Robert Althoff
Professor, Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychological Science
Chair, Department of Psychiatry
PRONOUNS he/him
- M.D., University of Illinois College of Medicine
- Ph.D., Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- B.S. Biology, cum laude, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- A.B., Psychology, cum laude, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Internship/Residency, Pediatrics, St. Louis Children's, Washington University St. Louis
- Residency, Child Neurology, Washington University St. Louis
- Residency, Psychiatry, Fletcher Allen Healthcare, University of Vermont
- Fellowship, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital
Department of Psychiatry
Department of Pediatrics
Department of Psychological Sciences
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Areas of expertise
child psychiatry, classification, taxonomy, emotion regulation, food security, temperament, behavioral genetics, irritability, ADHD, ODD, face recognition, memory.
- Identification of phenotypes and endophenotypes for psychiatric genetic studies of childhood psychiatric disorders – specifically as related to disorders of self-regulation
- Analytic methods of large datasets of twin and family studies using structural equation modeling, latent class modeling, and multivariate techniques
- Cognitive neuroscientific studies of childhood psychiatric disorders using behavioral measures, eye movement monitoring, and magnetic resonance imaging
BIO
Robert Althoff, MD, PhD is Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychological Science at the University of Vermont. With a background in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics, Dr. Althoff studies self-regulation, adversity, and resilience. He and his colleagues have demonstrated that children with problems in self-regulation go on to have severe problems in adulthood. His research aims to identify modifiable genetic and environmental factors to reduce depression, personality disorders, and substance use in adolescence and adulthood. Most recently, he has been examining the metabolic consequences of impaired self-regulation and possible underlying environmental, genetic, psychophysiological, and epigenetic mechanisms along with a research program to develop novel assessments for suicide risk prediction. He is Chair of Psychiatry at University of Vermont Health and the Larner College of Medicine. He is the Associate Editor for JAACAP, the leading journal in child and adolescent psychiatry and former Chair of the AACAP Presidential Taskforce on Childhood Emotion Regulation.
Courses
- Vermont Series on Genetics and Neuroscience
- Advanced Neuroscience
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Behavioral Disorders of Childhood
- Basic Science of Neurological Diseases: Autism
- Child Psychiatry for Second Year Medical Students
- Medical Neuroscience
- Psychology 380 – Selected topics in Behavior, Neurobiology and Health
- ANNB 320: Topics in Developmental Neurobiology
- COMU 123: The Effects of Adversity
- COMU 001: Healthy Brains Health Bodies.
- COMU 021: Your Brain on Drugs
- Medical Neuroscience Simulation Lab
- Resident Journal Club for General Psychiatry
- Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Service, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency
- Psychopharmacology Seminar
- Consultation-Liaison Seminar, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency
- Fellows Journal Club, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
- Neuroscience for Psychiatry Residents
- Advanced Neuroscience for Psychiatry Residents
- Adult Psychopharmacology Seminar for Psychiatry Residents
- Research Methods, Child Psychiatry Fellows
- Child Psychiatry Seminars, Psychiatry Residents
- Research Methods, Psychiatry Residents
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Richard Todd Memorial Award Lecture in Child Psychiatry, World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics; Inagural award and lecture for best research in genetics of child and adolescent psychiatry at the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2011: Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation Award; Awarded for best paper in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the area of Depression or Suicide
- University of Vermont Medical Group Junior Researcher of the Year; Awarded to one junior faculty member annually
- “Excellence in Academic Teaching”, University of Vermont; Awarded by Psychiatry Residents to one faculty member annually
- “Fellows Appreciation Award”, University of Vermont; Awarded by Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows to one faculty member annually
- Charlotte Brewster Lecturer, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.
- Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Appointed Co-Chair, President’s Task Force on Emotion Dysregulation, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Bio
Robert Althoff, MD, PhD is Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychological Science at the University of Vermont. With a background in cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics, Dr. Althoff studies self-regulation, adversity, and resilience. He and his colleagues have demonstrated that children with problems in self-regulation go on to have severe problems in adulthood. His research aims to identify modifiable genetic and environmental factors to reduce depression, personality disorders, and substance use in adolescence and adulthood. Most recently, he has been examining the metabolic consequences of impaired self-regulation and possible underlying environmental, genetic, psychophysiological, and epigenetic mechanisms along with a research program to develop novel assessments for suicide risk prediction. He is Chair of Psychiatry at University of Vermont Health and the Larner College of Medicine. He is the Associate Editor for JAACAP, the leading journal in child and adolescent psychiatry and former Chair of the AACAP Presidential Taskforce on Childhood Emotion Regulation.
Courses
- Vermont Series on Genetics and Neuroscience
- Advanced Neuroscience
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Behavioral Disorders of Childhood
- Basic Science of Neurological Diseases: Autism
- Child Psychiatry for Second Year Medical Students
- Medical Neuroscience
- Psychology 380 – Selected topics in Behavior, Neurobiology and Health
- ANNB 320: Topics in Developmental Neurobiology
- COMU 123: The Effects of Adversity
- COMU 001: Healthy Brains Health Bodies.
