He is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and was Chief of the Psychiatric Consultation Service at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System for over 40 years.

[3] Roth has also applied the use of skin conductance, electrocardiography, actigraphy, and monitoring of other physiological functions, such as respiration, to assess anxiety disorders.

[5] In addition, Roth co-authored the Core Concepts in Health textbook series,[6] as well as over 250 scholarly journal articles and book chapters.

[2][5] Roth is currently semi-retired, but continues research work on the psychophysiology of hyperarousal and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as ambulatory monitoring of sleep.

[14] Roth was born in Topeka, Kansas, but raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of a Presbyterian minister and a high school teacher.