We are delighted to announce that Judith Morgan, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology) has been selected into the highly competitive Transforming Biomedical Research and Academic Faculty Through Leadership Opportunities, Training, and Mentorship (TRANSFORM) Program. TRANSFORM is a national leadership development program, funded by the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, with the goal...

We are pleased to announce that Deepak Sarpal, MD, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Sarpal received his MD from St. George’s University School of Medicine, then completed psychiatry residency training at Zucker Hillside Hospital at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Sarpal joined the Pitt Department of Psychiatry as assistant professor, and...

Anxiety disorders are prevalent in late life, with symptoms including severe (uncontrollable) worry and rumination. Late-life anxiety, worry, and rumination in the context of the aging brain can be associated with differences in volume and thickness of gray matter regions in the brain, as well as altered functional connectivity in the networks involved in emotion generation and regulation, but these changes may...

Up to 50% of youth with bipolar spectrum disorder attempt suicide, and of all psychiatric diagnoses, bipolar spectrum disorder imparts the greatest risk of death by suicide in adolescents. Although multiple psychosocial interventions are effective for mood stabilization and for decreasing the risk of mood episode recurrence, no treatment specifically targets suicidal behavior in youth with bipolar spectrum disorder...

We are pleased to announce that Holly Swartz, MD (Professor of Psychiatry) has been elected President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). The ISBD fosters international collaboration in education, research, and clinical care to improve the lives of those with bipolar disorder and related conditions. Dr. Swartz is an internationally recognized expert in optimizing psychosocial and...

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...

Bipolar disorder, which has peak onset in early adulthood, is often difficult to accurately diagnose due to misreporting mania/hypomania, even though mania/hypomania is a pathognomonic feature of the disorder. The misreporting of this feature frequently results in mistaking bipolar disorder for unipolar depression. To facilitate earlier and accurate bipolar disorder diagnoses, there is a vital need for objective...

Pitt Psychiatry faculty and trainees past and present attended the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry (AAEP)’s annual meeting, the National Update on Behavioral Emergencies. Representing psychiatrists—as well as other clinicians, educators, and professionals—working in the emergency setting, the AAEP is dedicated to the advancement of evidence-based compassionate care for behavioral emergencies through...

Pitt Psychiatry extends a warm welcome Daniel Hedayati, MD, who joins the Department at the rank of assistant professor. Dr. Hedayati received his MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and completed his residency training in psychiatry/family medicine, and served as chief resident of family medicine and psychiatry. He then undertook a clinical fellowship in geriatric medicine at UPMC St. Margaret...

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...