Boris Birmaher

Boris Birmaher, MD, holds the Endowed Chair in Early Onset Bipolar Disease and serves as Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He earned his MD from Valle College of Medicine in Cali, Colombia, in 1976. His postgraduate training includes residency in general psychiatry at Hadassah Medical College and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel; fellowships in child psychiatry and clinical research at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and the New York Psychiatric Institute; and fellowship in biological psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Board-certified in both psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Birmaher directs the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services (CABS) at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC. Throughout his career, he has been principal investigator or co-investigator on over 25 federally funded research grants focused on pediatric mood and anxiety disorders.

A pioneer in childhood-onset bipolar disorder research, Dr. Birmaher's work has defined its phenomenology, course, predictors, risk factors, and treatment. Landmark studies under his leadership include the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth (COBY) study, which prospectively followed youth with bipolar spectrum disorders, and the Bipolar Offspring Study (BIOS), the largest prospective high-risk study of offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. He has authored over 500 peer-reviewed articles, numerous book chapters, and the book New Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar Disorder. Notable publications include "Role of polygenic risk score in the familial transmission of bipolar disorder in youth" (JAMA Psychiatry, 2022), "A longitudinal study of psychiatric disorders in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder from preschool to adolescence" (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2021), "Longitudinal trajectories and associated baseline predictors in youths with bipolar spectrum disorders" (Am J Psychiatry, 2014), and "Fluoxetine for the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders" (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2003). His contributions have established the empirical foundation for evidence-based assessment and treatment of at-risk youth worldwide. Dr. Birmaher has received prestigious awards such as the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Ruane Prize for Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Research (2022), C. Charles Burlingame Award from the Institute of Living (2022), Colvin Prize for Mood Disorders Research (2013), APA Ittleson Award for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2014), and Excellence in Psychiatry Award from the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Society of Biological Psychiatry, and other professional organizations, and actively mentors medical students, residents, and international scholars.

Professional Email: birmaherb@upmc.edu