Many University of Pittsburgh Psychiatry faculty and trainees attended the recent American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annal meeting to learn about and present new research and to connect with colleagues. Below is a recap of Pitt Psychiatry News from the meeting: ACNP Council Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), was elected to a three-year term on the ACNP Council. Dr. Ahmari...

The annual Center for Sleep and Circadian Science Research Day presents new research in the field, with more than 160 individuals attending the event. Following opening remarks presented by Daniel Buysse, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Clinical and Translational Science UPMC Endowed Chair in Sleep Medicine), a clinical symposium presented “Hot Topics in Treatment of Sleep Apnea,” featuring...

Pitt Psychiatry extends a warm welcome to Francesco Donati, MD, PhD (Research Instructor in Psychiatry). Dr. Donati received his MD and his PhD from the University of Milan (Italy). He completed psychiatry residency training at San Paolo Hospital in Milan, where he worked with individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. In 2023, Dr. Donati came to Pittsburgh to conduct postdoctoral research training with Fabio...

Suicide rates among adolescents have been increasing for more than 15 years. One strategy for reversing this disturbing trend is to screen for depression and suicidal risk in the pediatric primary care setting. The Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9), a self-report screen for depression in adults and adolescents during outpatient visits, has been shown to effectively detect major depression. In addition, item 9...

Pitt Psychiatry extends a warm welcome to new faculty member Mei-Chuan (Holden) Ko, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry). Dr. Ko received his PhD in biopsychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he additionally completed postdoctoral research training in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Ko held academic appointments at the University of...

Congratulations to Daniel Buysse, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Clinical and Translational Science, and UPMC Endowed Chair in Sleep Medicine), who has received the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award, presented to a Pitt faculty member who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to innovation throughout a distinguished career. Dr. Buysse...

Congratulations to Thomas Karikari, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Endowed Faculty Fellow in Peripheral Biomarkers for Brain Diseases), and Victor Villemagne, MD (Levidow-Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Disorders and Professor of Psychiatry), who have been named 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers, based on their publications ranking in the top 1% by citations for...

Congratulations to Kelly Beck, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has received the 2024 YourMomCares Brilliance in Research Award. YourMomCares is a kids’ mental health nonprofit, founded by the moms of musicians, actors, and athletes, to fund innovations in kids’ mental health and wellbeing. Dr. Beck’s project focuses on the Schools Unified in Neurodiversity (SUN) Project, designing school classrooms and...

The annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference, now in its 41st year, presents the latest clinical and research findings to an audience of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, service coordinators, researchers, and mental health policy administrators, as well as to patients and families. K.N. Roy Chengappa, MD (Professor of Psychiatry) serves as course director for the conference and leads UPMC...

In schizophrenia, impaired working memory is associated with transcriptome alterations in layer 3 pyramidal neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Distinct subtypes of layer 3 pyramidal neurons that send axonal projections to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the opposite hemisphere (callosal projection neurons) or the parietal cortex in the same hemisphere (ipsilateral projection neurons) play critical...