Three Questions Frame Our Research

1
How do social experiences with peers, parents, and social media influence emotional functioning and subsequent development of affective disorders (i.e. anxiety, depression and suicidality) during adolescence?
2
How do neural circuits involved in responding to social threats and rewards play a role in the development of affective disorders in adolescents?
3
How do neurobiological risk factors buffer or exacerbate the effects of social experiences on the development of affective psychopathology in adolescence?

Lab Director


Lab Director

Jennifer S Silk, PhD

Jennifer Silk joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 2005 and is a Professor in the Department of Psychology.  Her research focuses on factors involved in the etiology and treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders in adolescents.

FEND News

2023 - Check out this podcast on Drs. Silk and James' paper showing a beneficial side to texting and videochat for teen connectedness & mental health during COVID.

2023 -  Congratulation to graduate student Melanie Grad-Freilich for being awarded an NIH-funded Behavioral Brain Research Training Program (B2) Fellowship from the Pitt/CMU Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition!

2022 - Mary Woody was awarded a University of Pittsburgh Innovation Challenge (PInCh) Award. Congrats, Mary!