Congratulations to Hader Mansour, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who was named a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Clerkship Preceptor of the Year at the annual Curriculum Colloquium Awards. The Clerkship Preceptor of the Year Award recognizes faculty clinical preceptors who consistently provide outstanding clinical instruction in the clerkship setting for Pitt Med students. Ryan Peterson...

We are delighted to announce that Loren Roth, MD, MPH (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry) has received the American College of Psychiatrists (ACP) Distinguished Service in Psychiatry Award. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes significant achievements and leadership in the field of psychiatry. Broadly, Dr. Roth has demonstrated a profound commitment to patient advocacy that is evident through his...

Loss of control while eating refers to a sense of being unable to control what or how much one is eating. Objectively large loss-of-control eating indicates that the loss of control is coupled with the consumption of an unambiguously large quantity of food (overeating). Conversely, subjectively large loss-of-control eating is not accompanied by overeating. Loss-of-control eating, regardless of episode size, is...

The Department of Psychiatry Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) Leadership Council represents the recent step in a continued journey to enhance DEI in our community ( learn more about this work here). Composed of nine Department of Psychiatry faculty members, the Council provides continuity and dynamism to our DEI-related efforts, so that we can continue to engage our academic community in a way that matches...

We are delighted to announce that Jack Rozel, MD, has been promoted to Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Rozel received his MD from Brown University School of Medicine, and completed his residency in general psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH). While undertaking fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry, as well as in forensic psychiatry, Dr...

Missy DeVito serves as Research Project Coordinator for the Department of Psychiatry Research Review Committee (RRC), the internal grant review committee that helps to ensure Departmental research proposals meet the highest scientific and ethical standards. We would like to express gratitude for Missy’s invaluable contributions to the RRC. Missy coordinates the submissions, reviews, and approvals of all grant...

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...

Congratulations to Rachel Vaughn-Coaxum, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has been named a Rising Star in the Association for Psychological Science (APS)! Dr. Vaughn-Coaxum studies how childhood adversity can influence depression treatment response. Her research has shown that for some adolescents, childhood adversity can be associated with the employment of ineffective stress-management strategies...

Identifying the neural markers of pathophysiological processes underlying depression severity can provide targets to guide treatment choice for individuals with subsyndromal or syndromal-level depression. This approach is particularly important for young adults with depression due to the high incidence of affective disorders during this age range, and because the effectiveness of interventions can be maximized...

Just after the New Year, UPMC Western Behavioral Health (WBH) opened a new location for child and adolescent services on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side, improving access for young patients and their families. Services at the East Carson Street location include: Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders (CADD), providing specialized behavioral health care for children with autism spectrum disorder...