Tom Oltmanns received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1972 and his Ph.D. from Stony Brook University in 1976. He served as a faculty member in psychology at Indiana University (1976 - 1986) and at the University of Virginia (1986 - 2003) before moving to Washington University in St. Louis in 2003. He has served in various leadership roles for professional organizations such as the Society for Research in Psychopathology, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science. His service on national scientific advisory committees includes terms on several grant review committees, including the NIH study section for Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging. In the mid-1990s, Tom developed an interest in studying personality disorders (after spending the early years of his career focused on the role of cognitive and emotional factors in schizophrenia). His studies of personality pathology were concerned with discrepancies between the ways in which participants view themselves and the ways in which they are described by close informants. Data from those studies indicate that people with personality pathology are sometimes unable to view themselves accurately and can be relatively unaware of the effect that their behavior has on other people. In 2007, he launched a longitudinal study of the trajectory and impact of personality traits and personality pathology in later life (known as the SPAN Study). A representative sample of 1,630 community residents (65% White, 33% Black) between the ages of 55 and 64 completed the baseline personality assessment, and they have now been followed for approximately 15 years. Repeated evaluations are being made regarding their experience of stressful life events, social and occupational functioning, and physical and mental health.