Cynthia Gerhardt, PhD
Pediatric Director and Principal Investigator, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Chief Clinical Research Officer, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Janet Orttung-Morrow, MD and Grant Morrow, III, MD Chair in Pediatric Behavioral Health, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology, The Ohio State University
Dr. Gerhardt graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science and received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont. She completed a pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she was a faculty member for several years before joining Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2003.
From 2014 to 2023, Dr. Gerhardt directed the Center for Biobehavioral Health in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She joined the Center for Clinical and Translational Science in 2015, where she previously served as co-director of Research Resources, director of the Integrating Special Populations Program and now co-director of Community and Stakeholder Engagement. In 2023, Dr. Gerhardt was appointed as Chief Clinical Research Officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is invested in ensuring a rich environment to support clinical translational research across both campuses, particularly training and inclusion of underrepresented individuals.
Dr. Gerhardt is regarded internationally as an expert in biobehavioral research, particularly the impact of stress on families. She has over 200 publications and has received over $55 million in external funding as a principal investigator. Notably, Dr. Gerhardt contributed to the development of international standards for psychosocial care for families of children with cancer, which have been endorsed by leading organizations around the world. In recognition of her work, she received the Dennis Drotar Distinguished Research Award in 2016 from the American Psychological Association Division 54: Society of Pediatric Psychology. Dr. Gerhardt was the former treasurer and is currently the elected president of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. She will serve her current term on the Board of Directors from 2023-2025.
Dr. Gerhardt has been actively involved in the mentoring of students and trainees in her lab for 25 years. She has been the primary mentor for numerous career development awards, diversity supplements and post-doctoral training grants. She was awarded the Ohio State Department of Pediatrics Outstanding Faculty Mentor in 2018 for excellence in teaching.
As the pediatric director of the CTSI, Dr. Gerhardt serves as the mPI of the Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.