Faculty

Nadine Melhem, PhD

Nadine Melhem, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Clinical and Translational Science

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Assistant
Sarah Riston
whites6@upmc.edu

Education & Training

PhD
Psychiatric Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health
MPH
Epidemiology and Biostatistics, American University of Beirut

Selected Honors & Awards

NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
John & Nancy Emerling Fund Young Investigator Award, Pittsburgh Foundation
NARSAD Young Investigator Award, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
Young Investigator Award, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Research Interests

Neurobiology of stress & suicide; Peripheral and neural biomarkers; Children, adolescents & young adults
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Herzog S, Bartlett EA, Zanderigo F, Galfalvy HC, Burke A, Mintz A, Schmidt M, Hauser E, Huang YY, Melhem N, Sublette ME, Miller JM, Mann JJ. Neuroinflammation, stress-related suicidal ideation, and negative mood in depression. JAMA Psychiatry. 2025 Jan1;82(1):85-93. Pubmed PMID: 39504032
  2. Melhem N, Moutier CY, Brent DA. Implementing evidence-vased suicide prevention strategies for greatest impact. Focus (Am Psychiatr Publ). 2023 Apr;21(2):117-128. PubMed PMID: 37201145
  3. Melhem NM, Zhong Y, Miller JM, Zanderigo F, Ogden T, Sublette ME, Newell M, Burke A, Keilp JG, Lesanpezeshki M, Bartlett E, Brent DA, Mann JJ. Brain 5-HT1A Receptor PET Binding, Cortisol responses to stress, and the familial transmission of suicidal behavior. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2022 Jan 12;25(1):36-45. PubMed PMID: 34555145
  4. Hayes B, Brent J, Zhong Y, Bazmi S, Porta G, Bovbjerg D, Tarhini A, Kirkwood JM, Brent D, Marsland A, Melhem NM. Early cortisol and inflammatory responses to parental cancer and their impact on functional impairment in youth. J Clin Med. 2021 Feb 4;10(4):576. PubMed PMID: 33557083
  5. Melhem NM, Porta G, Oquendo M, Zelazny J, Keilp J, Iyengar S, Burke A, Birmaher B, Stanely B, Mann J, Brent D. Severity and variability of depression symptoms predict suicide attempt. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 Jun;76(6):603-613. PubMed PMID:30810713

Clinical Interests

Stress response and suicide
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Inventory for Complicated Grief- Revised for Children (ICG-RC). An instrument and screen with established cut-offs developed to measure grief reactions in children. Citation: Melhem NM, Porta G, Walker Payne M, Brent DA. Identifying prolonged grief reactions in children: Dimensional and diagnostic approaches. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2013 Jun;52(6):599-607. PubMed PMID: 23702449

Education Interests

Mentoring undergraduate and graduate students; Mentoring medical students; Mentoring postdoctoral and visiting fellows

JAMA Network Open: Risk for Suicide Attempts Assessed Using the Patient Health Questionnaire–9 Modified for Teens

David Brent, MD

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...

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Promotes Nadine Melhem, PhD, to Professor of Psychiatry

Dr. Nadine Melhem

We are pleased to announce that Nadine Melhem, PhD, has been promoted to Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Melhem earned her PhD in psychiatric epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. She has dedicated her research career to improving our understanding of the risk for psychiatric disorders in children who have experienced trauma or...

JAMA Network Open: Risk for Suicidal Behavior after Psychiatric Hospitalization among Sexual and Gender Minority Patients

Dr. Brian Thoma

The year following inpatient psychiatric hospitalization—particularly the first three months following discharge—are a period of high risk for suicidal behavior among psychiatric patients. Prior history of suicidal behavior, mood, anxiety, substance use, and post-traumatic stress disorders contribute to risk for future suicidal behavior within this population. Psychosocial stressors also contribute to risk for...

Recent Clinical Innovations in Perinatal and Geriatric Psychiatry

Pregnant Woman and African American Older Man

Recent papers from the Department of Psychiatry examine clinical initiatives around integration of behavioral health teams in OB-GYN clinics, fetal inflammatory response and risk for psychiatric disorders, and the association between benzodiazepine use and risk of cognitive impairment among older adults. Impact of colocated behavioral health on OB-GYN clinicians' rate of perinatal behavioral health diagnosis and...

César Escobar-Viera, MD, PhD; Nadine Melhem, PhD; Marta Peciña, MD, PhD; & Collaborators Receive Pitt Momentum Fund Award

Dr. Escobar-Viera & Colleagues Receive Pitt Momentum Fund Award

A team of investigators from Pitt Psychiatry, César Escobar-Viera, MD, PhD; Nadine Melhem, PhD; and Marta Peciña, MD, PhD, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Education, Public Health, and Arts and Sciences, have received a University of Pittsburgh Momentum Fund Award for their project, “Examining Psychosocial Correlates of Loneliness and Perceived Isolation Among...