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Fabio Ferrarelli MD, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Assistant: Sabine Janssen, janssensa@upmc.edu

Dr. Ferrarelli employs several cutting-edge research techniques, including high density (hd)-EEG during sleep and wakefulness, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in healthy and psychiatric populations to characterize the neurobiology and related cognitive dysfunctions of major psychiatric disorders, including obsessive compulsive, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Identify novel treatment targets and approaches, including neuro-modulatory interventions for psychotic and other major psychiatric disorders.

    Education & Training

  • MD, UCSC, Rome, Italy, 1998
  • PhD, UCSC, Rome, Italy, 2008
  • Residency, Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 2016
Awards
David J. Kupfer Fellowship, Department of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh, 2015
Pittsburgh Foundation Rising Star Award, 2015
Molecular Psychiatry Association (MPA) Travel Award, 2016
NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (BRAINS), 2017
Recipient of the Laurel E. Zaks Memorial Fund Award, 2021
Member of the ACNP, 2023
Representative Publications

Mayeli A, LaGoy AD, Smagula SF, Wilson JD, Zarbo C, Rocchetti M, Starace F, Zamparini M, Casiraghi L, Calza S, Rota M, D'Agostino A, de Girolamo G; DiAPAson Consortium; Ferrarelli F. Shared and distinct abnormalities in sleep-wake patterns and their relationship with the negative symptoms of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder patients. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 May;28(5):2049-2057. doi: 10.1038/s41380-023-02050-x. Epub 2023 Apr 14. PMID: 37055512

Bagautdinova J, Mayeli A, Wilson JD, Donati FL, Colacot RM, Meyer N, Fusar-Poli P, Ferrarelli F. Sleep abnormalities in different clinical stages of psychosis: A systematic review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 1;80(3):202-210. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.4599. PMID: 36652243

Mayeli A, Wilson JD, Donati FL, LaGoy AD, Ferrarelli F. Sleep spindle alterations relate to working memory deficits in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Sleep. 2022 Nov 9;45(11):zsac193. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsac193. PMID: 35981865

Ferrarelli F, Phillips ML. Examining and modulating neural circuits in psychiatric disorders with transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography: Present practices and future developments. Am J Psychiatry. 2021 May 1;178(5):400-413. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20071050. Epub 2021 Mar 3. PMID: 33653120

Quiones GM, Mayeli A, Yushmanov VE, Hetherington HP, Ferrarelli F. Reduced GABA/glutamate in the thalamus of individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2021 May;46(6):1133-1139. doi: 10.1038/s41386-020-00920-4. Epub 2020 Dec 3.

Research Interests

Biomarkers of schizophrenia & psychosis; Sleep oscillations; Neuromodulation (i.e. TMS, TBS)