Pitt Psychiatry Hosts Third Annual Interventional Psychiatry Showcase

The 2026 Department of Psychiatry Interventional Psychiatry Showcase, attended by faculty, staff, and trainees, focused on the use of ketamine and the use of ketosis in psychiatric

treatment. Through lively lunchtime roundtables, followed by afternoon presentations and panel discussions, attendees learned about new research using each of these methods, and about their applications for treating a range of psychiatric disorders. 

Helmet Karim, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering) served as Interventional Psychiatry Showcase course director.

Attendees participated in roundtable group discussions on the following topics:

• Clinical Ketamine: Esketamine and IV Ketamine (Facilitators: Marie Anne Gebara, MD | Matthew Geramita, MD, PhD)
• Exploring Mechanisms with Ketamine (Facilitators: Deepak Sarpal, MD | Brian Coffman, PhD)
• Nutritional Ketosis (Facilitators: Mary Phillips, MD, MD (CANTAB) | Robert Raeder, MS)
• Open Discussion (Facilitators: Marta Peciña, MD, PhD | Danella Hafeman, MD, PhD)

Following a welcome and introductory remarks from Dr. Karim, Department members presented recent research on the ketogenic diet as a psychiatric intervention:

• Therapeutic Ketosis: Robert Raeder, MSc, MA (Research Principal, Phillips Mood and Brain Lab)
• Investigations into the Mechanisms that Underlie the Therapeutic Effect of Ketogenic Diet: Colleen McClung, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical and Translational Science)
• Ketogenic Diet for Young People with Bipolar Disorder: Danella Hafeman, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry)
• Multimodal Approaches to Understanding How and Why Nutritional Ketosis Works: Mary Phillips, MD, MD (CANTAB) (Pittsburgh Foundation-Emmerling Endowed Chair in Psychotic Disorders and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Bioengineering, and Clinical and Translational Science)

The following presentations described advances in the use of ketamine to treat psychiatric issues including treatment-resistant depression:

• Cellular and Circuit Mechanisms of Ketamine’s Antidepressant Effect: Matthew Geramita, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)
• The Clinical Use of Ketamine: Marie Anne Gebara, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)
• Specifying and Leveraging Rapid Effects of Ketamine on Plasticity Mechanisms Across Levels of Analysis: Findings from Clinical Trials: Rebecca Price, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Clinical and Translational Science and Psychology)
• Biological Mechanisms Underlying Ketamine’s Clinical Effects: Manivel Rengasamy, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry)
• Real-World Implementation of Intravenous Ketamine for Acute Treatment of Suicidality in a Tertiary Care Hospital: H. Nur Eken, MD (PGY4 Psychiatry Research Pathway Resident)

Following the presentations, Deepak Sarpal, MD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry), and Marta Peciña, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering) led panel discussions and Q&A sessions. 

Congratulations to those who presented and thank you to all who attended!