The Department is honored to welcome Carlos Zarate, Jr., MD as our speaker for the Distinguished Scientist Lecture on March 4, 2022. Dr. Zarate is a Distinguished Investigator at the National Institutes of Health and serves as Chief of the Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch & Section on Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders at the National Institute of Mental Health

The rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine has revolutionized our understanding of antidepressant response and greatly expanded the pharmacologic armamentarium for treatment-resistant depression. The mission of the Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders (SNMD) at the Intramural Research Program at NIMH is to conduct early proof-of-concept studies with novel or repurposed compounds in patients with severe treatment-resistant mood disorders (unipolar and bipolar depression), and suicide. These studies are designed to provide information on potentially relevant drug targets of pharmacological agents and to identify the neurobiology of response and illness, by using a dimensional approach across a systems level that reflects the potential to respond to these rapid acting antidepressants. These studies integrate a wide range of technologies such as brain imaging, electrophysiological, biochemical and genetic studies, and cognitive testing in a dimensional approach to help identify brain signatures of potentially promising compounds with antidepressant and antisuicidal properties. Early signals of efficacy would then prompt consideration for further testing of the identified compound by our extramural clinical partners for further development in larger clinical studies or by our preclinical partners to more specifically identify the therapeutic relevant targets by way of cellular and molecular studies. This lecture presents a broad overview of a range of translational biomarkers, including those drawn from imaging and electrophysiological studies, sleep and circadian rhythms, and HPA axis/endocrine function as well as metabolic, immune, (epi)genetic, and neurotrophic biomarkers related to ketamine response. Ketamine's unique, rapid-acting properties may serve as a model to explore a whole new class of novel rapid-acting treatments with the potential to revolutionize drug development and discovery. 

Our lectures will take place via Zoom due to current COVID19 safety guidelines. 

Participate via Zoom. Click on this Zoom link; Meeting ID: 970 4450 0848; Passcode: 571049.

For More Information. Please contact Frances Patrick at patrickfm@upmc.edu. 

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. The entirety of this program will be a lecture by the speaker(s). All individuals able to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any proprietary entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients. Registration is not required for this event. This event is free and there will be no refunds. The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours. In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference. WPH is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. WPH maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits. The indicated number of clock hours of continuing education is provided through UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital’s Office of Educational Resources and Planning, a PA-approved provider of social work continuing education in accordance with all the applicable educational and professional standards of the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapist. These clock hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT renewal. For more information, call (412) 204-9085.