Carolyn M. Mazure Receives Elga R. Wasserman Award

This September, Carolyn M. Mazure, PhD, Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor of Women’s Health Research, professor of psychiatry and psychology, and Director of Women’s Health Research at Yale, received the Elga R. Wasserman Courage, Clarity, and Leadership Award from Yale University’s Women Faculty Forum (WFF).

WFF was established in 2001 by senior women faculty during Yale’s tercentennial year to highlight the presence and accomplishments of women. Since its inception, and with the support of Yale’s President and Provost, WFF has evolved into an organization of women faculty who work together to advance research, advocacy, and community building.

The annual Elga R. Wasserman Award, initiated in 2021 by WFF, honors women at Yale who have demonstrated courage, clarity, and leadership in their community service. It recognizes the important contributions of women faculty who are committed to building diversity, equity, and inclusion, and who have excelled in articulating and advancing the highest aspirations of the entire Yale community. Mazure becomes the fourth recipient of this award.

About the Award’s Namesake

Elga R. Wasserman was a trailblazing member of Yale’s administration, responsible for guiding the university in the transition to coeducation in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. She originally joined the university as assistant dean at the Yale Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in 1962, after working at both Southern Connecticut State University and Quinnipiac College.

Henry “Sam” Chauncey, Jr. (’57), special assistant to Yale President Kingman Brewster, Jr., worked directly with Wasserman and told YaleNews, “Elga approached her work in coeducation with diplomacy, firmness, and creative thinking. She knew that there were those at Yale who opposed coeducation and she handled them with tact and skill. But when it came to crucial issues, she knew how to stand her ground and make sure the women of Yale got the best Yale could offer. No single person did more to assure that coeducation went well than Elga, and today’s Yale women owe her a great debt of gratitude.”

In 2023, Wasserman’s legacy was recognized during the unveiling of her portrait in the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Library. Eve Hart Rice, author, artist, and psychiatrist, currently serving on the Women’s Health Research at Yale Advisory Council, was one of the first women who sought admission upon learning Yale had transitioned to coeducation and was a member of the graduating class of ’73. She spoke at the dedication ceremony, reflecting, “Thankfully behind the scenes, Elga was hard at work, resolved to make whatever our class found upon arrival good, or even great. Throughout that first year and beyond, it was deeply comforting to know that Elga was there, working on our behalf.”

Celebrating Mazure as a Wasserman Awardee

Held in the University’s recently renovated Humanities Quadrangle, more than 100 faculty, colleagues, and community members gathered for the occasion. Nina Stachenfeld, PhD, Chair of the Women Faculty Forum and Senior Research Scientist in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences served as the program’s host and introduced both Yale University’s 24th President Maurie McInnis, PhD, and University Provost Scott Strobel, PhD. In their remarks, both McInnis and Strobel spoke to the impact of WFF, Elga Wasserman, and of Professor Mazure’s extraordinary contributions to women’s health and to Yale.

Two colleagues introduced Mazure as this year’s Wasserman honoree: Samit Shah, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiology, and Margaret Bia, MD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Nephrology. In his thoughtful remarks, Shah, a 2021 Women’s Health Research at Yale funded investigator, spoke of Mazure’s contributions to science and his experience of her mentorship with him and so many others. He commented, “There is no question in my mind that Dr. Mazure has had the most profound influence on both my career trajectory and my success.”

In her dynamic remarks, Bia reflected, “I’m going to tell you why Carolyn so deserves this Elga Wasserman award. Is it because during her whole career she devoted herself as a leader in advocating for gender equity? Yes, of course. Is it because as Dean of Faculty for 12 years at the Medical School she was able to achieve some measure of gender equity in salary and other benefits for women? Yes, of course. But the most important reason why she deserves this award is because she has helped create and develop a movement of women’s health research, which has actually created a paradigm shift in our country.”

During her remarks Mazure spoke about Elga Wasserman’s legacy. “It is a true honor to be recognized by one’s colleagues and particularly with this award named for an extraordinary woman who, despite the many challenges, paved the way for so many women at Yale, Elga Wasserman. It is clear from all accounts that Elga was an exceptional person, a special combination of intelligence, good judgement, and grit, with a clear-eyed approach to problems she was asked to solve. She took on a really difficult job and did it very well. It is a privilege to receive an award named for her, in the company of three truly great prior honorees – Stephanie Spangler, Akiko Iwasaki, and Sybil Alexandrov,” stated Mazure.

Mazure also shared two stories, the first about how the Women Faculty Forum was born and the second about the development of Women’s Health Research at Yale. Each made the point that Yale is a place of opportunity, where the challenges women face can be met and overcome. Emphasizing the special experience of being a member of the Yale community, Mazure thanked everyone for all they do in making Yale the wonderful learning experience it is.

