World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Barbara O. Rothbaum

Barbara O. Rothbaum

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Best Female Scientists
2025

D-Index & Metrics

Best Female Scientists

D-Index
108
Citations
53812
World Ranking
964
National Ranking
588

Psychology

D-Index
110
Citations
56202
World Ranking
390
National Ranking
248

Medicine

D-Index
108
Citations
55422
World Ranking
5911
National Ranking
3169

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Best Female Scientists Award
  • 2017 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2008 - Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA)

Overview

Barbara O. Rothbaum is affiliated with Emory University in the United States. Their research spans multiple areas within psychology and medicine, with a primary focus on clinical psychology and epidemiology. Their work prominently involves posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research and traumatic brain injury research, alongside studies related to child abuse and trauma, psychedelics and drug studies, chemical synthesis and alkaloids, and complementary and alternative medicine studies.

The scientist has published extensively in fields including psychology and medicine, contributing to journals such as Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Traumatic Stress, Psychological Services, and Journal of Psychopharmacology. The distribution of publications by venue shows a concentration in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice with three publications, followed by Biological Psychiatry and Journal of Traumatic Stress each with two publications.

Recent scholarly papers illustrate a blend of clinical and neurobiological approaches in PTSD and psychotherapy, including:

  • "An intensive outpatient program with prolonged exposure for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Retention, predictors, and patterns of change." (2020, Psychological Services)
  • "Amygdala and Insula Connectivity Changes Following Psychotherapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial" (2020, Biological Psychiatry)
  • "Longitudinal changes in trauma narratives over the first year and associations with coping and mental health" (2020, Journal of Affective Disorders)
  • "A framework for assessment of adverse events occurring in psychedelic-assisted therapies" (2024, Journal of Psychopharmacology)
  • "The relations between C-reactive protein and trauma exposure, PTSD and depression symptoms, and PTSD psychotherapy treatment response in treatment seeking veterans and service members" (2022, Brain Behavior and Immunity)

Frequent coauthors collaborating with Barbara O. Rothbaum include Sheila A. M. Rauch, Jessica L. Maples-Keller, Vasiliki Michopoulos, Jennifer S. Stevens, and Tanja Jovanović. These collaborations suggest a network of expertise in trauma-related research and interventions.

The main fields of study associated with Rothbaum's work are psychology with 27 publications and medicine with 16 publications. Subfields prominently represented include clinical psychology, epidemiology, emergency medicine, organic chemistry, and complementary and alternative medicine. The main research topics covered are:

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Traumatic Brain Injury Research
  • Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Chemical synthesis and alkaloids
  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
  • Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Barbara O. Rothbaum has received recognition as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) since 2008 and as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors since 2017. These honors reflect a formal acknowledgment of contributions within the scientific community.

Best Publications

  • Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post-traumatic stress disorder

    Edna B. Foa;David S. Riggs;Constance V. Dancu;Barbara O. Rothbaum

  • Treating the Trauma of Rape: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for PTSD

    Edna B. Foa;Barbara Olasov Rothbaum

  • Behavioral/cognitive conceptualizations of post-traumatic stress disorder

    Edna B. Foa;Gail Steketee;Barbara Olasov Rothbaum

  • Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in rape victims: a comparison between cognitive-behavioral procedures and counseling.

    Edna B. Foa;Barbara O. Rothbaum;David S. Riggs;Tamera B. Murdock

  • A prospective examination of post-traumatic stress disorder in rape victims

    Barbara Olasov Rothbaum;Edna B. Foa;David S. Riggs;Tamera Murdock

  • Cognitive enhancers as adjuncts to psychotherapy: use of D-cycloserine in phobic individuals to facilitate extinction of fear.

    Kerry J. Ressler;Barbara O. Rothbaum;Libby Tannenbaum;Page Anderson

  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD : Emotional Processing of Traumatic Experiences Therapist Guide

    Edna B. Foa;Elizabeth Ann Hembree;Barbara Olasov Rothbaum

  • Uncontrollability and unpredictability in post-traumatic stress disorder: an animal model.

    Edna B. Foa;Richard Zinbarg;Barbara Olasov Rothbaum

  • Differential responses to psychotherapy versus pharmacotherapy in patients with chronic forms of major depression and childhood trauma

    Charles B. Nemeroff;Christine M. Heim;Michael E. Thase;Daniel N. Klein

  • Efficacy and safety of sertraline treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

    Kathleen Brady;Teri Pearlstein;Gregory M. Asnis;Dewleen Baker

  • Effectiveness of Computer-Generated (Virtual Reality) Graded Exposure in the Treatment of Acrophobia

    Barbara Olasov Rothbaum;Larry F. Hodges;Rob Kooper;Dan Opdyke

  • The Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Anxiety and Other Psychiatric Disorders.

    Jessica L. Maples-Keller;Brian E. Bunnell;Sae-Jin Kim;Barbara O. Rothbaum

  • Virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety and related disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    Emily Carl;Aliza T Stein;Andrew Levihn-Coon;Jamie R Pogue

  • Virtual reality exposure therapy for Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

    Barbara O. Rothbaum;Larry F. Hodges;David Ready;Ken Graap

  • A controlled study of virtual reality exposure therapy for the fear of flying.

    Barbara Olasov Rothbaum;Larry Hodges;Samantha Smith;Jeong Hwan Lee

  • Prolonged Exposure versus Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for PTSD rape victims

    Barbara Olasov Rothbaum;Millie C. Astin;Fred Marsteller

  • Multicenter, double-blind comparison of sertraline and placebo in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder.

    Jonathan R. T. Davidson;Barbara O. Rothbaum;Bessel A. van der Kolk;Carolyn R. Sikes

  • The presence of resilience is associated with a healthier psychological profile in intensive care unit (ICU) nurses: results of a national survey.

    Meredith Mealer;Jacqueline Jones;Julia Newman;Kim K. McFann

  • International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci

    Caroline M. Nievergelt;Caroline M. Nievergelt;Adam X. Maihofer;Adam X. Maihofer;Torsten Klengel;Torsten Klengel;Elizabeth G. Atkinson;Elizabeth G. Atkinson

  • Effects of D-Cycloserine on Extinction: Translation From Preclinical to Clinical Work

    Michael Davis;Kerry Ressler;Barbara O. Rothbaum;Rick Richardson

  • Applying learning principles to the treatment of post-trauma reactions.

    Barbara Olasov Rothbaum;Michael Davis

Frequent Co-Authors

Kerry J. Ressler
Kerry J. Ressler Harvard University
Tanja Jovanovic
Tanja Jovanovic Wayne State University
JoAnn Difede
JoAnn Difede Cornell University
Albert Rizzo
Albert Rizzo University of Southern California
Edna B. Foa
Edna B. Foa University of Pennsylvania
Seth D. Norrholm
Seth D. Norrholm Wayne State University
Rachel Manber
Rachel Manber Stanford University
Bruce A. Arnow
Bruce A. Arnow Stanford University
Daniel N. Klein
Daniel N. Klein Stony Brook University
Michael E. Thase
Michael E. Thase University of Pennsylvania

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