Faculty

Ann D Cohen, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

PhD
Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

Member, Society for Neuroscience
Member, International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Disease Research and Treatment

Selected Honors & Awards

Hamilton Family Award for Basic Neuroscience Research in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Research Interests

Alzheimer's disease; PET imaging of Alzheimer's disease; Multimodal neuroimaging
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Cohen AD, Jia Y, Smagula S, Chang C-C H, Snitz B, Berman SB, Jacobsen EP, Ganguli M. 2020 Cognitive functions predict trajectories of sleepiness over ten years: A population-based study. J. Gerontology: Med. Sci. glaa120. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa120. PMID: 32405646
  2. Snitz BE, Tudorascu DL, Yu Z, Campbell E, Lopresti BJ, Laymon CM, Minhas DS, Nadkarni NK, Aizenstein HJ, Klunk WE, Weintraub S, Gershon RC, Cohen AD. 2020. Associations between NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and in vivo brain amyloid and tau pathology in non-demented older adults. Alzheimers Dement. 12(1):e12018. doi: 10.1002/dad2.12018. eCollection 2020. PMID: 32426450
  3. Goodheart A, Tamburo E, Minhas D, Aizenstein H, McDade E, Weissfeld L, Snitz B, Price J, Mathis C, Lopez O, Klunk W, Cohen AD. (2015) Binding of Pittsburgh Compound B to both normal and abnormal white matter in elderly cognitively normal controls. Neuroimage Clinical. 9:479-83.
  4. Cohen AD, Mowrey W, Weissfeld LA, Aizenstein HJ, McDade E, Mountz JM, Nebes RD, Saxton JA, Snitz B, Dekosky S, Williamson J, Lopez OL, Price JC, Mathis CA, Klunk WE. (2013) Classification of Amyloid-Positivity in Controls: Comparison of Visual Read and Quantitative Approaches. Neuroimage. 71: 207-215
  5. Cohen AD, Price JC, Weissfeld LA, James J, Nebes RD, Saxton JA, Snitz BE, Aizenstein HA, Wolk DA, DeKosky ST, Mathis CA, Klunk WE (2009) Basal Cerebral Metabolism May Modulate the Cognitive Effects of A in Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Example of Brain Reserve. Journal of Neuroscience. 29(47): p. 14770-14778.

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical student research training; Undergraduate research training

University of Pittsburgh Awards Tenure to Ann Cohen, PhD

Annie Cohen, PhD

We are delighted to announce that Ann Cohen, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Cohen is widely recognized for her outstanding work in the use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease prior to the emergence of cognitive symptoms. Recently, she has expanded this work into amyloid imaging in...

JAMA Network Open: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Microglial Activation in Patients with Alzheimer Disease

Image of Brain

Neuropsychiatric symptoms including irritability, nighttime disturbances, and agitation are highly prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are clinically well characterized in individuals with Alzheimer’s, scientists have more to learn regarding these symptoms’ neurobiological underpinnings. Investigators including Cristiano Schaffer Aguzzoli, MD (former Pitt...

Associations Between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Cardiovascular and Brain Health in Women; Sex-Dependent Alterations in the Memory Network 

Drs. Rebecca Thurston and Minjie Wu

Recent studies led by Pitt Psychiatry investigators examine the associations between post-traumatic stress disorder and cardiovascular and brain health in women ( JAMA Network Open), and sex-dependent alterations in the memory network ( Alzheimer’s & Dementia). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Cardiovascular and Brain Health in Women Most women in the United States will experience at least one major...

Alzheimer's & Dementia and Nature Aging: New Alzheimer's Disease Research

Ferrari-Souza et al. Nature Aging 2023 Authors

The Pascoal Lab (PI: Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD; Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology) and colleagues have published recent research findings in Alzheimer's & Dementia and Nature Aging examining biomarkers and pathophysiological progression of Alzheimer's disease. “These two publications contribute to our understanding of the biomarkers and pathophysiological processes associated with the progression of...

Microglial and Astrocyte Reactivity Are Key to Determining Alzheimer’s Disease Progression

Dr. Tharick Pascoal

Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry) is an internationally recognized expert on the imaging and fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. He recently published two papers examining the multifaceted but interactive nature of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. “Microglia and astrocytes are glial cells that act together and play a major role in the immune response in the human...