Denis McCarthy, professor and Associate Chair for Research in Mizzou’s Department of Psychological Sciences, has received the Marlatt Mentorship Award from the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA). The peer-nominated award is among RSA’s highest honors, celebrating McCarthy’s lasting impact as a mentor to early-career alcohol researchers. 

Signed by many of his former mentees, the nomination highlights McCarthy’s generosity, individualized approach, and ability to build confidence in those he advises.

McCarthy directs the Missouri Center for Addiction Research & Engagement’s multidisciplinary training program supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 Institutional Research Training Grant. In this role, he has helped prepare alcohol researchers for impactful careers for over 20 years, mentoring more than 75 pre- and postdoctoral fellows.  

For the past 10 years, McCarthy has also served as director of the MU Alcohol Research Training Summer School. This NIH R25-funded program brings undergraduate students to the University of Missouri campus to study alcohol research, providing critical support to the growth of the field. 

McCarthy’s mentees have gone on to successful careers in alcohol research, earning competitive training awards, securing NIH R01 and other major research grants, and becoming leaders in the field. 

McCarthy accepted the Marlatt Mentorship Award during the RSA meeting on June 24, 2026. The award is named for G. Alan Marlatt, a trailblazer in the field of alcohol research who was known for his extraordinary generosity and dedication as a mentor. 

The ceremony also highlighted McCarthy’s legacy of mentorship as both a former trainee and a current student received RSA Awards. Former trainee Dr. Sarah Pederson, now an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, earned the Dora Goldstein Distinguished in the Sciences Award for her work on fostering inclusivity in alcohol research, while current Mizzou trainee Mairead Will received the Enoch Gordis Research Recognition Award.