Carmen Andreescu

Carmen Andreescu is Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry, where she co-directs the Clinical Research Training in Late-Life Mood Disorders and leads the ARGO Neuroscience of Aging Research Laboratory. Her work bridges psychiatric care, neuroimaging research, and bioengineering to address mood and anxiety disorders in aging populations.

Her educational background includes:

• MD from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
• Psychiatry Residency at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC
• Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC

Dr. Andreescu's research centers on accelerated aging in late-life mood disorders, neural mechanisms of anxiety/depression in elderly patients, and biomarkers for treatment response. Using advanced neuroimaging, her team investigates how worry and rumination accelerate brain aging and identifies neural networks involved in emotional regulation. This work has direct clinical applications for developing targeted interventions in geriatric psychiatry, particularly for treatment-resistant cases where standard approaches fail older adults.

Analysis of her recent publications (2021-2025) reveals three critical trends: (1) Dominant focus on functional connectivity within the default mode network and its relationship to depression relapse; (2) Emerging emphasis on sex-specific neural responses to treatment; and (3) Strong translational work linking psychological factors like rumination to measurable brain aging biomarkers. These studies consistently employ multimodal neuroimaging to bridge molecular mechanisms with clinical outcomes.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Hartford-Jeste Award for Future Leaders in Geriatric Psychiatry (American Psychiatric Association)
• Young Investigator Award (Brain & Behavior Research Foundation)
• Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Psychiatry Perry Award for exceptional research and mentorship

Dr. Andreescu maintains robust educational commitments as research mentor for psychiatry residents and fellows, developing the Clinical Research Training program while contributing to major textbooks including Kaplan & Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry (9th-11th editions). Her mentorship focuses on training clinician-scientists through hands-on research in late-life mood disorders, with particular emphasis on neuroimaging methodology and translational applications. She also serves on editorial boards for geriatric psychiatry journals.

The ARGO Neuroscience of Aging Research Laboratory operates as a multidisciplinary hub integrating psychiatrists, neuroscientists, bioengineers, and data scientists. Current projects examine neural homeostasis disruption in depression recurrence, cardiovascular-brain interactions during stress, and sex-specific treatment response biomarkers using fMRI, EEG, and machine learning approaches on longitudinal patient cohorts.