Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh

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Department of Psychiatry University of Pittsburgh

Named a US News & World Report Best Psychiatry Program

Our Department of Psychiatry excels in its mission of providing superb behavioral health services to our patients and their families; pursuing the development of better diagnostic techniques and treatments through innovative research; and providing a stimulating learning environment for medical students, residents, psychology interns, and post-doctoral fellows.

01/28/2026

Congratulations to Antoine Douaihy, MD, who has received conferral of tenure at the rank of professor! Dr. Douaihy is an outstanding clinical leader, teacher, and researcher with broad expertise in addiction medicine and dual diagnosis, motivational interviewing, and substance use and co-morbid HIV. https://bit.ly/49O2uMd

01/23/2026

Pitt Psychiatry had lots of good news from ACNP, including awards and new memberships! See our story here: https://bit.ly/4jW2lK3

01/21/2026

Hesitation gives humans and other animals crucial extra time to deliberate on the best option in uncertain situations. Given the ubiquity of hesitation in everyday life, and the devastating toll that impairments in hesitation can play in impulsivity disorders—such as addiction, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Huntington’s disease—it is critical to better understand the neural circuits mediating hesitation. Results of a recent study showed that hesitation is mediated by indirect, but not direct, pathway neurons in the dorsomedial striatum. https://bit.ly/3YQnETG

01/20/2026

It is with deep sadness that we report that our friend and colleague, Kurt Ackerman, MD, PhD (Clinician Emeritus of Psychiatry), has passed away. Please read our memorial tribute on our website. https://bit.ly/4sUFbrE

01/16/2026

Congratulations to Leslie Horton, PhD, who has been promoted to Associate Professor of Psychiatry! Dr. Horton helped found and serves as director of the WPH Hope Team outpatient clinic, which specializes in early detection, prevention, and delivery of evidence-based interventions for teens and young adults at clinical high risk for psychosis. Complementing her clinical work, she conducts research focused on improving our understanding of the mechanisms of risk for psychosis in young people. https://bit.ly/49Eh7QL

01/13/2026

Dr. Karikari and Dr. Thurston are among 12 Health Sciences researchers invited to present their research in a lightning talk presentation on Jan. 14. Selected papers are recognized for providing deep biological or practice-changing insight, and for having sparked interest from media and the public. Congratulations! https://bit.ly/4qipsk6

01/12/2026

A recent study revealed that diseases of despair (DoD) in midlife adults and suicidal behavior in youths could be related, since having a parent with a DoD was associated with nearly double the hazard of a suicidal event in their offspring. Having two parents with DoD was associated with approximately twice the risk for a suicidal event compared with those with single-parent DoD exposure. https://bit.ly/4sDdG5t

01/09/2026

Congratulations to Angela Ianni, MD, DPhil, who has been selected for the Member in Training Award by the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry! Dr. Ianni’s research focuses on computational approaches to investigating the link between neuromodulator dopamine and reward-guided behavior in order to better understand the neural processes underlying suicidal behavior in late-life depression. https://bit.ly/4stLzpv

01/05/2026

CARRS focuses on risk factors for substance use disorders that emerge from the interaction of reward, cognitive control, circadian rhythms, and sleep, which show marked developmental changes during adolescence. The Center is led by Colleen McClung, PhD, and Daniel Buysse, MD. https://bit.ly/4bjlcwa

12/26/2025

Lori Scott, PhD, is lead author of a study in Psychological Medicine investigating whether interpersonal stressors, especially social and targeted rejection stressors, are associated with increased likelihood of suicidal ideation and behavior. The findings suggest that clinicians should ask about recent experiences of targeted rejection when assessing acute risk for suicidal behavior, as this may be an especially important warning sign https://bit.ly/49bXoYv

12/22/2025

In a paper published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers reported regional specificity in dendritic spine alterations. These findings may help explain how both perceptual processing and higher-order cognitive functions are impaired in schizophrenia. https://bit.ly/4pPGTbA https://bit.ly/4pPGTbA

12/19/2025

The Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference presents the latest clinical and research findings to an audience of psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychologists, service coordinators, researchers, and mental health policy administrators, as well as to patients and families. The program additionally includes artwork and music created and performed by individuals receiving treatment for schizophrenia at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) https://bit.ly/4s0p4YR

Address

3811 Ohara Street
Pittsburgh, PA
15213

Website

http://psychiatry.pitt.edu/

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