Meredith Spada, MD, a PGY-5 Child Psychiatry Fellow, has been selected to receive two highly competitive fellowship awards. Dr. Spada serves as the Chair of the Academic Administrator Clinician Educator track and Chief Resident for Education at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Dr. Spada was selected as a Laughlin Fellow from an elite pool of applicants by the American College of Psychiatrists. The fellowship is...

Sansea Jacobson, MD is a dedicated clinician-educator who has established a strong local and national reputation as a leader in medical education and as a role model for the compassionate care of children and their families. A gifted clinician, Dr. Jacobson is board-certified in both general and child and adolescent psychiatry and provides care for patients and their families in the Services for Teens at Risk (STAR...

Schizophrenia is a devastating neurodevelopmental disorder, marked by changes in a person’s thinking, emotions, and behavior. A number of brain areas are affected in the illness, including a region called the prefrontal cortex that is important for cognitive control of behavior. A growing body of evidence suggests that the immune system is activated in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia, but it is unclear how...

The Annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference, now in its 35th year, is the nation’s longest running scientific meeting devoted to exploring the latest research findings related to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Over 250 researchers, clinicians, consumers and their families gathered at the Sheraton Station Square on November 16th to attend this year’s conference. The program featured nationally...

The death of parent is an incredibly stressful event for a child, and one that can have profound consequences for the child’s future wellbeing. However, little is known about the specific long-term impact of parental loss because these types of studies are challenging to conduct. Pitt Department of Psychiatry researchers recently completed a seven-year prospective examination of pediatric grief following parental...

Richard Morycz, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Social Work, has been awarded fellow status by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). The Society will formally present Dr. Morycz with this honor at a special awards ceremony on November 14, 2018 at its annual meeting in Boston, MA. Fellow status represents the highest class of membership in the organization and acknowledges Dr. Morycz’ s...

Congratulations to Christopher Dobbelstein, MD on his receipt of an Excellence in Patient Experience Award from UPMC. Dr. Dobbelstein is one of only 50 providers selected from more than 7,000 physicians and advanced practice providers within the medical center to receive this honor. The awards are based on patient ratings and are presented to top UPMC providers in recognition of their dedication to the population...

Current residents participating in the Psychiatry Research Pathway (PRP) program gathered with program alumni and faculty for a half-day symposium highlighting a broad array of clinical and scientific research by our talented young investigators. The event featured brief presentations by eight current PRP residents followed by a group discussion of each project. A social hour immediately following the symposium...

Mary Phillips, MD, MD (CANTAB), left, pictured with the publication's lead author, Heather Acuff. Bipolar disorder (BD), formerly known as manic depression, is a serious mental illness characterized by extreme changes in mood and energy levels that cycle between mania and depression. BD is highly heritable, so children of individuals with BD have an increased risk of also developing the disorder, which often first...

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and has increased by at least 20% in the past decade, but depressed and suicidal youth, who are at high risk for suicide, are often not identified, and when identified, often do not go for treatment. Pediatric primary care is an ideal place to identify youth at risk for suicide. At-risk youth are much more likely to present in primary care than in...