Vaccine hesitancy around COVID-19, in which individuals neither fully accept nor fully reject the COVID-19 vaccine, presents a major health threat in the midst of the current pandemic. In some instances, traditional approaches for addressing vaccine hesitancy in health care can increase feelings of reluctance. Motivational interviewing, a collaborative conversation style for strengthening motivation and commitment...

We are delighted to announce that Marta Peciña, MD, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Peciña earned her MD, and her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Navarra in Spain. She completed her psychiatry residency at the University of Navarra Medical Center, and postdoctoral training in neuroimaging at the University of Michigan. In...

Among seniors graduating from medical school, interest in Psychiatry, and especially in our residency program, has continued to grow in recent years. This year, we are proud to introduce an outstanding class of PGY1 residents entering our General Psychiatry, General and Child, Family Medicine and Psychiatry, and Triple Board tracks. Please join us in welcoming this group of outstanding physicians as they embark on...

Dana Rofey, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science), has dedicated her career to increasing access to evidence-based clinical care, as well as to psychological well-being and physical health, in diverse populations of adolescents and young adults. She earned a PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Cincinnati and completed postdoctoral...

Congratulations to Ryan Peterson, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who will assume the role of Director of the Psychiatry Clerkship for medical students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine on July 1, 2022. Dr. Peterson will succeed Neeta Shenai, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has served as clerkship director for three years. The Clerkship provides third- and fourth-year medical...

Adolescent offspring of depressed parents show diminished response to reward in the ventral striatum. Though factors associated with neural alterations in childhood are poorly understood, altered reward response may emerge before adolescence in offspring at familial risk for depression. A group of investigators, including Pitt Psychiatry scientists Judith Morgan, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and...

Graduates of the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) residency training program gathered with friends, family, loved ones, and supporters at the Pitt University Club on June 16, 2022. The ceremony was livestreamed for those who could not attend in person. Michael Travis, MD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Senior Director for Postgraduate Physician Training) opened the ceremony remarking, “As I have...

On June 17, 2022, the Department of Psychiatry hosted a virtual event developed by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Community Building Workgroup to foster relationships with community leaders in Allegheny County. Gina Perez, MD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Community Building Workgroup facilitator) welcomed 50 attendees, comprising Department of Psychiatry faculty, trainees, and staff: “This event...

The 20th annual Department of Psychiatry Research Day on June 9, 2022, represented a joyful reunion for more than 400 faculty members, trainees, and staff, who had not attended a large in-person event together since 2019. The morning session featured 110 posters at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. In the afternoon, attendees gathered across the street at the University...

For individuals in need of a kidney transplant, disparities related to race and ethnicity have persisted for decades, with Black and Hispanic patients at a disadvantage relative to non-Hispanic White patients, regarding receipt of organ transplantation. Mary Amanda Dew, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Clinical and Translational Science, and Acute and Tertiary Care (Nursing)...