Mazure’s Storied Career

Prior to obtaining her PhD, Mazure’s keen interest in biological research was bolstered by three years of experience working in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The opportunity to work in this innovative environment also sparked her motivation to obtain an advanced degree that fostered research examining both biological and social factors influencing health. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology at Pennsylvania State University, followed by a clinical internship and fellowship training at Yale. Mazure then joined Yale’s Department of Psychiatry. Her clinical roles included Director of the Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment Program at Yale New Haven Hospital, where her responsibilities entailed oversight and direction of the acute treatment facility during the transition to managed care. Mazure subsequently became Chief Psychologist at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, as well as the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs for the Yale University School of Medicine from 2002 to 2012. As Associate Dean, she forged initiatives that advanced compensation equity, expanded family leave policies, and facilitated mentoring and team science.

Mazure’s early research focused on understanding and treating depression and the interplay of stress and depression – one of the greatest causes of disability for women in the United States and around the world. In addition, she investigated sex differences in addictive behaviors such as smoking and opioid use and misuse. Her current research addresses the intersection of biological and social factors affecting the health of women, sex-specific strategies for promoting resilience, and health policies that serve to advance economic stability for women. She has served as the Scientific Director of NIH-funded SCOR(E) interdisciplinary research grants and as the Principal Investigator of NIH-funded junior faculty training grants.

Additionally, Mazure has served as a member of the planning committee for the First White House Conference on Mental Health and as a fellow for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. She been an invited speaker at diverse venues, such as NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Sorbonne, and has been a featured expert on ABC’s “Prime Time Live” and in the BBC documentary “The Science of Stress.”

Through her multiple testimonies to Congress, contributions as a member of the NIH Office for Research on Women’s Health’s Advisory Committee, and through her portfolio of research studies and commentaries, Mazure has advanced women’s health and contributed to it becoming an established area of scientific inquiry. Her high impact Viewpoints on the importance of studying women’s health across all fields of medicine include commentaries in relation to cardiovascular disease (Cell), opioid use (The Lancet; FASEB Journal), smoking behaviors (JAMA), Alzheimer’s disease (Lancet Neurology), and response to stress (JAMA Psychiatry).

Launching Women’s Health Research at Yale

As Mazure said in her remarks in accepting the Wasserman award, “Improvement in health and health care for everyone depends upon generating new knowledge on representative populations, and then incorporating those data into clinical and personal practice. Yet, based on prevailing traditions in science, women have historically been under-represented and research on the health of women has been underfunded.”

Seeing this as a call to action, Mazure secured a $6.5 million grant in 1998 from the Donaghue Foundation to create Women’s Health Research at Yale – the university’s interdisciplinary research center on the health of women and the interplay of sex, gender, and health. Since its inception more than 25 years ago, the center has been recognized as a national model for launching research, translating findings for practical benefit, sharing health information with the public and policymakers, and providing mentored training in interdisciplinary team science.

A cornerstone of the center is its Pilot Project Program, which awards seed funding for Yale faculty to make innovative discoveries and generate the feasibility data that are necessary to obtain external funding. Informed review of applications and the iterative process of assisting funded investigators in studies from cardiovascular disease to cancers has resulted in a twenty-fold return on investment in new funding to propel research forward. Fifty-nine percent of the Principal Investigators for these pilot grants are women, and 65 percent of this group have obtained external grants.

“Women’s Health Research at Yale has been a pioneering program for the past quarter of a century. Under founding director Dr. Carolyn Mazure’s visionary direction, the program has helped launch careers of many investigators and made substantial contributions to the health of women and girls across the globe,” reflects Marc Potenza, PhD, MD, Stephen M. Southwick Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center and of Neuroscience.

In response to her accomplishments, Mazure has been the recipient of many honors as well as receiving a named professorship at Yale in 2013, the Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor in Women’s Health Research.

Lasting Impact

In November 2023, Mazure was named the chair of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Launched by President Joe Biden and led by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council, the Initiative seeks to increase and improve women’s health research and shed light on conditions that are specific to women, disproportionately affect women, or affect women differently.

Mazure has been an outstanding national leader in “moving the needle” for women’s health research over her distinguished career of more than four decades. From awareness to advocacy, investment to investigation, the field of women’s health research has advanced because of Mazure’s influence.

“I can think of no better person to receive the prestigious Wasserman award than Dr. Mazure. She is recognized nationally for her efforts to achieve equity in health care for women through her leadership of Women’s Health Research at Yale, particularly with her dedication to ensuring health research includes consideration of sex and gender,” said Susanna Krentz (’80), Chair of the Women’s Health Research at Yale Advisory Council. “Dr. Mazure is an outstanding communicator of complex health scenarios that affect women and men differently. Her passion for her work continues to invigorate and inspire anyone who has the privilege to hear her speak.”

May Mazure’s legacy and impact continue to inspire progress and change for women’s health research today and in the future.