News

We are pleased to announce that Konasale Prasad, MD, MBBS (MD), has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Prasad is an expert on the neurobiology of psychoses. He conducts advanced clinical-translational research to gain insights into the brain network characteristics associated with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, and risk for developing psychosis, with the goal of finding novel treatment approaches. His research employs multimodal imaging including magnetic resonance spectroscopy, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), structural MRI, and diffusion imaging. Dr. Prasad has conducted research including the association of herpes viruses contributing to cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, and a clinical trial providing proof of concept support for environmental factors in schizophrenia. 

Dr. Prasad is principal investigator (PI) of a National Institute of Mental Health R01 grant focused on adolescent brain maturation and psychopathology. In addition, he leads a Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) grant supporting a multimodal ultra-high field neuroimaging study of neural circuitry resilience in psychotic disorders. Dr. Prasad is PI of a second VHA grant aiming to identify electroencephalography (EEG) predictors of response to transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression, and serves as co-investigator on multiple additional studies.

Dr. Prasad has published his research in top journals and has been invited to present at organizations and institutions including the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), the International Congress of Schizophrenia Research, Harvard Medical School, and Sichuan University. He Is a Fellow of the ACNP, has been a chartered member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Neural Basis of Psychopathology Sleep and Addiction study section, and has provided reviews for multiple NIH special emphasis panels, as well as organizations including the European Council of Research, the Netherlands Organizations for Health and Scientific Research, and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation. Dr. Prasad is associate editor of Schizophrenia Research, and has held editorial positions with Frontiers in Molecular Psychiatry and Molecular Neuropsychiatry. His national service activities include roles with the ACNP, the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP), and the Organization of Human Brain Mapping.

In addition to his research program, Dr. Prasad provides clinical service as an attending psychiatrist with UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH)’s Services for the Treatment of Early Psychoses (STEP) Clinic, which he co-founded, and which provides assessment and longitudinal care of patients who are in the early phase of a psychotic illness. In addition, he has served as an attending psychiatrist with Comprehensive Recovery Services, which provides care for adults with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar mania with psychosis.

Dr. Prasad has taught and mentored students and trainees across all levels. He previously served as the longtime director of the core psychiatry residency course, Introduction to Clinical Psychiatry, and has supervised MS3 and MS4 students, as well as PGY3 and PGY4 psychiatry residents in the STEP clinic. As a mentor, Dr. Prasad has guided numerous trainees including undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, and postdoctoral scholars. He has also mentored young investigators through the SOBP and the ACNP. 

“Dr. Prasad is internationally recognized for his innovative work in the neurobiology of psychoses, especially focusing on schizophrenia and risk for developing schizophrenia among adolescents. He has made creative and innovative contributions to the field, using multiple advanced imaging techniques. In addition, Dr. Prasad is an outstanding teacher and mentor, and an exceptionally skilled clinician,” said David Lewis, MD (Chair, Department of Psychiatry).

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Prasad!