Faculty

Frances L Wang, PhD

Frances L Wang, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

PhD
Clinical Psychology, Arizona State University
MA
Clinical Psychology, Arizona State University
Clinical Psychology, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
Developmental Alcohol Research, University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests

Alcohol use disorder; Genetics; Adolescent development
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Wang FL, Das S, Thomas DA, Prakash K, Chung T & Pedersen SL. Survey measures of subjective response to alcohol are improved by incorporating questions about the intensity of alcohol effects. Psychol Addict Behav. 2025. PubMed PMID: 40569771.
  2. Wang FL, Molina BSG, Pedersen SL & Thomas, DA. Preliminary evidence for perceived rapid alcohol tolerance growth as a risk factor for problematic alcohol use. Alcohol Alcohol. 2025; in press.
  3. Wang FL, Klei L, Devlin B, Molina BSG, & Chassin L. Heritable composite phenotypes defined by combinations of conduct problem, depression, and temperament features: Contributions to risk for alcohol problems. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2024 Apr; 52: 535-550. PubMed PMID: 37773317.
  4. Wang FL, Hicks B, Zhou H, Gelertner J, Kranzler H, Zucker RA. Polygenic risk score for problematic alcohol use predicts heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder symptoms in young adulthood after accounting for adolescent alcohol use and parental alcohol use disorder. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 July; 248(1): 109909. PubMed PMID: 37163864
  5. Wang FL, Bountress KR, Lemery-Chalfant K, Wilson MN, & Shaw D. A polygenic risk score enhances risk prediction for adolescents antisocial behavior over the combined effect of 22 extra-familial, familial, and individual risk factors in the context of the Family Check-Up. Prev Sci. 2023 May; 24: 739-751. PubMed PMID: 36515774.

Clinical Interests

Substance use disorders

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Undergraduate/medical student education; Resident education

Journal of Research in Personality: Facets of Trait Impulsivity and Their Relationships to Developmental Trajectories of Externalizing Behaviors from Childhood into Early Adolescence

Dr. Frances Wang

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for externalizing behaviors (e.g., disruptive, rule-breaking behaviors including aggression, delinquency, or substance use) as the ability to self-regulate behaviors and emotions is still maturing. Impulsivity is a risk factor for externalizing behaviors, although the unique relationships between specific impulsivity facets and externalizing behavior development are unclear...

The Interaction Between Infant Negative Emotionality and Cognition Predicts ADHD-Related Behaviors in Toddlerhood

Heather Joseph, DO

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder. Children with ADHD followed to adulthood have been found to have lifelong impairments in educational, occupational, and interpersonal domains even if symptoms subside. ADHD is commonly identified in childhood, and affective and cognitive characteristics that are identifiable in infancy could be signals of risk for...

Pitt Psychiatry Hosts a Tremendous Research “Half” Day

2021 Research Day

On June 9, 2021, the Department of Psychiatry held its 2nd virtual Research Day, featuring presentations on health equity research, a speed dat(a)ing session, a keynote address, and honors and awards. The event was billed as a Research “Half” Day, as we hope and expect for the second half of the event, a poster session, to occur in person. (Date: October 5, 2021. Stay tuned to our events page for details!) Below is...

A Continued Bright Future for Department Research: Recently Funded K Awards for Early-Career Pitt Psychiatry Investigators 

K Awardees

This fall, early-career investigators in our Department have initiated several innovative National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded K-series career development research projects. We are proud to count these young scientists among the newest members of our faculty and anticipate that their research on psychiatric and substance use disorders will contribute much to the bright future of research in our field. Below...

From the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology: Heterogeneous Trajectories of Problematic Alcohol Use, Depressive Symptoms, and their Co-Occurrence in Young Adults with and without Childhood ADHD

Wang et al. J Abnormal Child Psychology 2020

Are individuals who experience childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at greater risk for co-occurring problematic alcohol use and depressive symptoms in adulthood? In a recent study, researchers including Pitt Psychiatry investigators Frances Wang, PhD, Sarah Pedersen, PhD, Bernie Devlin, PhD, and Brooke Molina, PhD, examined heterogeneity among those with childhood ADHD that could be associated...