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Interested in Participating?

The following research studies are recruiting participants:

The DRIVE Study (Depression, Reward, Inflammation, Verve, and Emotion)

What is the study about? 

  • We're studying how depression in young people develops in relation to dopamine, the brain's reward system, and real-life behavior and experiences.

Who is conducting this study? 

  • The Affective Neuroscience and Developmental Psychopathology Lab lead by Dr. Erika Forbes

Why participate? 

  • Up to $1460 in compensation

What does the study involve?

  • 3 annual visits over 2 years
  • Interview, MRI scan, and questionnaires at each visit
  • 1 blood draw at first visit

Who can participate?

  • People ages 16-17
  • People who might be currently experiencing depression now OR have never experienced depression or any mental health problems

Who can I contact if I want to participate?

The DYADS Study (Digital Assessment of Young Adults & Detection of Suicidality)

What is the study about? 

  • The DYADS study explores factors contributing to suicidal thinking and behaviors among LGBTQ+ adults 18-30

Who is conducting this study? 

  • The Affective Neuroscience and Developmental Psychopathology Lab lead by Dr. Erika Forbes

Why participate? 

  • Help others who are struggling with suicidality in the future
  • Contribute valuable information to support the development of protective factors for LGBTQ+ people
  • Have a chance to discuss your experiences
  • Receive resources for treatment and crisis management
  • Receive compensation

What does the study involve? Six months of study participation including:

  • Smart phone-based assessments of emotions, experiences, and behaviors
  • Actigraph watch assessments of sleep and activity
  • Interviews & questionnaires
  • One MRI scan
  • Compensation for your time

Who can participate? 

  • LGBTQ+ adults between 18-30 years old who:
  • Have experienced suicidal thoughts in the past six months
  • Have a close friend who can attend one study session with them

Who can I contact if I want to participate?

Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development

What is the study about? 

  • The focuses on how the brain changes as we grow up and are able to do more difficult mental tasks, which allows us to learn about how teens and young adults view the world. 

Who is conducting this study? 
  • Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development led by Dr. Bea Luna
Why participate? 

  • Research at the LNCD focuses on brain mechanisms that support the transition to adult-level cognitive control of behavior. During adolescence, cognition begins to appear mature while, at the same time, important changes such as synaptic pruning and myelination are occurring in the brain, increasing the efficiency of local and distributed brain function. This is also a period where major psychiatric disorders first emerge, emphasizing the importance of understanding the mechanisms underlying the shift towards adult-level behavior.

  • Receive compensation. Participants are compensated $225-$265 for each of 3 visits.

What does the study involve?

  • The study involves questionnaires, computer games, and brain scans (EEG and MRI). These tests are safe and fun and have been done by hundreds of kids.

  • Participants are asked to return two more times approximately 18months apart.
Who can participate? 

  • Healthy teens and adults ages 10-26. Some exclusions may apply

Who can I contact if I want to participate?
The Effects of Fasting on Lipid Metabolic Profile and Bone Metabolism

What is the study about? 

  • The purpose of this research study is to better understand the effects of fasting on the metabolic profile and bone metabolism in healthy normal-weight individuals at high risk for developing diabetes mellitus. This would help us understand the potential benefits and risks of caloric restriction.

Who is conducting this study? 

  • Pouneh Fazeli, MD (Associate Professor of Endocrinology; Attending Endocrinologist)

Why participate? 

  • To help us understand the effects of fasting on the metabolic profile & bone metabolism.
  • Compensation provided

Who can I contact if I want to participate?

What does the study involve?

  • Participation includes 13 study visits over an approximately 9-month period. After an initial screening visit (1 hour), the study requires fasting for 1 day per week for 12 weeks. At the beginning and end of this 12 weeks, you will come in for a long day of testing (about 8 hours) – so there are two long days about 3 months apart. During the fasting period, we will see you in person for about 20 minutes every 10 days to change your glucose monitor and measure your weight. At some of the visits, we will draw blood. We will also ask you to keep track of your food before some of your visits, as well as wear a Fitbit throughout the study to track your physical activity. The final visit occurs 3 months after you finish the fasting period; this visit takes about 1 hour.

Who can participate?

  • Healthy adult, ages 25-45 with a BMI (body mass index) between 21 and 30
  • Taking no regular medications and no chronic medical conditions
  • Not using hormonal contraception (the Pill, hormonal IUD or hormonal implant)
  • Has a parent, sibling, or child with type 2 diabetes or a personal history of gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops in pregnancy)
InCABS Imaging Study

What is the study about? 

  • Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are looking for adolescents to participate in a research study to learn about brain and behavior changes with varying mood states

Who is conducting this study? 

  • Dr. Michele Bertocci

What does the study involve?

  • Initial screening to confirm eligibility
  • One 4 hour visit at our office in Oakland
  • 21 days of wearing an activity tracker watch and completing once daily mood ratings
  • Final Visit in 2 years (in person or remote)
Who can participate?
  • Adolescents aged 13-18 with no prior psychiatric history

Who can I contact if I want to participate?

RAISE Study (Neurocomputational Mechanisms of Antidepressant Effects)

What is the study about?

