Faculty

Susanne E Ahmari, MD, PhD

Susanne E Ahmari, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

450 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15219
Phone 412-624-3183
Email

Education & Training

MD
Stanford University
PhD
Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University
Psychiatry, Columbia University
Anxiety and Affective Disorders, Columbia University

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Professional Affiliations

Associate Member, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Member, Society for Neuroscience

Selected Honors & Awards

A.E. Bennett Research Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences, Klingenstein-Simons Foundation
Emerging Female Scientist Award, Carnegie Science Center
McKnight Scholar Award, McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience
Rising Star Award, Pittsburgh Foundation
Career Award for Medical Scientists, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Research Interests

Cortico-striatal circuit abnormalities; OCD; Cell/circuit mechanisms; negative reinforcement; Human post-mortem studies; synaptic abnormalities
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. I.D. Zike, M.O. Chohan, J.M. Kopelman, E. Krasnow, D. Flicker, K.M. Nautiyal, M. Bubser, C. Kellendonk, C.K. Jones, G.D. Stanwood, K.F. Tanaka, H. Moore, S.E. Ahmari, J. Veenstra-VanderWeele. (2017) OCD candidate gene SLC1A1/EAAT3 impacts basal ganglia-mediated activity and stereotypic behavior. PNAS. 114: 5719-5724. PMID: 28507136.
  2. J. Wood and S.E. Ahmari. A framework for understanding the emerging role of corticolimbic-ventral striatal networks in OCD-associated repetitive behaviors. (2015) Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. 9:171-83. PMID: 26733823.
  3. K.M. Nautiyal, K.F. Tanaka, M.M. Barr, L. Tritschler, Y.L. Dantec, D.J. David, A.M. Gardier, C. Blanco, R. Hen, and S.E. Ahmari. (2015) Distinct circuits underlie the effects of 5-HT1B receptors on aggression and impulsivity. Neuron. 86:813-826. PMID: 25892302.
  4. S.E. Ahmari, T. Eich, D. Cebenoyan, E.E. Smith, and H.B. Simpson. (2014) Assessing neurocognitive function in psychiatric disorders: a roadmap for enhancing consensus. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 115:10-20. PMID: 24994503.
  5. S.E. Ahmari, T. Spellman, N.L. Douglass, M.A. Kheirbek, H.B. Simpson, K. Deisseroth, J.A. Gordon, R. Hen. (2013) Repeated cortico-striatal stimulation generates persistent OCD-like behavior. Science. 340:1234-1239. PMID: 23744948.

Clinical Interests

Obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorder; Evaluation of appropriateness for DBS

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical/graduate student & resident education; Combatting research racial and ethnic disparities

Pitt Psychiatry’s 2025 Research Day, Part I: A Celebration of Science

Research Day Attendees

The 23rd annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day, held on June 12, 2025, was the most highly attended Research Day ever, with 653 faculty members, trainees, and staff gathering at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Lunchtime Roundtables More than 300 individuals participated in or facilitated one of 30 roundtable discussion groups focused on topics including...

Pitt Psychiatry News from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Meeting

ACNP

Many University of Pittsburgh Psychiatry faculty and trainees attended the recent American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annal meeting to learn about and present new research and to connect with colleagues. Below is a recap of Pitt Psychiatry News from the meeting: ACNP Council Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), was elected to a three-year term on the ACNP Council. Dr. Ahmari...

Nature Communications: Hyperactivity of Indirect Pathway-Projecting Spiny Projection Neurons Promotes Compulsive Behavior

Dr. Susanne Ahmari

Compulsive behaviors are a hallmark symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Striatal hyperactivity has been linked to compulsive behavior generation in humans and rodents. However, the contribution of the two distinct striatal output populations to the generation and treatment of compulsive behavior is unknown. These populations of direct and indirect pathway-projecting spiny projection neurons have...

Biological Psychiatry: Distinct Patterns of Abnormal Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Activity During Compulsive Grooming and Reversal Learning Normalize after Fluoxetine

Dr. Susanne Ahmari

Determining how disrupted neural activity gives rise to compulsive behaviors is vital for understanding obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is commonly thought that compulsive behaviors and cognitive rigidity share a pathological neural substrate owing to an association between compulsive behavior and abnormal performance and reaction times during reversal learning tasks in OCD. However, it is unknown whether...

University of Pittsburgh Awards Tenure to Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD

Dr. Susanne Ahmari

We are delighted to announce that Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of associate professor by the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ahmari’s research focuses on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)—a highly prevalent and often highly debilitating disorder. Dr. Ahmari’s research focuses on developing and applying cutting-edge technologies to uncover neural mechanisms that can be...