Faculty

Danella M Hafeman, MD, PhD

Danella M Hafeman, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
CABS Clinic
Mood and Mind Lab

Education & Training

MD
Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons
PhD
Epidemiology, Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

Current Appointments

Director, Psychiatry Research Pathway

Selected Honors & Awards

Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Depression, Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation
Outstanding Resident Award, National Institutes of Mental Health

Research Interests

Bipolar disorders; Neuroimaging; Mindfulness
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Hafeman DM, Feldman J, Mak J, Merranko J, Goldstein TR, Gratton C, Phillips ML, Birmaher B. Longitudinal stability of mood-related resting-state networks in youth with symptomatic bipolar-I/II disorder. Translational psychiatry. 15(1):187. 2025.
  2. Hafeman DM, Uher R, Merranko J, Zwicker A, Goldstein B, Goldstein TR, Axelson D, Monk K, Sakolsky D, Iyengar S, et al. Person-level contributions of bipolar polygenic risk score to the prediction of new-onset bipolar disorder in at-risk offspring. Journal of Affective Disorders. 368:359365. 2025.
  3. Hafeman DM, Ostroff N, Feldman J, Hickey MB, Phillips ML, Creswell D, Birmaher B, Goldstein TR. Mindfulness-based intervention to decrease mood lability in at-risk youth: Preliminary evidence for changes in resting state functional connectivity. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2020.
  4. Hafeman DM, Merranko J, Goldstein TR, Axelson D, Goldstein BI, Monk K, Hickey MB, Sakolsky D, Diler R, Iyengar S, Brent DA, Kupfer DJ, Kattan MW, Birmaher B. Assessment of a person-level risk calculator to predict new-onset bipolar spectrum disorder in youth at familial risk. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017.
  5. Hafeman DM, Merranko J, Axelson D, Goldstein BI, Goldstein T, Monk K, Hickey MB, Sakolsky D, Diler R, Iyengar S, Brent D, Kupfer D, Birmaher B. Toward the definition of a bipolar prodrome: Dimensional predictors of bipolar spectrum disorders in at-risk youths. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2016;173(7):695-704.

Clinical Interests

Bipolar disorders; Pediatric mood disorders; Transition-age youth
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Dickstein DP, Hafeman DM. Bipolar disorder in childhood and adolescence. In: Thapar A, Pine DS, Cortese S, Creswell C, Ford TJ, Leckman JF, Stringaris A, eds. Rutters Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 7th Edition. Wiley; 2025.
  2. Carlson GA, Singh MK, Hafeman DM, Pataki CS. Early onset bipolar disorder. In: Boland R, Verduin ML, eds. Kaplan and Sadocks Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, Eleventh Edition. Wolters Kluwer; 2024.
  3. Hafeman DM, Spada M. Assessment, prognosis, and treatment of subthreshold mood symptoms. In: Singh MP, ed. Clinical Handbook for Pediatric Mood Disorders, APA Publishing. 2019.
  4. Hafeman DM, Birmaher B. The bipolar prodrome. In: Soares JC, Walss-Bass C, Brambilla P, eds. Bipolar Disorder Vulnerability: Elsevier; 2018.

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Postdoctoral career development; Resident research mentorship
Selected Education Publications & Products
  1. Keil MA, Westbrook C, Stephens JJ, Spada M, Hafeman D, Jacobson SL, Travis MJ, Gopalan P. Longitudinal outcomes of a resident academic administrator, clinician educator track. Acad Psychiatry. 2024.

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...

Psychiatry Residents Present Robust Research at the 7th Annual Psychiatry Research Pathway Symposium

PRP Residents and Mentors

The Psychiatry Research Pathway (PRP) Symposium provides UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital residents engaged in research the opportunity to present their work to fellow residents, faculty mentors, T32 postdoctoral research program directors, and interested members of our academic community. This year, the PRP Symposium began with a panel discussion focused on interventional psychiatry, moderated by Katherine Lyman...

Behavioral Health Experts, Patients & Families Attend Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services Conference

Rasim Diler, MD and Boris Birmaher, MD

The fifth Child and Adolescent Bipolar Services (CABS) conference, focused on pediatric bipolar disorder spectrum disorders, addressed the theme, “Irritability and Bipolar Spectrum Disorders in Youth: Facts and Myths-Assessment, Monitoring and Treatment.” The CABS conference presents current research and clinical knowledge about the treatment of bipolar disorder and comorbid conditions to professionals, patients...

JAMA Psychiatry: Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder 

Dr. Tina Goldstein

Up to 50% of youth with bipolar spectrum disorder attempt suicide, and of all psychiatric diagnoses, bipolar spectrum disorder imparts the greatest risk of death by suicide in adolescents. Although multiple psychosocial interventions are effective for mood stabilization and for decreasing the risk of mood episode recurrence, no treatment specifically targets suicidal behavior in youth with bipolar spectrum disorder...

Danella Hafeman, MD, PhD, Receives 2023 Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Gerald R. Klerman Award

Dr. Danella Hafeman

Please join us in congratulating Danella Hafeman, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), who has received the 2023 Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Gerald R. Klerman Award. The Klerman award honors outstanding clinical research achievement by a BBRF young investigator. Dr. Hafeman is a clinical expert in pediatric mood disorders and her research focuses on the prediction of bipolar disorder in...