Over the past few decades, neuroimaging research in bipolar disorder has identified neural differences underlying cognitive and emotional processing. However, substantial clinical and methodological heterogeneity across neuroimaging experiments (resulting from differences in healthcare systems, diagnostic subtypes, mood state, treatment response, comorbidity, chronicity, and severity)—as well as additional factors...

We are delighted to announce that Carla Mazefsky, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of professor by the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Mazefsky conducts research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD), investigating mechanisms, correlates, assessment, and treatment for this disorder. She is known as one of the few investigators who has studied the full spectrum of severity in autism. Dr. Mazefsky is...

We are delighted to announce that Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ahmari’s research focuses on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)—a highly prevalent and often highly debilitating disorder. Dr. Ahmari’s research focuses on developing and applying cutting-edge technologies to uncover neural mechanisms that can be...

Many congratulations to Daniel Bender, DO (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has received a 2022 UPMC ACES award. This prestigious award honors individuals who regularly go above and beyond. Following residency training in general psychiatry and a clinical fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Bender joined the Department of Psychiatry faculty in 2019 as a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Dr...

The Services for Teens at Risk (STAR)-Center is a nationally recognized suicide prevention program that combines clinical and outreach services designed to combat the problem of child and adolescent suicide. The STAR-Center provides outpatient assessment and treatment for depressed and anxious children and teens, and offers acute treatment to depressed and suicidal youth through the Center’s intensive outpatient...

Department of Psychiatry investigators focused on Alzheimer’s Research— Victor Villemagne, MD (Professor of Psychiatry); Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology); and Thomas Karikari, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)—have recently published studies improving our understanding of biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. Plasma Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Is Associated with 18F...

Congratulations to Jessie Northrup, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has received both the prestigious Slifka/Ritvo Innovation in Autism Research Award, as well as an Early Career Investigator Award from the International Society for Autism Research! Dr. Northrup’s research focuses on emotion regulation in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, with a particular focus on parent-child interactions...

We are delighted to announce that Meredith Wallace, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh. Trained in both psychiatry research and biostatistics, Dr. Wallace highly regarded in the field of statistics, and a leading investigator in the emerging field of multidimensional sleep health. By incorporating novel statistical methods, such as the...

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...

We are thrilled to announce that Rebecca Price, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology), has received the 2023 Society of Biological Psychiatry A.E. Bennett Award for Clinical/Translational Research. This award recognizes superb international research in biological psychiatry by young investigators. Dr. Price uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), pupillometry, eye tracking, and...