The Department of Psychiatry is delighted to announce that Camila Aponte, MD, Brian C. Thoma, PhD, and Mary Woody, PhD, have joined the faculty at the rank of assistant professor. Dr. Aponte earned her MD from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. After receiving her medical degree, she completed a residency in adult psychiatry and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Cleveland...

The ability to predict suicidal behavior in psychiatric patients is one of the most challenging and high-stakes aspects of clinical practice. However, psychiatric diagnoses are of limited value for prediction because the risk for suicidal behavior can vary substantially over the course of a psychiatric illness. Researchers including University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry investigators Nadine Melhem, PhD...

Suicidal behavior is often misunderstood as a strategic decision that follows a thorough evaluation of circumstances, alternative solutions and possible deterrents. Yet, clinicians know that those at-risk for suicide may not reliably assess the proportion of triggering circumstances relative to the impact of the suicidal act. Suicide can, at times, be especially difficult to understand because although it may...

Howard J. Aizenstein, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry Charles F. Reynolds III and Ellen G. Detlefsen Endowed Chair in Geriatric Psychiatry and Professor of Bioengineering and Clinical and Translational Science, was selected to receive the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Department of Mathematics 2019 Mathematics Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement. Dr. Aizenstein attended...

We are delighted to announce that Jordan Karp, MD, has been promoted to the rank of Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Karp is an internationally recognized expert in the field of geriatric psychiatry. He earned his MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and after completing residency training in psychiatry at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, he returned...

Resident Match Day 2019 was again very successful for University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) medical students pursuing careers in psychiatry, thanks to the strong leadership of Jason Rosenstock, MD, (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Medical Student Education) and Jody Glance, MD, (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of Medical Student Education). The 2019 Residency...

The Department of Psychiatry welcomed faculty and postdoctoral researchers to its inaugural Research Resources Revue on March 21st at the University Club in Oakland. The Revue provided a unique venue for Psychiatry faculty and postdoctoral researchers to interact with other investigators at all stages of their careers and to learn more about the wide array of resources available to help them develop their own...

The Department of Psychiatry expresses profound gratitude to Dr. Arnold Zaks and Mrs. Maryanne Walko Zaks, whose recent generous gift will enable the establishment of a research fund in honor of their daughter Laurel, who passed away on March 28, 2008. The Laurel E. Zaks Memorial Research Fund will provide support for Department of Psychiatry research pertaining to depression and suicide. Laurel Zaks earned her BS...

Placebo responses are common in clinical trials of depression treatments. However, how the expectation of treatment benefits patients is not well understood, in part because it is challenging to simulate these expectations in experimental designs. In an article appearing in Translational Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry researchers Assistant Professor Marta Peciña, MD, PhD, and Associate Professor Alexandre...

The UPMC Center for Engagement and Inclusion has selected Loren Roth, MD, MPH, Emeritus Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry, as the recipient of the inaugural UPMC Dignity & Respect Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes an individual who incorporates these values into their daily work and also celebrates their outstanding service, leadership, ethics, cultural competency and promotion of...