Faculty

Ann D Cohen, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

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

Professional Affiliations

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

Selected Honors & Awards

Hamilton Family Award for Basic Neuroscience Research in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Research Interests

Alzheimer's disease; PET imaging of Alzheimer's disease; Multimodal neuroimaging
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Cohen AD, Jia Y, Smagula S, Chang C-C H, Snitz B, Berman SB, Jacobsen EP, Ganguli M. 2020 Cognitive functions predict trajectories of sleepiness over ten years: A population-based study. J. Gerontology: Med. Sci. glaa120. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa120. PMID: 32405646
  2. Snitz BE, Tudorascu DL, Yu Z, Campbell E, Lopresti BJ, Laymon CM, Minhas DS, Nadkarni NK, Aizenstein HJ, Klunk WE, Weintraub S, Gershon RC, Cohen AD. 2020. Associations between NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and in vivo brain amyloid and tau pathology in non-demented older adults. Alzheimers Dement. 12(1):e12018. doi: 10.1002/dad2.12018. eCollection 2020. PMID: 32426450
  3. Goodheart A, Tamburo E, Minhas D, Aizenstein H, McDade E, Weissfeld L, Snitz B, Price J, Mathis C, Lopez O, Klunk W, Cohen AD. (2015) Binding of Pittsburgh Compound B to both normal and abnormal white matter in elderly cognitively normal controls. Neuroimage Clinical. 9:479-83.
  4. Cohen AD, Mowrey W, Weissfeld LA, Aizenstein HJ, McDade E, Mountz JM, Nebes RD, Saxton JA, Snitz B, Dekosky S, Williamson J, Lopez OL, Price JC, Mathis CA, Klunk WE. (2013) Classification of Amyloid-Positivity in Controls: Comparison of Visual Read and Quantitative Approaches. Neuroimage. 71: 207-215
  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

Research mentorship; Medical student research training; Undergraduate research training

Genetic Risk for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Predicts Cognitive Decline and Development Of Alzheimer’s Disease Pathophysiology in Cognitively Unimpaired Older Adults

Drs. Douglas Leffa and Tharick Pascoal

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists in older age and may be a risk factor for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. A recent study published in Molecular Psychiatry aimed to determine whether genetic liability for ADHD, as measured by a well-validated ADHD polygenic risk score, is associated with cognitive decline and the development of Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology in cognitively...

Molecular Psychiatry: Astrocyte Biomarker Signatures of Amyloid-β and Tau Pathologies in Alzheimer’s Disease

Pascoal & Colleagues Molecular Psychiatry 2022 Article

In Alzheimer’s disease, reactive astrocytes can play an important role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Amyloid-β and tau tangles—the two main pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease—are associated with astrocyte reactivity. However, knowledge about amyloid-β- and tau-specific contributions to reactive astrocyte biomarkers in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is limited. To improve our understanding of...

Pitt Psychiatry Awarded $11.5M National Institute of Mental Health Center Grant Focused on Investigating Emotional and Mental Health in Autistic Adults

ACE Center Grant Investigators

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry an Autism Center of Excellence (P50) grant to fund “Mental Health in Autistic Adults: An RDoC Approach.” The University of Pittsburgh Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) will be led by Carla Mazefsky, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science). The University of Pittsburgh...

Pitt Psychiatry Awarded $33.5M National Institute on Aging Program Project Grant Focused on the Pathological and Clinical Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease

Pitt Psychiatry Investigators Awarded New Program Project Grant

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has awarded the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry a Program Project Grant (PPG) renewal for “The role of astrogliosis in aging and the pathological and clinical progression of Alzheimer's disease.” The Alzheimer’s PPG will be led by a multiple principal investigator team including Ann Cohen, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), Howard Aizenstein, MD, PhD...