Dr. Susanne Ahmari

Dr. Ahmari’s lab is unraveling the circuit-level mechanisms behind OCD and mood disorders, guiding more effective, targeted treatment strategies.

Dr. Susanne E. Ahmari, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, where she directs the Translational OCD Laboratory. She earned both her MD and PhD in Cellular and Molecular Physiology from Stanford University in 2003, completed her psychiatry residency at Columbia University/New York-Presbyterian Medical Center in 2007, and subsequently trained as a postdoctoral fellow in affective and anxiety disorders at Columbia. A 2018 One Mind Rising Star Awardee, Dr. Ahmari was granted tenure in 2023 and has been widely recognized with honors including the Burroughs Wellcome Career Award, McKnight Scholar Award, and A.E. Bennett Research Award. Her research focuses on uncovering the neural circuit, molecular, and cellular mechanisms underlying obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions, using advanced methods such as optogenetics, in vivo imaging, and electrophysiology to inform the development of novel, neuroscience-based treatments. 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 deliver new treatment approaches for depression.