Cynthia E. Rogers, MD
Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Dr. Cynthia Rogers is the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Rogers completed her undergraduate education with a BA in Psychology from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and earned her MD from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. She completed her General Psychiatry Residency and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes – Jewish Hospital/St. Louis Children’s Hospital Consortium.
Dr. Rogers is an academic child psychiatrist whose research and clinical work focus on the impact of social determinants of health to reduce the development of psychiatric disorders in perinatal and child populations. She Co-Directs the Washington University Neonatal Development Research (WUNDER) lab and seeks to understand early life experiences’ effects on brain development and behavior. Her team has notably utilized advanced neuroimaging analyses to uncover critical periods during which prenatal and postnatal exposures influence brain structure and function and potentially lead to psychiatric disorders. Dr. Rogers’s research portfolio includes multiple NIMH and NIDA-funded longitudinal studies, focusing on the links between early adversity and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Her studies encompass various high-risk populations, including preterm infants and those exposed to maternal stress and inflammation. Her clinical research aims to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and develop interventions that address the early factors affecting mental health across the lifespan.
As the Vice-Chair and Division Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University, Dr. Rogers oversees the missions of teaching, clinical care, and research for child and adolescent populations in the Department of Psychiatry. Additionally, she serves as Co-Executive Director of the Hermann Center for Child and Family Development and Associate Director of the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) national consortium study. She also established and Co-directs the Perinatal Behavioral Health Service (PBHS), which provides comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment for perinatal patients.
Dr. Rogers has been recognized with numerous accolades, such as the NIMH Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award and being named an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine Scholar by the National Academy of Medicine. She serves on the editorial boards of Biological Psychiatry and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and as Deputy Editor of the latter. She is actively involved in several professional societies, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the FLUX Society, and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Dr. Rogers is committed to mentoring the next generation of scientists and clinicians.