March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the groundbreaking contributions women have made across industries. In mental health research, women have challenged stigma, expanded access to care, and driven scientific progress that continues to shape how we understand and support mental health care and clinical research today. In recognition of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting several pioneers whose work helped shape the field of mental health research as we know it today. Their leadership, advocacy, and discoveries laid the foundation for many of the tools, protections, and insights we rely on in modern studies. We honor their impact not only in March, but throughout the year.
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix was a 19th-century reformer whose advocacy transformed the treatment of people living with mental illness. She campaigned tirelessly for humane care, urging state legislatures and Congress to fund and build psychiatric hospitals that offered dignity instead of neglect. Her work led to the creation or expansion of dozens of mental health institutions and helped set a national standard for compassionate care and helped transform how the United States approached people living with mental illness. While she predates modern clinical trials, her advocacy for humane and ethical treatment laid important groundwork for the patient protections and ethical standards that guide studies today.
Mamie Phipps Clark
Mamie Phipps Clark was a pioneering social psychologist whose work reshaped the nation’s understanding of race, identity, and child development. Alongside her husband, psychologist Kenneth Clark, she co-developed the landmark “doll test”, which revealed the psychological effects of segregation and how racism shaped black children’s self-perception. This research became key evidence in Brown v. Board of Education, helping the Supreme Court conclude that segregation harmed children’s development. Beyond her research, Clark advocated for expanding access to mental health services in underserved communities. Her work highlighted how social environment and discrimination influence psychological development and well-being, an important consideration in modern clinical study design and participant diversity.
Patricia Goldman-Rakic
Patricia Goldman-Rakic was a trailblazing neuroscientist whose work reshaped our understanding of the prefrontal cortex and working memory. Her research mapped the neural circuits that support attention, planning, and decision-making, laying the foundation for modern cognitive neuroscience. She also advanced the scientific understanding of schizophrenia by identifying how disruptions in these circuits contribute to symptoms and cognitive challenges. Goldman-Rakic’s discoveries helped establish the biological foundations that guide today’s psychiatric treatment development. Her influence continues to shape how scientists design central nervous system (CNS) studies, interpret cognitive outcomes, and develop medications aimed at improving brain function.
Helen Mayberg
Helen Mayberg is a neurologist whose work has transformed the scientific understanding of major depression. She mapped the brain circuits involved in mood regulation and identified the neural signatures associated with treatment-resistant depression. Building on these discoveries, she pioneered the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as a potential therapy for patients who do not respond to conventional treatments. Mayberg conducted clinical trials that translated fundamental neuroscience into real-world interventions, redefining how severe depression can be studied and treated. Her research continues to shape modern neuropsychiatry, influencing how scientists design central nervous system (CNS) studies, evaluate treatment response, and develop new therapeutic approaches. Mayberg’s career reflects the full pathway from scientific discovery to structured, ethically conducted clinical trials, the kind of work research sites like Excell Research support every day.
Honoring the Past, Advancing the Future
From advocating for humane treatment in the 19th century to pioneering groundbreaking neuroscience and clinical trials in modern psychiatry, women have continuously shaped the evolution of mental health care. Through their contributions, modern mental health research has become more patient-centered, scientifically rigorous, and compassionate. At Excell Research, a women-founded and women-led organization, we are proud to carry that legacy forward. By advancing innovative psychiatric and neurological clinical trials, we remain committed to improving lives through scientific integrity, inclusion, and compassionate research.