  3. Cho RY, Walker CP, Polizzotto NR, Wozny TA, Fissell C, Chen CA, Lewis DA: Development of sensory gamma oscillations and cross-frequency coupling from childhood to early adulthood. Cereb Cortex 25:1509-1518, 2015
  4. Lewis DA: Cortical circuit dysfunction and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: Implications for preemptive interventions. Eur J Neurosci 35:1871-1878, 2012
  5. Frankle WG, Cho RY, Mason S, Chen C, Himes M, Walker C, Lewis DA, Mathis CA, Narendran R: [11C]flumazenil binding is increased in a dose-dependent manner with tiagabine induced elevations in GABA levels. PLoS One 7: e32443, 2012

Education Interests

Research training; Career development
Selected Education Publications & Products
  1. Fertig AM, Tew JD, Douaihy AB, Nash KC, Solai LK, Travis MJ, Zippay LB, Matthews KA, Lewis DA: Developing a clinician educator faculty development program: Lessons learned. Acad Psychiatry 41:417-422, 2017
  2. Gopalan P, Azzam PN, Travis MJ, Schlesinger A, Lewis DA: Longitudinal interdisciplinary neuroscience curriculum. Acad Psychiatry 38:163-167, 2014

Daniel Wonjae Chung, MD, PhD, and David Lewis, MD, Receive the American Psychiatric Association Kempf Award

Drs. Wonjae Chung and David Lewis

Congratulations to Daniel Wonjae Chung, MD, PhD (postdoctoral scholar), who, along with his mentor David Lewis, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Thomas Detre Professor of Academic Psychiatry), received the American Psychiatric Association 2024 Kempf Fund Award for Research Development in Psychobiological Psychiatry! The Kempf Award is given to support the career development of a young...

Highlights from the 2024 Department of Psychiatry Clinician-Educator Showcase

Clinician Educator Showcase Attendees in the Auditorium

On March 21, 2024, Pitt Psychiatry clinician-educator faculty and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) staff, residents, and fellows gathered in the WPH auditorium and classrooms for the Department’s Clinician-Educator Showcase. The Showcase is an annual opportunity for clinician-educators to learn about promising clinical innovations and the latest quality improvement initiatives, as well as to connect and...

JAMA Psychiatry: Diagnostic Specificity and Association with Cognition of Molecular Alterations in Prefrontal Somatostatin Neurons in Schizophrenia

Brain Image

Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit pronounced deficits in somatostatin messenger RNA levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and other prefrontal regions. Lower somatostatin messenger RNA levels appear to be due to lower gene expression per neuron without a deficit in somatostatin-positive neuron density, suggesting that in schizophrenia, somatostatin neurons are functionally altered in the dorsolateral...

American Journal of Psychiatry: The Nature of Prefrontal Cortical GABA Neuron Alterations in Schizophrenia: Markedly Lower Somatostatin and Parvalbumin Gene Expression Without Missing Neurons

American Journal of Psychiatry

Alterations in markers of cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling are among the most widely replicated findings in postmortem brain studies of schizophrenia. In the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, consistent findings of lower levels of gene products related to GABA neuron signaling indicates that inhibitory neurotransmission signaling is weaker in people with schizophrenia. However, clarity regarding...

Biological Psychiatry: Strength of Excitatory Inputs to Layer 3 Pyramidal Neurons During Synaptic Pruning in the Monkey Prefrontal Cortex: Relevance for the Pathogenesis of Schizophrenia

Gonzalez-Burgos et al. Biological Psychiatry 2023

Cognitive deficits, among the most debilitating clinical features of schizophrenia, might reflect, at least in part, circuit dysfunction in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In schizophrenia, layer 3 pyramidal neurons of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex exhibit deficits in markers of excitatory synaptic inputs that are thought to disrupt the patterns of neural network activity essential for cognitive function...