People engage in a range of behaviors to maintain close relationships. Gendered social experiences, including gender role expectations for women to prioritize the needs of others and to create and maintain close relationships, may be related to cardiovascular disease risk in women. Self-silencing, inhibiting self-expression to avoid relationship conflict or loss, is related to poor mental health and self-reported...

Individuals with substance use disorders have disrupted circadian and sleep/wake rhythms, and growing evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between circadian rhythm disruption and substance abuse. Notably, circadian clocks are integral to the modulation of reward behaviors, and astrocytes—a highly abundant glial cell type that contains a circadian molecular clock—have emerged as key regulators of circadian...

We are delighted to announce that Daniel Buysse, MD, Beatriz Luna, PhD, and Mary Phillips, MD, MD (Cantab ), have each been appointed Distinguished Professor by the University of Pittsburgh. A distinguished professorship constitutes the highest honor that the University can accord a member of the professoriate. Daniel Buysse, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and UPMC Endowed Chair in Sleep Medicine) Dr...

How well is psychiatric research doing including diverse participants and reporting on sociodemographic characteristics of study samples? A team of researchers from Pitt Psychiatry—led by Sarah Pedersen, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), and including Rachel Lindstrom, PhD (Senior Statistical Coordinator, Youth and Family Research Program); Paula Powe, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry); Kelly Louie, BS...

The war in Ukraine is causing catastrophic human suffering, forcing millions of Ukrainians to flee to safety. In response, the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry (FGIP) began a campaign to aid mental health professionals and the general population in dealing with the psychological consequences of the war. Carmen Andreescu, MD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), and Alex Dombrovski, MD (Associate Professor...

Congratulations to James Latronica, DO (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has been named to Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED)’s 2022 Top Physicians Under 40 List, which recognizes the commonwealth’s most talented early-career physicians. Dr. Latronica joined the Pitt Psychiatry faculty in 2021, having completed his family medicine residency at Clarion Hospital (Clarion, PA), followed by an addiction...

Following two years of virtual gatherings, the 2022 Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) annual meeting resumed an in-person format. Pitt Psychiatry faculty and trainees gathered for a program focused on alternative and transformative frameworks for understanding psychiatric illnesses, and enhanced and newly emerging tools for measurement and manipulation. The conference additionally presented the opportunity to...

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) is a research framework that integrates multiple levels of information (from genomics and circuits to behavior and self-report) to explore basic dimensions of functioning that span the full range of human behavior. While environmental and developmental influences represent important elements of the RDoC framework, it offers little...

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has recognized Mary Leeman, MD (PGY2 Child Psychiatry resident), for outstanding dedication to medical education. A medical student in the Psychiatry Clerkship enthusiastically provided an account of their experience working with Dr. Leeman during their psychiatry rotation: "It goes without question that Dr. Leeman truly loves what she does. She created a positive...

It’s time to register for the Department of Psychiatry Annual Research Day, which will take place on Thursday, June 9, 2022 on the Pitt Oakland campus. This full-day event provides an excellent opportunity for attendees to meet investigators, learn more about their work, and share their expertise and interests with other members of the research community. The morning poster session will take place at Soldiers &...