C. Robert Cloninger
Professor Emeritus
- Phone: 314-362-7005
- Email: c.robert.cloninger@nospam.wustl.edu
Additional Titles & Roles
- Director, Sansone Family Center for Well-Being
- Director, Center for Psychobiology of Personality
Education & Training
- PhD, honoris causa: Psychology: University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2012
- MD, honoris causa: Genetics: University of Umea, Umea, Sweden, 1983
- Fellowship & Residency: Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, MO, 1973
- MD: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1970
- BA: University of Texas, Austin, TX, 1966
Major Awards
- National Academy of Medicine, elected, 1988
- Edward Strecker Award, Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, 1988
- Adolf Meyer Award, American Psychiatric Association, 1993
- Samuel Hamilton Award, American Psycho-pathological Association, 1993
- NIMH Research Scientist Award, 1995
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Finnish Psychiatric Association, 2000
Areas of Clinical Interest
Psychobiology, personality assessment & development, general psychiatry. well-being coaching
Research Interests: Genetic epidemiology, genetics of alcohol abuse, schizophrenia, somatization, mood and anxiety disorders
Research Interests
My research on personality and well-being is directed toward person-centered diagnosis and treatment to improve health and quality of life as well as reducing the burden of disease. Mental disorders can be understood as dysfunctions of complex adaptive systems involving many interacting biological, mental, and spiritual variables. Attention is focused on assessing and treating both causes of illness and sources of well-being rather than reducing psychiatry to treatment of symptoms. Current research includes cross-cultural studies across the lifespan and treatment directed at all three aspects of human beings (body, thought, and psyche) to promote psychobiological coherence, happiness, and fulfillment.
My research in psychiatric genetics is currently directed toward characterizing the genotypic and phenotypic architecture of mental disorders as non-linear dynamic systems, primarily in analysis of genome-wide association studies.
Key Publications
- Cloninger CR (2013 Jan). What makes people healthy, happy, and fulfilled in the face of current world challenges? Mens Sana Monogr. 11(1): 16-24.
Read publication »What makes people healthy, happy, and fulfilled in the face of current world challenges? - Cloninger CR, Zohar AH, Hirschmann S, Dahan D (2012 Feb). The psychological costs and benefits of being highly persistent: personality profiles distinguish mood disorders from anxiety disorders. J Affect Disord. 136(3): 758-66.
Read publication »The psychological costs and benefits of being highly persistent: personality profiles distinguish mood disorders from anxiety disorders. - Cloninger CR, Zohar AH (2011 Jan). Personality and the perception of health and happiness. J Affect Disord. 128(1-2): 24-32.
Read publication »Personality and the perception of health and happiness. - Cloninger CR (1987 Apr 24). Neurogenetic adaptive mechanisms in alcoholism. Science. 236(4800): 410-6.
Read publication »Neurogenetic adaptive mechanisms in alcoholism. - Cloninger CR (1987 Jun). A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants. A proposal. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 44(6): 573-88.
Read publication »A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants. A proposal. - Cloninger CR, Svrakic DM, Przybeck TR (1993 Dec). A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 50(12): 975-90.
Read publication »A psychobiological model of temperament and character.
Funded Research Projects
NIAAA (SUNY)(Key Personnel):Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism
NIMH(PI):Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia
NIMH(Key Personnel):Mapping Abnormal Neurodevelopment in Schizophrenia