Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD

Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD, is a practicing psychiatrist and neuroscientist with expertise in translating findings between humans and model systems. She is a trailblazer in the use of advanced technology to precisely manipulate and monitor circuits to uncover the neural substrates of obsessive compulsive disorder. Dr. Ahmari earned her MD and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from Stanford University and completed her residency in Psychiatry at Columbia University. She then established the Translational OCD Laboratory at University of Pittsburgh in 2013 to conduct interdisciplinary research that will ultimately lead to better treatments for patients.

In addition to being an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Translational OCD Laboratory, Dr. Ahmari is also currently a Program Director at Wellcome Leap, where she developed and is directing Multi-Channel Psych, a $50 million program to develop new treatments for anhedonic depression. She has obtained research support from NIMH, NINDS, and foundation grants including a Burroughs Wellcome Career Award, One Mind Rising Star Award, IOCDF Breakthrough Award, and Foundation for OCD Research Consortium Award. She has also received a number of awards in recognition of her translational neuroscience efforts, including the McKnight Scholar Award, the NIMH BRAINS Award, the A.E. Bennett Research Award, the MQ Fellows Award, and the ACNP Eva King Killam Research Award. In addition to ARIA, she sits on the scientific advisory board of several research foundations, including the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD), ORCHARD, and the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF).