Dr. Gotlib is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Stanford Mood and Anxiety Disorders Laboratory. He joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1996, and became Senior Associate Dean of the Social Sciences in 2005.
In his research, Dr. Gotlib broadly examines psychological and biological factors that place individuals at increased risk for depression, as well as processes that are involved in recovery from this disorder. A major goal of his research is to develop a more comprehensive and integrative psychobiological model of the etiology and maintenance of depression. In this context, Dr. Gotlib has conducted research examining cognitive, interpersonal, and biological functioning in depressed individuals, as well as predictors of depression in people at elevated risk for developing this disorder. Currently, Dr. Gotlib is conducting projects that examine cognitive information-processing biases in depressed children, adolescents, and adults, and patterns of brain activation of depressed and vulnerable individuals as they process various types of emotional stimuli. In addition, he is directing a longitudinal project that examines the emotional, cognitive, and biological functioning of young daughters of depressed mothers.
Dr. Gotlib’s research is supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health. He has also been funded by the National Health Research Development Program and the Medical Research Council of Canada. He has published 200 scientific articles and has written or edited several books in the areas of depression and stress. Dr. Gotlib has been associate editor of Cognition and Emotion, Cognitive Therapy and Research, and the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, and has served on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, and Psychological Assessment. He has also served on grant review study sections for NIMH. Dr. Gotlib received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1981 from the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Awards and Credentials
- Distinguished Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders, 2003
- Fellow of the American Psychological Association
- Fellow of the American Psychological Society
- Fellow of the American Psychopathological Association
- Past President of the Society for Research in Psychopathology
Related Links
Recommended Reading List
- Children of Depressed Parents: Mechanisms of Risk and Implications for Treatment. Goodman, S.H., et al. (2001). APA.
- Handbook of Depression. Gotlib, I.H., et al. (2002). Guilford.
- “Cognitive and Biological Functioning in Children at Risk for Depression.” Gotlib, I.H., et al. Biology of Personality and Individual Differences. Guilford.
