Find a Health Care Professional / Researcher

Robert A. Kowatch, MD

Title

Director, Pediatric Mood Disorders Center

Appointment

Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics

Email

psychiatryresponse@cchmc.org

Phone

513-558-9963

Fax

513-558-3399

Bio

Dr. Kowatch earned his BA in biology and psychology at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and his MD at the Chicago Medical School in Chicago, Illinois. After graduating, he completed his internship in internal medicine at The Graduate Hospital under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania, and his residency in general psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry was completed at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kowatch has authored or coauthored more than 28 articles, 12 book chapters, 1 book and 44 presentations concerning the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric bipolar disorders, sleep disorders, and the treatment of child and adolescent depression, to name a few. His articles are published in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology, Archives of General Psychiatry, and Journal of Child Neurology, among others. He is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Society of Biological Psychiatry.

His research interests are in the treatment of child and adolescent bipolar disorders and the neurobiology of these disorders. He is the principal coordinating investigator of a recently funded, NIMH, multi-site, collaborative trial (1 RO1 MH63632-01) which is studying the efficacy of lithium and sodium divalproex in bipolar children and adolescents. He also is studying the neurobiology of affective lability of bipolar children and adolescents using functional MRI and various affective probes.

Credentials

MD: Chicago Medical School, Chicago, IL, 1980.

BA: Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 1976.

Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA, 1981 to 1983.

Residency: General Psychiatry, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Internship: Internal Medicine, Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1980 to 1981.

Certifications: Diplomat, National Board of Medical Examiners, 1980; diplomat, Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1985; diplomat, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1986; diplomat, American Board of Sleep Medicine, 1988.

Awards and Honors

Best Doctors in America, 2008
Awarded "2005 Best Doctors"
Awarded "2004 Best Doctors"
Chair, Website / Information Technology Committee, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1998 to present
Reviewer, National Institutes of Health Biobehavioral and Behavioral Processes Scientific Review Committee (BBBP-6), 2000 to 2004
Member of NIH Biobehavioral and Biobehavioral Processes 6 [BBBP-6] Study Section, 2001 to 2004

Research

Pediatric bipolar disorders and functional imaging

Research Grants and Contracts

Principal Investigator, NIMH Child and Adolescent Clinical Mental Health Award (1 KO 7 MH01057-01). Funded Sept. 1, 1995 to April 1, 2000.

Principal Investigator, NAMI Research Institute, Stanley Foundation Research Awards Program, Development of a Treatment Algorithm for Child and Adolescent Bipolar Disorders. Funded May 6, 1996 to May 1, 1998.

Principal Investigator, NARSAD Independent Investigator Award, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of Bipolar Children and Adolescents and Normal Controls. Funded Sept. 1, 1998 to Sept. 1, 1999.

Principal Investigator, NAMI Research Institute, Stanley Foundation Research Awards Program, Treatment of Comorbid ADHD in Bipolar Children and Adolescents. Funded Sept. 1, 1998 to May 1, 2000.

Principal Coordinating Investigator, NIMH Pediatric Bipolar Collaborative Mood Stabilizer Trial (1 RO1 MH60710-01A1) Funded Dec. 1, 2000 to Dec. 1, 2004, Sites: Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati, Case Western University and UT Southwestern at Dallas.

Publications, Most Recent

Bloom DR, Levin HS, Ewing-Cobbs L, Saunders AE, Song J, Fletcher JM, Kowatch RA. Lifetime and novel psychiatric disorders after pediatric brain injury. J. Amer Acad. Child & Adol. Psychiatry, 40(5): 572-579, May 2001.

DelBello MP, Kowatch RA, Warner J, Schwiers ML, Rappaport KB, Daniels JP, Foster KD, Strakowski SM. Topiramate treatment for pediatric bipolar disorder: A retrospective chart review. J. Child & Adol.Psychopharm, 12:4, 323-330 2002.

Pathak S, Kowatch RA. Depression in Children and Adolescents: Assessment and Treatment. Contemporary Psychiatry. Vol. 1, No. 8, Nov. 2002.

Chapters:

Kowatch RA, Davanzo P, Emslie GJ. Pediatric Mood Disorders and Neuroimaging. In Functional Neuroimaging in Child Psychiatry, Rumsey J, Ernst M (ed.). Cambridge University Press, 2000. pp. 205 to 223.

DelBello MP, Kowatch RA. Lithium, In: Pharmacotherapy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders. David R. Rosenberg (Editor), et al., Dec. 2000.

DelBello MP, Kowatch RA. Mood disorders in childhood and adolescent-basic mechanisms and therapeutic interventions. In: The Handbook of Medical Psychiatry. Soares JC, Gershon S (eds.), Marcel Dekker, Inc., June 2001.

Professional Organization Memberships

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Sleep Disorders Association
Society of Biological Psychiatry

Committees:

Site Visitor, Accreditation Committee, American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA), 1988 to 1992
Secretary / Treasurer, Southern Sleep Society, 1990 to 1992
Clinical Pastoral Care Education Committee, Children's Medical Center of Dallas, 1992 to 1996
Chair, Website / Information Technology Committee, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1998 to 2001

Books

Findling RF, Kowatch RA, Post R. Pediatric Bipolar Disorders. Martin Dunitz Press, Ltd., London, 2002.

Special Interests

Pediatric bipolar disorders

Editorial Positions:

Journal Reviewerships

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1994 to present
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 1998 to present
Bipolar Disorders2001-Present Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 2002 to present

Editorial Boards

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1997 to present
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 2002 –Present Contemporary Psychiatry, 2001 to present
Bipolar Disorders: Reviews and Commentaries, 2002 to present

Presentations, Most Recent:

ABipolar Disorder Medication: Early Onset Bipolar Disorder and Suicide.
American Association of Suicidology, 34th Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, Apr. 18 to 21, 2001.

Pharmacological Treatments of Children and Adolescents with Bipolar Disorders. Fourth International Conference On Bipolar Disorders, Pittsburgh, PA, June 14 to 16, 2001.

Topiramate treatment for pediatric bipolar disorder: a retrospective chart review. Society of Biological Psychiatry. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Mid Year Institute, Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Bipolar Disorders. Hollywood, FLA, March 2002. DelBello MP, Kowatch RA, Warner J, Rappaport K, Daniels J, Foster KD, Nelson D, Strakowski SM. Philadelphia, PA, May 2002.

DelBello MP, Kowatch RA, Warner J, Rappaport K, Daniels J, Foster KD, Nelson D, Strakowski SM. Topiramate treatment for pediatric bipolar disorder: a retrospective chart review. Poster at APA, Philadelphia, PA, May 2002.

Pharmacotherapy of Pediatric Bipolar Disorders. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Meeting, Institute on Externalizing Disorders, Findling R (chair), San Francisco, CA, Oct. 2002.

Symposium on Pediatric Bipolar Disorders. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, Oct. 2002.

Software, Psyche ER