  • The RAISE study is designed to understand the brain mechanisms involved in recovery from depression.

Who is conducting this study?

  • The Translational Neuropsychopharmacology & Neuroimaging Lab of the Department of Psychiatry, led by Dr. Marta Peciña, Associate Professor of Psychiatry.

Why participate?

  • Your participation will help improve our understanding recovery from depression, which could lead to better treatments. 

What does the study involve?

Who can participate?

  • People aged 18-55 years old, currently depressed, who are not receiving treatment for their depression at the time of enrollment in the study.

Who can I contact if I want to participate?

Alzheimer's Pathways Sleep Study (ALPS)

What is the study about? 

  • How sleep influences cognition and healthy brain aging in older adults.
Who is conducting this study? 
  • The Wilckens Lab at the University of Pittsburgh in the Center for Sleep and Circadian Science
Why participate? 
  • Compensation up to $599, insight into your sleep, and the advancement of Alzheimer's Disease research.
What does the study involve?
  • The study is comprised of 4 in-person visits with activities including sleep diaries, wearing an Actigraph watch, one night sleep apnea screening, cognitive testing, 1 PET scan, 2 MRI scans, and 2 Blood draws.
Who can participate?
  • Adults aged 65-85 currently experiencing sleep difficulties and are NOT taking psychiatric medication. 
Who can I contact if I want to participate?
Sleep and Bladder Study

What is the study about? 

  • Urinary incontinence is the accidental release of urine. One common type is called urge incontinence, which causes a need to urinate that is so sudden and strong that you can't reach the bathroom in time. This can also interrupt sleep.
  • The purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between the brain, the bladder and sleep in people who are taking study-provided bladder-control medication and receive a behavioral sleep intervention.
  • Researchers hope their findings will lead to better treatments for women with urinary incontinence and poor sleep in the future.
Who is conducting this study? 
  • Shachi Tyagi, MD

    Why participate? 

    • The study medication and sleep intervention together or the study medication alone may provide you with some relief from your urinary or sleep symptoms; therefore, both groups may experience some relief if the study is successful. When the study is over, you can discuss with your physician if continuing this treatment is right for you, and you may decide to continue with the behavioral changes. You may experience some satisfaction from taking part in a study that may ultimately improve understanding and treatment of incontinence.

    What does the study involve?

    • Participation involves five in-person visits. During the first visit, participants will answer questions. During the second visit, participants will have an MRI scan while their bladder is filled by a catheter. MRI scans are not invasive and do not use radiation. Participants will then be given an FDA-approved study drug for incontinence. After four weeks, some participants will also receive behavioral training to improve sleep. After eight weeks all participants will have another MRI. Participants will be asked to measure their sleep and bladder habits two times during the study and once 6 months after the study.
    • Compensation: $300

    Who can participate?

    • Women, 60 yrs and older

    Who can I contact if I want to participate?

    • Email: Yichu Zhao (YIZ164@pitt.edu)
    • Phone: 412-647-1272
    Sevoflurane’s Effect on Neurocognition Study

    What is the study about? 

    • Healthy adults, age 18-59, are being recruited for a study of the commonly-used inhaled anesthetic sevoflurane.
    Who is conducting this study? 
    • This study is being conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Anesthesiology.

    Why participate? 

    • Subjects will be paid $250 for completing all study visits.
    What does the study involve?
    • This study involves MRI scans while performing a memory task and experiencing periodic painful electric shocks, at a level you set in advance, under the administration of anesthetic sevoflurane gas.
    Who can participate?
    • We are recruiting healthy adults, age 18-59, who have no major health issues and have no history of chronic pain.

    Who can I contact if I want to participate?

    Pain in the Brain

    What is the study about? 

    • This study aims to see how physical and emotional pain might be related in the brain, with the goal of identifying why some people may hurt themselves on purpose.

    Who is conducting this study? 

    • This study is being conducted by the University of Pittsburgh.

    Why participate? 

    • Subjects will be compensated up to $200 for study completion.

    What does the study involve?

    • Participating in this study involves completing questionnaires and undergoing an MRI scan of the brain while hearing statements made about them from a friend and sometimes experiencing brief painful shocks to the finger.

    Who can participate?

    • We are recruiting young adults, age 18-24, who have either recently experienced suicidal thoughts and have injured themselves on purpose, or who have had recent suicidal thoughts and never injured themselves on purpose.

    Who can I contact if I want to participate?

    DAYLight Study

    What is the study about? 

    • The DAYLight Study is being conducted to test the effects of light on mood and circadian function.
    Who is conducting this study? 
    • Dr. Adriane Soehner

    Why participate? 

    • Participants are compensated.

    What does the study involve?

    • The study involves 1 weeks of sleep monitoring using an activity monitoring watch and one in-lab visit where participants complete computer games, pupillometry, and complete an fMRI scan.

    Who can participate?

    • Individuals between 12-30
    • Right-handed
    • Not colorblind
    • No formal diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or any serious medical condition
    • Currently feeling down, irritable, or bored

    Who can I contact if I want to participate?