In 2015, Jay and Marilyn Sarles established the Sarles Young Investigator Award for Research on Women and Addiction.
The goals of the annual fellowship are right there in the name: to advance the careers of researchers just starting out in the field, and to promote translational and clinical investigations into the woefully under-studied impacts of substance use on women.
McLean’s Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction and Division of Women’s Mental Health jointly sponsor this award. Division Chiefs Roger D. Weiss, MD, and Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, respectively, select and co-mentor the Sarles Award recipients.
“As an emergency room physician and a mother, I found the stress and pace of my job—combined with raising three children—incredibly difficult to manage,” said Marilyn. “I began to use alcohol to cope with my stress, and it eventually became a real problem for me.”
In August 2006, she became one of the first patients at McLean’s Fernside residence for adults with substance use disorders. Marilyn says that her time at Fernside was just what she needed. The program was brand new, so the staff-to-patient ratio was extraordinary, and the attention and comfort provided during treatment enabled her to rest and relax while successfully tackling her addiction.
“McLean is the best of the best, and our family will forever be grateful for the care Marilyn received there,” added Jay. That experience sparked in them a strong interest in supporting addiction research.
“We met with Shelly [Dr. Shelly Greenfield, chief of McLean’s Division of Women’s Mental Health] to learn about their philanthropic needs,” said Marilyn.
“She told me how the effects of substance use differ between men and women, and the importance of supporting early-career investigators. It was then that Jay and I decided to create this fellowship—to both give young researchers a boost and to advance knowledge of addiction among women.”
A Prized Package
One former fellow whose life and career were changed by the Sarles’ fellowship is R. Kathryn (Kate) McHugh, PhD.
A two-time Sarles Young Investigator (2018-2019, 2019-2020), Dr. McHugh is now McLean’s chief of psychology. She also is the director of the Stress, Anxiety, and Substance Use Laboratory and director of Behavioral Therapy Development, Training, and Research in the Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction.
Back-to-back fellowships are rare, but not unknown; for McHugh, it had significant advantages. “In human subject research, timeframes can be lengthy,” she said.
National Council Members Jay and Marilyn Sarles, MD
“Some of the most interesting questions are those we stumble upon unexpectedly, which send you in a new direction. This is the best part of discovery because the path is not linear. The extra year gave me the ability to do follow-up work based on the first year’s findings.”
McHugh’s research focused on benzodiazepines, anti-anxiety agents that are often useful—but can lead to very different outcomes for different people. Women are more likely to be prescribed these medications, and her research project looked at risk factors for susceptibility to benzodiazepine addiction.
As a young investigator, McHugh was grateful not only for the resources that the fellowship provided but also the mentoring she received from internationally recognized experts like Greenfield and Weiss.
“A research fellowship that centers on women is tremendously unique,” she said, “and Shelly and Roger helped me in every way possible. They helped me build confidence in my ideas and gave me the skills I needed to do high-level research. They also have that rare ability to both provide technical guidance and allow mentees room to grow.”
Paying It Forward
McHugh noted that she now has three early-career faculty working in her lab—all former Sarles fellows—and that mentoring them is a big part of her job.
“When you build a research team you want the best people around you,” she said. “The more you can support young investigators, the more they can enrich the work. Most institutions don’t have support like this, and promising careers can get derailed. That doesn’t happen at McLean, and the Sarles Award is a big reason why.
“To get competitive federal grants, you need pilot data that supports your hypothesis, and you also have to demonstrate the ability to implement and run a study,” McHugh added. “Data and experience aren’t easy to come by. For young investigators, philanthropic support is essential.”
The early-career faculty in McHugh’s lab are gaining that experience by helping to advance the lab’s current research projects, which include understanding the link between pain and opioid addiction, learning how to strengthen recovery from substance use, and studying the impacts of substance use on reproductive health.
“These are projects with broad scope and application, but we look at sex differences in all our work and note the unique experiences of women and how they are affected by substance use and other mental health issues.
“Any career is made up of turning points,” McHugh continued. “Often you need just one win, one nudge to get to the next phase. Marilyn and Jay did that for me. They are two of the kindest, most supportive people you will meet. I’ve watched them sit with staff who are just starting out and put them at ease by showing them how important their work is.”
