Faculty

Ann D Cohen, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Assistant
Genevieve Daniels
danielsgm@upmc.edu

Education & Training

PhD
Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine
Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Current Appointments

Director, Collaborative Clinical Studies in Alzheimers Disease and Related Dementias
Co-Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
Co-Director, Molecular Biomarkers in Psychiatry Program

Professional Affiliations

Member, International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Disease Research and Treatment

Selected Honors & Awards

Christopher Clark Award, Human Amyloid Imaging
Diversity Equity and Inclusion Award, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Hamilton Family Award for Basic Neuroscience Research in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Research Interests

Alzheimer's disease; Neuroimaging and biomarkers of neurodegeneration; Social determinants of Health
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Saeed A, Chang YF, Swanson J, Villemagne VV, Snitz BE, Royse SK, Lopresti B, Kip K, Gogola A, Lopez OL, Reis SE, Cohen AD. (2025) Longitudinal association of mid-life ten year cardiovascular disease risk score with brain biomarkers of Alzheimers Disease, neurodegeneration and white matter hyperintensities in cognitively unimpaired older adults Heart SCORE neuroimaging study. J Alzheimers Dis Rep. 2025 Jan 15;9:25424823241299297. doi: 10.1177/25424823241299297.
  2. Gogola A, Zeng X, Williams LA, Chapple-McGruder T, Saeed A, Lopresti BJ, Snitz B, Tudorascu DL, Minhas D, Ikonomovic MD, Kofler J, Matan C, Pascoal TA, Aizenstein HJ, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Lopez OL, Villemagne VL, Karikari T, Cohen AD. (2025) Impact of racialization on neuroimaging and plasma biomarkers of Alzheimers disease. In press, Alzheimers & Dementia.
  3. Zeng X, Sehrawat A, Lafferty TK, Chen Y, Rawat M, Kamboh MI, Villemagne VL, Lopez OL, Cohen AD*, Karikari TK*. *co-senior authors (2025) Novel plasma biomarkers of amyloid plaque pathology and cortical thickness: Evaluation of the NULISA targeted proteomic platform in an ethnically diverse cohort. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Feb;21(2):e14535. doi: 10.1002/alz.14535.
  4. Royse SK, Snitz BE, Hill AV, Reese AC, Roush RE, Kamboh MI, Bertolet M, Saeed A, Lopresti BJ, Villemagne VL, Lopez OL, Reis SE, Becker JT, Cohen AD. Apolipoprotein E and Alzheimer's disease pathology in African American older adults. Neurobiol Aging. 2024 Jul;139:11-19. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.03.005. Epub 2024 Mar 30. PMID: 38582070
  5. Cohen AD, Price JC, Weissfeld LA, James J, Nebes RD, Saxton JA, Snitz BE, Aizenstein HA, Wolk DA, DeKosky ST, Mathis CA, Klunk WE (2009) Basal Cerebral Metabolism May Modulate the Cognitive Effects of A in Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Example of Brain Reserve. Journal of Neuroscience. 29(47): p. 14770-14778.

Education Interests

Graduate student research training; Medical student research training; Undergraduate research training

Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium–Down Syndrome (ABC‐DS): A 10‐year Report

Figure from Handen et al. Alzheimer's & Dementia 2025

Over 90% of adults with Down syndrome will be diagnosed with clinical dementia/Alzheimer's disease by their mid-60s. The National Institute on Aging/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-funded Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium – Down Syndrome (ABC‐DS) has been studying Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome since 2015. A recent paper in Alzheimer’s & Dementia describes the ABC‐DS...

Pitt Psychiatry Research Published in Alzheimer's & Dementia

Investigators

Pitt Psychiatry investigators have recently published studies in Alzheimer's & Dementia. Below is a summary of recent original research on neural factors underlying cognitive and depressive symptoms in late life, sleep and rest–activity rhythms across different cognitive aging pathways, and the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Altered Triple Network Model...

Ann Cohen, PhD, Honored at Human Amyloid Imaging Conference  

Dr. Ann Cohen is Presented with the Christopher Clark Award

Congratulations to Ann Cohen, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), who received the Human Amyloid Imaging 2025 Conference Christopher Clark Award, honoring the late Christopher Clark, MD, a neurologist and Alzheimer’s disease researcher. The Christopher Clark Award recognizes Dr. Cohen’s outstanding work in the use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease prior...

University of Pittsburgh Awards Tenure to Ann Cohen, PhD

Annie Cohen, PhD

We are delighted to announce that Ann Cohen, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Cohen is widely recognized for her outstanding work in the use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease prior to the emergence of cognitive symptoms. Recently, she has expanded this work into amyloid imaging in...

JAMA Network Open: Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Microglial Activation in Patients with Alzheimer Disease

Image of Brain

Neuropsychiatric symptoms including irritability, nighttime disturbances, and agitation are highly prevalent in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are clinically well characterized in individuals with Alzheimer’s, scientists have more to learn regarding these symptoms’ neurobiological underpinnings. Investigators including Cristiano Schaffer Aguzzoli, MD (former Pitt...