Many Pitt Psychiatry faculty and trainees traveled to Phoenix—or participated remotely—for the 2022 American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting in early December! Below is Pitt Psychiatry news from the meeting: President’s Plenary Marta Peciña, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), was selected as a President’s Plenary presenter, and discussed the latest work on endogenous opioid...

We are delighted to announce that Natacha De Genna, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. De Genna earned her PhD in developmental psychology from Concordia University (Montreal, Québec). After receiving her doctorate, she arrived in Pittsburgh to conduct postdoctoral research in substance use epidemiology as part of the Department of...

Congratulations to the most recent graduates of the Clinician-Educator Faculty Development Program (CEFDP)! The CEFDP is a Department of Psychiatry professional development opportunity for early-career clinician-educators, specially designed to enhance clinical and academic skills and to foster peer network connections. Because the transition to a faculty position in an academic medical center can be challenging...

We are delighted to announce that Zachary Freyberg, MD, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Freyberg received his MD, and his PhD in Developmental & Molecular Biology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. At New York Presbyterian Hospital, he completed his internship in internal medicine, neurology, and psychiatry, and residency in...

Postmortem studies of the prefrontal cortex have revealed changes in gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate across adolescence, which suggests shifts in excitation and inhibition balance consistent with critical period plasticity. However, questions have persisted regarding how gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate change through adolescence and how the balance of these inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters...

Pitt Psychiatry consultation-liaison faculty and trainees attended the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry annual meeting and presented seven symposia/workshops, five posters, and five oral papers. Award Meredith Spada, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry) received a poster award for “Stakeholder Assessment for a Remote Perinatal Telepsychiatry Service.” Presentations Seventeen Department of Psychiatry...

The annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference, now in its 39th year, presents the latest clinical and research findings to an audience of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, service coordinators, researchers, and mental health policy administrators, as well as to patients and families. K.N. Roy Chengappa, MD (Professor of Psychiatry), leads UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH)’s Comprehensive...

We are delighted to announce that Meghan Keil, MD (PGY4), has been selected as a 2023 George Ginsberg Fellowship award winner by the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT). The George Ginsberg Fellowship acknowledges the excellence and accomplishments of outstanding residents interested in education and teaching who are pursuing careers as clinician-educators and/or academic...

Models of the aging process are becoming prevalent in multiple fields, and over the last decade, scientists have used brain aging markers to identify important neuroanatomical differences in multiple psychiatric disorders. These markers may provide individualized risk assessments and predictions for age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, and have recently been used to demonstrate the association between greater...

Congratulations to Camellia Herisko, DNP, MSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC, CRNP, who has been recognized for Excellence in Nursing (Leadership/Executive category) by Pittsburgh Magazine. Though Dr. Herisko knew since high school that she wanted to be a nurse, she earned her undergraduate degree in journalism/business, and wrote singing telegrams as her first job. She returned to school to get her degree in nursing and worked...