On June 9, 2021, the Department of Psychiatry held its 2nd virtual Research Day, featuring presentations on health equity research, a speed dat(a)ing session, a keynote address, and honors and awards. The event was billed as a Research “Half” Day, as we hope and expect for the second half of the event, a poster session, to occur in person. (Date: October 5, 2021. Stay tuned to our events page for details!) Below is...

We are delighted to announce that Dara Sakolsky, MD, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Sakolsky earned an MD, as well as her PhD in pharmacology, from Temple University School of Medicine and completed general psychiatry residency training and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH)...

We are pleased to announce that LalithKumar Solai, MD, has been promoted to Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH), Dr. Solai serves as Medical Director, Patient Safety. In addition, he is medical director of the Center for Interventional Psychiatry (CIP), overseeing care for patients with severe, difficult-to-treat depression and other...

Biological Psychiatry: Patterns of Infant Amygdala Connectivity Mediate the Impact of High Caregiver Affect on Reducing Infant Smiling: Discovery and Replication Research has shown that during a baby’s first months of life, mood disorders and emotional instability in caregivers are associated with lower positive emotionality (smiling, laughter, high pleasure) and higher negative emotionality (frequent crying...

We are delighted to announce that Julie Kmiec, DO, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Kmiec earned her medical degree from the Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her psychiatry residency and a fellowship in addiction psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH). Dr. Kmiec became a...

Individuals with compulsive behavior disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), experience compulsions in which the ability to engage in flexible goal-directed behavior is impaired in favor of habitual behaviors. Research from both animal and human studies have indicated that alterations within the orbitofrontal cortex are a key factor in the onset of compulsive behaviors. However, questions remain...

On May 25, 2021, physicians, staff, nurses, and medical students across the UPMC network knelt for nine minutes and 29 seconds to honor the life of George Floyd, who was killed one year ago. The White Coats Against Racism Kneel is also an opportunity for health care workers to gather in protest against the racism experienced by Black, Brown, and Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) members of our community...

In 2018, the US reported the highest annual number of adolescent suicide deaths to date. Data has shown that less than half of adolescents who die by suicide have ever received mental health treatment, but approximately 19% of all US adolescents do visit a hospital emergency room annually. In a study recently published in JAMA Psychiatry, the emergency room has been identified by experts in youth suicide as...

The Services for Teens at Risk (STAR)-Center, part of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH)’s Child and Adolescent Services, is a nationally recognized suicide prevention program that combines clinical and outreach services designed to combat the problem of child and adolescent suicide. The annual STAR-Center conference presents best practices in clinical care, incorporated into practical guidelines for...

Acta Neuropathologica: Plasma P-Tau231, A New Biomarker for Incipient Alzheimer's Disease Pathology Scientists including Tharick Pascoal, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology) from Pitt Psychiatry have published the discovery and validation of a new blood biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease which, for the first time, can produce remarkably early detection of the pathology. The quantification of...