Robert Dorn, a Davis psychiatrist who devoted his career to understanding and treating mental health problems that originate in the earliest years of life, has given $1 million to support infant development research at UC Davis.

“People can get patched up, and sometimes that works very well. But I’d like this research to be about prevention, not repair,” Dorn said. His gift will support a faculty member who conducts research into the social and emotional development of babies.

Dorn, 88, was associated with the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry for more than 20 years. He continues to serve as a volunteer associate in child development in the Department of Human and Community Development, and also maintains a part-time private psychiatry practice in downtown Davis.

Healthy development explored

The Robert M. and Natalie Reid Dorn Endowed Chair on Infancy will support a faculty member who will collaborate widely with faculty from other disciplines on research that ultimately will help parents and caregivers to better meet the needs of infants. Recruitment for the chair is under way.

The chair is named for Dorn and his wife of 40 years, Natalie, who died five years ago. The gift is the largest ever received by the Department of Human and Community Development.

“Something very important takes place at the beginning of life,” Dorn said. “If there is a good bond between the baby and its mother or the caregiver, then the baby ‘thrives’ — these early connections lay the groundwork for healthy development. As a clinician, I help patients recover from problems that often originate in late pregnancy, early infancy, the toddler phase or childhood. I hope this gift will help us prevent these problems.”

The endowed chair holder’s research will be based at the UC Davis Center for Child and Family Studies, a program of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences dedicated to advancing the field of child development.

Dorn was a longtime volunteer at the center, one of a contingent of seasoned child development professionals who donated their time to work with mothers and toddlers. The group became known as the “grandparents group.”

Dorn and his late wife moved to Davis in 1980. From 1981 to 1986, he served as chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. He renamed the program “Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry” during his tenure to emphasize the importance of family to an individual’s mental health. Dorn remained a clinical professor of psychiatry at UC Davis until 2007.

Early emotional experiences

Dorn earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Following a stint in the military, he completed a medical residency and pursued additional medical training in England. He studied at the Institute of Psychoanalysis in London and worked at the University of London’s Institute of Psychiatry and at The Institute of Neurology, Queen Square. He also became a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society.

During his years abroad, Dorn worked with Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud. His teachers and mentors included John Bowlby, a pioneer in attachment theory, Jungian psychiatrist E.A. Bennet, and neurologist McDonald Critchley. Dorn incorporated elements of these varied approaches to therapy in his work as a psychiatrist.

The idea of a gift began as a discussion with UC Davis faculty about the need for additional research into the role that early emotional experiences play in human development.

“The social-emotional development of infants is extremely important as a foundation for life,” said Zhe Chen, professor and chair of human and community development.

Although Dorn is expansive in conversation about child development, he is almost shy in his role as a philanthropist.

“Your community gives to you, and you give back to your community,” Dorn said of his gift.