Associate Professor of Psychiatry Yanhua Huang’s primary research interest is the interaction between sleep and reward processing in the brain. She focuses on whether and how sleep, or the lack of it, impacts the brain’s reward circuitry. “ Sleep does a lot,” Dr. Huang said. “It restores our cognitive selves and rebalances our emotional selves.” “Over the past few years we have observed interesting correlations...

We are delighted to announce that Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD, has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Psychiatry by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Ahmari is a recognized expert in translational research of the neural mechanisms underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She is a pioneer in the use of optogenetics to uncover these mechanisms. In addition, she is interested in...

Congratulations to Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Clinical and Translational Science Martica Hall, PhD, who has received the Sleep Research Society Mary A. Carskadon Outstanding Educator Award for excellence in education related to sleep and circadian research. The award honors outstanding educational contributions to disseminating the knowledge base, research methods and health and safety significance of...

How does a family background of alcohol dependence affect brain morphology? In a recent study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Shirley Hill, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Human Genetics, explored this question through the lens of dopamine signaling, with the goal of determining if changes in dopaminergic expression influence the development of the brain. Dopamine, which is important in...

At the recent annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP), David Lewis, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, was announced as a recipient of the 2019 Gold Medal Award. This award recognizes an internationally distinguished career of outstanding research and the advancement of knowledge in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. We are also delighted to announce that earlier this year Dr...

Mary Phillips, MD, MD (Cantab), Pittsburgh Foundation-Emmerling Endowed Chair in Psychotic Disorders and Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science, has enjoyed a busy and rewarding 2019 so far. A 2018 Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, and a recipient of the Chancellor’s Research Award, she has also recently concluded her presidency of Society of Biological Psychiatry, been elected to the...

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jason Rosenstock, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, has been selected to serve as Interim Associate Dean for Medical Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Rosenstock is currently Director, Medical Student Education for the Department of Psychiatry and is chair of the Curriculum Committee at the School of Medicine. In his role as Interim Associate Dean...

At the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting this week, we invited attendees to learn about some of the ways the clinicians and leadership at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) strive to meet the needs of all patients by providing innovative, thoughtful and accessible behavioral health care. Western Psychiatric Hospital Overview Dr. David Lewis (Chair, Department of Psychiatry) opened the meeting...

Each year, Pitt Psychiatry faculty, postdocs and students attend the annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. This year, the conference provided researchers with a chance to network and learn from their colleagues on topics related to innovations in clinical neuroscience. Below are some highlights from the 74th annual scientific convention in Chicago, IL.

Congratulations to Professor of Psychiatry Holly Swartz, MD, who has won the 2019 Gerald L. Klerman Senior Investigator Award, presented by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). The Gerald L. Klerman Award is the DBSA’s highest honor, recognizing researchers whose work advances knowledge of the causes, diagnosis and treatment of depression and bipolar disorder. Dr. Swartz’s research interests include...