The Department welcomes Neal Swerdlow, MD, PhD from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) on March 17, 2023 as the speaker for our next Distinguished Scientist Lecture.
Dr. Swerdlow is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Research Residency Track in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (UCSD). He received his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from UCSD in 1986, completed the UCSD Psychiatry Residency Program and joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry in 1991. Since that time, he has been continuously NIH-funded, was Director of the Psychiatry Core Clerkship for 17 years, directed separate clinical programs in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Tourette Syndrome (TS) and Huntington's Disease (HD), and has directed the Psychiatry Research Residency Track since 2010. Dr. Swerdlow's laboratories study the neural regulation of information processing and its deficiencies in schizophrenia, TS and OCD, and have been home to dozens of students, from undergraduates to Fellows. He has published over 325 peer-reviewed research papers, 35 chapters and 1 book. Dr. Swerdlow’s career has focused heavily on service to our field and patients. For 10 years, he chaired the Tourette Syndrome Association Scientific Advisory Board, he served the San Diego NAMI for 10 years as a member of their Board of Directors and Chair of their Medical Advisory Board, has been a Program Chair for the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, chaired and sat on many NIH review committees, was Associate Editor of Behavioral Neuroscience and Editorial Board member of several high-impact journals in our field. Dr. Swerdlow is a past recipient of the APA Award for Research in Psychiatry, the ACNP Joel Elkes Award, APA Kempf Award, NAMI Judith Silver Award, TSA Champion of Children's Award, and the ACP Stanley Dean Award and Laughlin Fellowship, among other awards.
In his talk, Dr. Swerdlow will identify a group of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by deficits in sensorimotor gating, review basic information about how we experimentally characterize these deficits using prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle as a dependent measure, review basic information regarding the neural substrates that regulate prepulse inhibition, and discuss the utility and potential future uses of cross-species measures of prepulse inhibition in preclinical and clinical studies.
Lectures will be offered as a hybrid event. Join us in-person in the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Auditorium (masking is required) or to attend remotely, use the Zoom information below to join us:
Zoom Link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/99208208159
Meeting ID: 992 0820 8159
For More Information. Please contact Jeanie Knox at knoxjv@upmc.edu.
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. 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. 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 CreditsTM. 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.
