Pioneer in women’s health research is Spungen Bildner Professor

Carolyn M. Mazure, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and psychology and director of Women’s Health Research at Yale (WHRY), has been appointed the inaugural Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor of Women’s Health Research at Yale.

The professorship is endowed by a leadership gift from Elisa Spungen Bildner, of the Yale College Class of ’75, and her husband, Robert Bildner, of the Yale College Class of ’72, which complements gifts from other donors and an anonymous foundation. The professorship is named in honor of Elisa’s mother and in memory of Robert’s mother.

Mazure, also associate dean for faculty affairs, founded WHRY in 1998 as an interdisciplinary research center focused on women’s health and gender differences. As director, she has steered WHRY through steady growth into a national model, widely known for initiating and supporting investigations on women’s health and gender differences and emphasizing the translation of discoveries into practical health care advances.

The other key missions of WHRY include training new investigators in women’s health, facilitating collaborations among scientists and institutions, and sharing health findings with the broader public through outreach efforts.

Since its founding, WHRY has awarded more than $4.5 million in pilot grants to nearly 70 investigators, who have obtained more than $52 million in external grants to further their research.

Mazure’s contributions in women’s health began with her own research in the field of depression. Her current research focuses on the interplay of stress, depression, and addictive disorders with an emphasis on gender difference.

Mazure received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Pennsylvania State University in 1980 and joined the School of Medicine’s faculty in 1982.