The Department of Psychiatry and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) are pleased to welcome the newest members of the highly competitive Clinical Psychology Internship program, which consistently attracts gifted students. Tina Goldstein, PhD, and Michele Levine, PhD, co-direct the American Psychological Association-accredited program. The one-year internship adheres to a clinical science model of training and...

People with schizophrenia have deficits in some aspects of auditory short-term memory that impair their ability to discriminate between similar sounds. A new study from Pitt Department of Psychiatry researchers explored the short-term storage of auditory information in rhesus monkeys to learn more about how this process goes awry in schizophrenia; they found that monkeys and humans share a simple form of auditory...

There is a great need for better treatments for the forty million U.S. adults who experience anxiety disorders. People with anxiety disorders tend to direct their attention to threat-related, rather than neutral or positive, information in their environment. Because of this link between anxiety and attention, researchers are investigating whether attention retraining could be a viable treatment option. Indeed...

We are delighted to announce that Carmen Andreescu, MD, has been promoted to Tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Andreescu is an international thought leader on the clinical treatment of late-life anxiety. Her research focuses on the affective and cognitive neuroscience of late-life anxiety and depression and she has pioneered a unique neurocognitive and...

We are delighted to announce that Brant Hasler, PhD, has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Hasler’s research focuses on the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in regulating affect and motivation, particularly as they pertain to affective disorders and substance abuse. He studies circadian misalignment, a condition in which the...

Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Lim, who was selected by The Pittsburgh Foundation to receive a Claire B. Morrison Fund scholarship award. Dr. Lim is in her second year of general psychiatry residency training at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. The Morrison Fund award recognizes residents who demonstrate compassion, altruism and high commitment to excellence in caring for patients. “Dr. Lim is an exemplary resident...

Education, a key component of the Department of Psychiatry’s mission, includes providing exceptional training for clinical psychiatrists. For some, clinical training is enhanced by exposure to neuroscience research. We spoke with three of our former residents, Drs. Joseph Pierri, Michael Diamond and Christopher Kye, to learn how foundations in basic neuroscience and academic research have enhanced their careers in...

Young adulthood is an especially vulnerable time in development when symptoms of mental illness frequently arise. In fact, nearly one in five people between the ages of 18 and 25 seeks help for symptoms related to depression and anxiety. One particularly common and debilitating symptom is anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure. A recent study by Pitt Department of Psychiatry researchers is the first to...

We are delighted to congratulate UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) residents Jessica Stephens, DO, Amanda Downey, MD, and Shinnyi (Cindy) Chou, MD, PhD, who received Educational Outreach Program (EOP) awards from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)! A highly competitive program, the EOP provides the opportunity for psychiatry residents to explore research and networking...

Congratulations to Jason Rosenstock, MD (Director, Medical Student Education, Department of Psychiatry), Pierre Azzam, MD (Associate Program Director, Office of Residency Training), and Jody Glance, MD (Associate Director, Medical Student Education, Department of Psychiatry), who were selected to receive the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP) Innovations Award for “Final...