Carolyn Mazure, PhD - Health Policy Grand Rounds

Carolyn M. Mazure is the Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor in Women’s Health Research, and Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology. After three years at the National Institutes of Health and fellowship training at Yale, Dr. Mazure joined the Yale faculty — becoming an active clinician and NIH-funded researcher. She was the Director of Psychiatry’s Adult Inpatient Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and has held a variety of other leadership roles, including Associate Dean for Faculty at Yale School of Medicine, Scientific Director of NIH-funded SCOR(E) interdisciplinary research grants, and PI of NIH-funded junior faculty training grants.

She created 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. The center studies a wide breadth of topics from cardiovascular disease to cancers. Since its inception in 1998, the center has been recognized as a national model for launching research, translating findings, sharing health information with the public and policymakers, and providing mentored training in interdisciplinary team science.

In 2023, Dr. Mazure was appointed Chair of the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research, which aims to fundamentally change how the nation approaches and funds women's health research.

Her research contributions have focused on depression, the single greatest cause of disability for women in the U.S. and globally, including the sex-and-gender-specific relationship of stress to depression and co-occurring addictive behaviors (such as smoking, and opioid use and misuse). Current research targets the intersection of biological and social factors affecting the health of women, gender-specific strategies for promoting resilience, and health policies that serve to advance economic stability for women.

Dr. Mazure has served on the Advisory Committee for the NIH Office for Research on Women’s Health, provided testimony to the U.S. Congress on the health of women, served on the planning committee for the First White House Conference on Mental Health, and was a fellow for the U.S. Congress’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

She has 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.” Her edited books include “Does Stress Cause Psychiatric Illness?” and “Understanding Depression in Women: Applying Empirical Research to Practice and Policy.”

Her national honors include the Marion Spencer Fay Award from the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership, the American Psychological Association Distinguished Leadership Award from the Committee on Women in Psychology, the Elizabeth Blackwell Award from the National Organization for Women, and a U.S. Public Health Fellowship. Additional honors include Yale’s Stephen Fleck Clinician and Teacher Award and the Sidney J. Blatt Award for Excellence in Clinical Care, Teaching, and Research.