- COMU 021: Your Brain on Drugs
- Medical Neuroscience Simulation Lab
- Resident Journal Club for General Psychiatry
- Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Service, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency
- Psychopharmacology Seminar
- Consultation-Liaison Seminar, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency
- Fellows Journal Club, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
- Neuroscience for Psychiatry Residents
- Advanced Neuroscience for Psychiatry Residents
- Adult Psychopharmacology Seminar for Psychiatry Residents
- Research Methods, Child Psychiatry Fellows
- Child Psychiatry Seminars, Psychiatry Residents
- Research Methods, Psychiatry Residents
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Richard Todd Memorial Award Lecture in Child Psychiatry, World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics; Inagural award and lecture for best research in genetics of child and adolescent psychiatry at the World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2011: Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation Award; Awarded for best paper in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the area of Depression or Suicide
- University of Vermont Medical Group Junior Researcher of the Year; Awarded to one junior faculty member annually
- “Excellence in Academic Teaching”, University of Vermont; Awarded by Psychiatry Residents to one faculty member annually
- “Fellows Appreciation Award”, University of Vermont; Awarded by Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows to one faculty member annually
- Charlotte Brewster Lecturer, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.
- Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Appointed Co-Chair, President’s Task Force on Emotion Dysregulation, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Select Publications
- Althoff RR, Verhulst F, Rettew DC, Hudziak JJ, van der Ende J. Adult Outcomes of Childhood Dysregulation: A 14-year Follow-up Study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010; 49(11):1105-16. PMID: 20970698 PMCID: 2965164. Highlighted because this article received the Klingenstein Third Generation Award for best research paper in depression or suicide in the journal, had an associated podcast, editorial, and the cover art of JAACAP was based on this paper.
- Whelan R, Orr C, Watts R, Althoff RR, Artiges E, Banaschewski T, Barker GJ, Bokde ALW, Buchel C, Carvalho FM, Conrod P, Flor H, Fauth-Buler M, Frouin V, Gallinat J, Gan G, Gowland P, Heinz A, Ittermann B, Lawrence C, Mann K, Martinot J, Nees F, Ortiz N, Paillere-Martinot M, Paus T, Pausova Z, Rietschel M, Robbins TW, Smolka MN, Strohle A, Schumann G, Garavan H & the IMAGEN Consortium. Neuropsychological profiles of current – and future – adolescent alcohol misusers. Nature. 2014. Aug 14;512(7513). PMID: 25043041 PMCID: 4486207. This is a predictive model of alcohol misuse that has now been replicated using cannabis. It is highly cited with over 440 citations. Access at: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13402
- Kotov R, Krueger RF, Watson D, Achenbach TM, Althoff RR, Bagby M, Brown TA, Carpenter WT, Caspi A, Clark LA, Eaton NR, Forbes MK, Forbush KT, Goldberg D, Hasin D, Hymen SE, Ivanova MY, Lahey BB, Lynam DR, Markon K, Miller JD, Moffitt TE, Morey LC, Mullins-Sweatt SN, Ormel J, Patrick CJ, Regier DA, Rescorla L, Ruggero CJ, Samuel DB, Sellbom M, Simms LJ, Skodol AE, Slade T, South SC, Tackett JL, Waldman ID, Widiger TA, Wright AGC, Zimmmerman M. The Hierarchical Taxonomy Of Psychopathology (HiTOP): A Dimensional Alternative to Traditional Nosologies. J Abnorm Psychol. 2017 May;126(4):454-477. PMID: 28333488. This is a new model of understanding psychopathology using a hierarchical rather than a purely descriptive, categorical model. It is my most highly cited paper with over 3100 citations. Access at: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-12889-001
- Ametti MR, Crehan ET, O'Loughlin K, Schreck MC, Dube SL, Potter AS, Sigmon SC, Althoff RR. Frustration, Cognition, and Psychophysiology in Dysregulated Children: A Research Domain Criteria Approach. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Jan 22:S0890-8567(22)00012-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2021.11.033. PMID: 35074486. Impact factor = 13.113. This manuscript contains the results from our study on childhood emotion regulation from two grants.
- Althoff RR, Singh MK, Stringaris A, Constantino JN, Amaya-Jackson L, Benton TD, Bellonci C, Bostic JQ, Chua JD, Findling RL, Galanter CA, Gerson RS, McClellan JM, Sorter MT, Waxmonsky JG, Carlson GA. Research Agenda in Childhood Impairing Emotional Outbursts: A Report of the AACAP Presidential Taskforce on Emotional Dysregulation. JAACAP Open. 2024 Aug 19;3(1):147-155. doi: 10.1016/j.jaacop.2024.08.001. PMID: 40109494; PMCID: PMC11914913. This is an influential paper on the state of research in the area of emotion dysregulation, irritability, and outbursts and was the outcome of the AACAP Presidential Taskforce on Emotion Dysregulation.