SSRI TREATMENT DURING PREGNANCY: ARE WE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

Katherine L. Wisner M.D., M.S., is Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Epidemiology and Women's Studies at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and director of the Women's Behavioral HealthCare program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) of the University Pittsburgh Medical Center. She also serves as an investigator at the Magee-Womens Research Institute. Dr. Wisner obtained an M.S. in Nutrition and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University, followed by a categorical pediatric internship and general and child psychiatry residency at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and WPIC. She completed a post-doctoral fellow in Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and a fellowship in Professional Ethics at Case Western Reserve University in 1996. Dr. Wisner's research is focused on the psychiatric evaluation and treatment of women of childbearing age. She is recognized as an expert in the treatment of mood disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period. She is the principal investigator on several National Institute of Mental Health and foundation-funded research projects. As the current President of the Marce International Society (for the understanding, prevention, and treatment of mental illness related to childbearing), Dr. Wisner is hosting a conference in October 2010 (www.marcesodety.com). She has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.