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Joan L. Luby, MD
Current
Position
Professor of Psychiatry (Child)
University Roles
Director, Early Emotional Development Program
Education and Training
A.B.: Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 1981
Medical Degree: Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, 1985
Residency: Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, 1988
Fellowship: Child Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, 1990
Major Awards
- 2011-2012 President Academic Women's Network Mentor of the Year Award
- CHADS Coalition for Mental Health Career Award, 2010
- CHADS Coalition for Mental Health Research Award, 2008
- Listed in America's Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd, 2002-04, 2007, 2011
- NARSAD Gerald L. Klerman Award for Outstanding Clinical Research, 2004
- Listed in Best Doctors in America, 2002-2008, 2011-2012 (Best Doctors, Inc)
- NIMH and NARSAD Career Development Award, 1999-2003
- Gordon Andrews Community Service Award in Child Psychiatry, 1990
- Graduate with Honors, Poetry and Science, Brown University, 1981
Areas of Clinical Interest
Mood disorders in preschool children: diagnosis and treatment, Developmental Psychopathology, Mental disorders in preschool children, Dyadic Play Therapy for preschool mood disorders, Infant/Preschool Psychiatry
Areas of Research Interests
- Studies of early onset depression, validators, clinical characteristics, biological markers and alterations in brain structure and function related to early onset depression
- Psychotherapeutic treatments for early onset depression focusing on emotion development
- Studies of early experience and brain development
- Studies of alterations in emotion development in early onset mood disorders
- Novel treatments for early onset depression focused on attention bias
- Sensitive periods in emotion development
Key Publications
Rogers CE, Lenze SN, Luby JL. Late preterm birth, maternal depression, and risk of preschool psychiatric disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2013;52(3):309-18. Full Article ->
Barch DM, Gaffrey MS, Botteron KN, Belden AC, Luby JL. Functional brain activation to emotionally valenced faces in school aged children with a history of preschool onset major depression. Biological Psychiatry. 2012;72(12):1035-42. Full Article ->
Luby JL, Barch DM, Belden A, Gaffrey M, Tillman R, Babb C, Nishino T, Suzuki H, Botteron KN. Maternal support in early childhood predicts larger hippocampal volumes at school age. Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences. 2012;109(8):2854-9. Full Article ->
Luby JL, Lenze S, Tillman R. A novel early intervention for preschool depression: Findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2012;53(3):313-322. Full Article ->
Luby JL, Si X, Belden AC, Tandon M, Spitznagel E. Preschool Depression: Homotypic Continuity and Course Over 24 Months. Archives of General Psychiatry 2009; 66(8):897-905. Full Article ->
Luby JL. Early childhood depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2009;166:974-979. Full Article ->
Funded Research Projects
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH)
- Early Intervention in Depression: Dyadic Emotion Development Therapy for Preschool Children (PI)
- Preschool Mood Disorders: Developmental Continuity & School Age Outcomes (PI)
- Phenomenology and Course of Pediatric Bipolar Disorders (PI)
- Neuroimaging in Early Onset Depression:Longitudinal Assessment of the Brain (PI)
CHADS COALITION FOR MENTAL HEALTH
- Functional Neuroimaging in a Depressed Preschool Population Pre and Post Treatment (PI)
- Functional Neuroimaging in Depressed Preschoolers:Longitudinal Outcomes (PI)
NARSAD
- Seratonin Transporter Polymorphisms & Course of Preschool Onset Depression (PI)
SYDNEY R. BAER JR. FOUNDATION AWARD
- Brain Imaging in Preschoolers at High Risk for Depression (Co-PI with Deanna Barch, Ph.D.)