Dr. Richard Milich is Professor and Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1976 and has been an active researcher in the area of ADHD since that time. Regarded internationally as one of the leading investigators in the field of ADHD, Dr. Milich has over 125 publications in this area. His research has addressed a variety of topics germane to the problems experienced by children with ADHD. These include: the peer problems of children with ADHD; the effects of stimulant medication and behavioral interventions in the treatment of ADHD; the cognitive difficulties of these children, with a special emphasis on story comprehension problems; and classification issues associated with this disorder.
During his career Dr. Milich has been PI or co-PI on several million dollars worth of federally funded research, and he also served as a reviewer for the National Institutes of Mental Health for the ADHD multisite treatment study and for the ADHD innovative treatment panel. He completed a six-year term as Associate Editor of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, the leading journal in the field of clinical psychology. In addition, he currently is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, the Journal of Abnormal ChildPsychology, Perspectives on Psychological Science, and The ADHD Report. Dr. Milich has also served in several national administrative positions, including Program Chair and Chair of the Fellow Selection Committee of Division 53 (Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. He has received three awards for outstanding mentoring of graduate students, including one from Division 53 of APA, one from the Kentucky Psychological Association, as well as the Sturgill Award from the University of Kentucky.
Current Research:
My primary research interests are concerned with childhood behavior problems, especially attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; i.e., hyperactivity) and conduct disorder (CD). My current primary research focus in this regard deals with story comprehension among children with ADHD. For the past two decades Dr. Betty Lorch and I have had federally funded grants to explore the development of story comprehension abilities among children with ADHD.

My second line of current research is on the predictors of long-term drug use. I am currently Administrative Directon on the university's NIDA funded Drug Prevention Center, and I am PI on a longitudinal project looking at the risk factors that lead to escalation in drug use among freshmen college student.

Finally, I have been undertaking studies with Dr. Mark Fillmore examining the role of disinhibition among children and adults with ADHD, including alcohol challenge studies among the adult population.