The Department of Psychiatry is pleased to announce that nine University of Pittsburgh medical students have matched into highly ranked psychiatry programs nationwide: Ololade Adebiyi (University of California San Francisco) Dominique Bertolini (Emory University School of Medicine) Gregory Gorraiz (University of Southern California) Tinsley Grimes Webster (Case Western/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center)...

On March 24, 2022, Pitt Psychiatry clinician-educator faculty and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital residents and fellows gathered virtually for the Department’s 10th Annual Clinician-Educator Showcase. Department Chair David Lewis, MD, joked that given the hope for a return to in-person events, “ next year we will hold a second 10th Showcase!” The Clinician-Educator Showcase is an annual opportunity for clinician...

Julie Kmiec, DO (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), has been selected as a 2021 UPMC ACES recipient for her outstanding work at UPMC. ACES recipients are recognized for embodying UPMC’s core values, exhibiting excellence in and dedication to their work, and going above and beyond to serve patients and communities. Dr. Kmiec’s colleagues have described her as a compassionate and informed leader, a key organizer in...

The Department of Psychiatry is delighted to announce results of the 2022 Residency Match for the General Psychiatry, Child, Triple Board, and Family Medicine/Psychiatry tracks. “Every year we are excited and proud to welcome a new group of doctors into our work family and the training programs at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. We really want to thank everyone who has helped us to create and maintain this...

The Department of Psychiatry is now accepting abstracts for consideration for poster presentations for its Annual Research Day. If you would like to submit an abstract, click here to access the Call for Abstracts and Abstract Submission Form. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2022. Research Day will take place on Thursday, June 9, 2022, on the Oakland campus. This full-day event is an excellent opportunity...

Dr. Stephen Smagula, (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), did his doctoral work in epidemiology, followed by postdoctoral training in geriatric psychiatry and sleep research. Currently, his research focuses on the association between circadian activity pattern disruptions and depression in older adults, including those who are caregivers for individuals with dementia. Dr. Smagula is the 2022 recipient of the...

Visual spatial working memory, a core cognitive process, is dependent upon a cortical network composed of multiple nodes, including primary visual, posterior parietal, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Within this network, information essential for proper visual spatial working memory function is transferred via projections furnished by pyramidal neurons located primarily in cortical layer 3. Across the primate...

Congratulations to Alex Israel, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry); Antoine Douaihy, MD (Professor of Psychiatry & Medicine); Julie Kmiec, DO (Associate Professor of Psychiatry); and Jessica Kettel, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who have been honored for excellence in education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Curriculum Colloquium. Each year, the Pitt School of Medicine...

Congratulations to Amy Byrd, PhD, who was recently named an Association for Psychological Science (APS) Rising Star! The APS Rising Star designation is presented to outstanding APS members in the earliest stages of their research careers after completing doctoral training. Dr. Byrd’s research is focused on the neurobiological processes underlying the development and persistence of reactive aggression in adolescents...

Individuals with schizophrenia can experience auditory hallucinations and delusions, as well as disrupted cognitive and sensory processes that may result in functional impairment and long-term disability. In the cerebral cortex, pyramidal cells are essential to the cognitive and sensory processes that may be disrupted in schizophrenia. Postmortem studies of individuals with schizophrenia consistently show deficits...