Faculty

Thomas Karikari, PhD

Thomas K Karikari, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
Karikari Lab
Assistant
James E. Emanuel
emanuelje@upmc.edu

Education & Training

PhD
Neuroscience, University of Warwick, Life Sciences
Clinical Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg

Professional Affiliations

Member, International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART)
Committee for Aid in Education in Neurochemistry, International Society for Neurochemistry

Selected Honors & Awards

Chancellors Distinguished Research Award, University of Pittsburgh
2025 Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate
2025 Top Ten African Scholars to Watch, The Africa Report
Best Alzheimer Publication Award, Swedish Alzheimer Foundation
Astrup Prize in Clinical Chemistry, Nordic Federation for Clinical Chemistry
Best Alzheimer publication Award, Swedish Alzheimer Foundation

Research Interests

Alzheimers disease and neurological disorders; Proteomics; Blood biomarkers
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Islam T, Hill E, Abrahamson EE, Servaes S, Smirnov DS, Zeng X, Sehrawat A, Chen Y, Kac PR, Kvartsberg H, Olsson M, Sjons E, Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Therriault J, Tissot C, Del Popolo I, Rahmouni N, Richardson A, Mitchell V, Zetterberg H, Pascoal TA, Lashley T, Wall MJ, Galasko D, Rosa-Neto P, Ikonomovic MD, Blennow K, Karikari TK. Phospho-tau serine-262 and serine-356 as biomarkers of pre-tangle soluble tau assemblies in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Med. 2025 31(2):574-588.
  2. Sehrawat A, Zeng X, Abrahamson EE, Deek RA, Gogola A, Kamboh MI, Pascoal TA, Villemagne VL, Lopez OL, Ikonomovic MD, Snitz BE, Cohen AD, Karikari TK. Pittsburgh plasma p-tau217: Classification accuracies for autosomal dominant and sporadic Alzheimer's disease in the community. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 21(7):e70409.
  3. Gildengers A, Weinstein AM, Gujral S, Zeng X, Diaz JL, Lafferty TK, Cowie M, Emanuel JE, Lopez O, Royse SK, Lopresti B, Karikari TK. Where Do Plasma Biomarkers fit in With Current Alzheimer's Disease Detection? Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 33(4):428-437.
  4. Zeng X, Lafferty TK, Sehrawat A, Chen Y, Ferreira PCL, Bellaver B, Povala G, Kamboh MI, Klunk WE, Cohen AD, Lopez OL, Ikonomovic MD, Pascoal TA, Ganguli M, Villemagne VL, Snitz BE, Karikari TK. Multi-analyte proteomic analysis identifies blood-based neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular and synaptic biomarkers in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener. 2024 19(1):68.
  5. Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Kirsebom BE, Contador J, Tanley JE, Selnes P, Gsladttir B, Plhaugen L, Suhr Hemminghyth M, Jarholm J, Skogseth R, Brthen G, Grndtvedt G, Bjrnerud A, Tecelao S, Waterloo K, Aarsland D, Fernndez-Lebrero A, Garca-Escobar G, Navalpotro-Gmez I, Turton M, Hesthamar A, Kac PR, Nilsson J, Luchsinger J, Hayden KM, Harrison P, Puig-Pijoan A, Zetterberg H, Hughes TM, Surez-Calvet M, Karikari TK*, Fladby T*, Blennow K*. *joint senior authors. Plasma brain-derived tau is an amyloid-associated neurodegeneration biomarker in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Commun. 2024 15(1):2908.

Education Interests

Postdoctoral fellows & residents research training; Graduate & medical student research training

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...

Thomas Karikari, PhD, and Rebecca Thurston, PhD, Receive University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Awards

Drs. Thomas Karikari and Rebecca Thurston

Congratulations to Thomas Karikari, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), and Rebecca Thurston, PhD (Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Women's Health and Dementia and Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, Epidemiology and Psychology), who have each received a University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award! Dr. Karikari, who received an award for distinguished research in...

Nature Medicine: Phospho-tau Serine-262 and Serine-356 as Biomarkers of Pre-tangle Soluble Tau Assemblies in Alzheimer’s Disease

Thomas Karikari, PhD

Neurofibrillary tangles are a defining neuropathological feature of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease with little or no quantifiable insoluble brain tau neurofibrillary tangle pathology demonstrate stronger clinical benefits of therapies than those with advanced neurofibrillary tangles. The formation of neurofibrillary tangles can be prevented by targeting the intermediate soluble tau...

Sex Differences in Alzheimer's Disease Blood Biomarkers in a Caribbean Population of African Ancestry: The Tobago Health Study

Thomas Karikari, PhD

Sex Differences in Alzheimer's Disease Blood Biomarkers in a Caribbean Population of African Ancestry: The Tobago Health Study INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer’s disease is increasing in the Caribbean, especially for persons of African ancestry and women. However, studies have mostly utilized surveys without AD biomarkers. METHODS: In the Tobago Health Study (n = 309; 109 women, mean age 70.3 ± 6.6),we assessed sex...

Pitt Psychiatry’s 2024 Research Day, Part I: A Research and Networking Bonanza

Research Day 2024

The 22nd annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day, held on June 13, 2024, was the most highly attended Research Day ever, with 544 faculty members, trainees, and staff gathering at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Lunchtime Roundtables More than 260 individuals participated in or facilitated one of 19 roundtable discussion groups focused on topics including...