The Department of Psychiatry is delighted to announce that Helmet Karim, PhD, Jiying Ning, PhD, and Stephanie Puig, PhD, have joined the Department of Psychiatry faculty. Jiying Ning, PhD Dr. Ning (Research Instructor in Psychiatry) is trained in biochemistry and structural biology. She earned her PhD in Environmental Science from the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences...

We are delighted to announce that Amelia Versace, MD, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Versace earned her MD from the University of Verona School of Medicine in Italy, where she also completed her residency, as well as predoctoral and postdoctoral training. Dr. Versace then joined the University of Pittsburgh to conduct a one-year...

Sleep is an important component of overall physical and mental well-being, and can predict important health outcome in older adults, including mortality. Sleep is often studied as a single construct represented by duration or the presence/absence of a disorder. However, scientists including Meredith Wallace, PhD, Daniel Buysse, MD, and Martica Hall, PhD, believe that sleep is a multidimensional construct, composed...

We are delighted to announce that Jason Rosenstock, MD, has been promoted to Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Rosenstock earned his MD from Brown University and completed his residency at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH). He has been a member of the Pitt Psychiatry faculty since 1996, and has served as Director, Medical Student Education since 2005. Last year...

The Department of Psychiatry is thrilled to congratulate James Emanuel, who has received a 2019 UPMC ACES award for his outstanding work in Pitt Psychiatry research. This prestigious award, received by fewer than 1% of UPMC staff annually, honors individuals who regularly go above and beyond. As Lead Research Project Coordinator for the Lithium As a Treatment to Prevent the Impairment of Cognition in Elders...

We are delighted to announce that Meryl Butters, PhD, has been promoted to Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Butters is an internationally recognized expert in geriatric mental health. Through her exploration of the interface of depression and cognitive decline, she has contributed important new insights related to our understanding of dementia symptoms in the elderly...

Chronic low back pain and depression are common and frequently co-occurring in late life. Yet treatment can be challenging as these conditions are risk factors for each other, and both interfere with the other’s treatment response. Opioids may be a marker of poor treatment response for both depression and pain. In addition, there is limited evidence of the efficacy of opioids for patients with chronic pain, and...

Congratulations to Joseph Pierri, MD, Neeta Shenai, MD, and Daniel Varon, MD, who have been honored for excellence in education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine annual Curriculum Colloquium. The event recognizes outstanding faculty contributions to medical education through classroom and clinical teaching, mentoring and innovation. Faculty and students submit nominations for the awards, and...

“During the whole of my training, I had only one female mentor,” remembers Mary Phillips, MD MD (Cantab) (Pittsburgh Foundation-Emmerling Endowed Chair in Psychotic Disorders and Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science). “If you never see a woman as a leader, you risk internalizing the belief that women can’t succeed in that role.” Dr. Phillips counts herself among the Neurochicks, an...

Save the date! On Thursday, June 4, 2020, the Department of Psychiatry will host our 20th annual Research Day. This annual event provides the opportunity to highlight diverse research projects conducted by Pitt Psychiatry’s talented faculty, postdoctoral scholars, trainees and staff. Research Day also offers plenty of opportunities for networking, building new collaborations, and reconnecting with colleagues (and...