By Keya Patro
The Society for Health Psychology honored Rebecca C. Thurston, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Pittsburgh Foundation Professor of Women’s Health and Dementia, and associate dean for women’s health research, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, with the 2026 Excellence in Health Psychology Research Award on June 10.
The award recognizes psychologists who have made significant contributions to academic literature, highlighting the value of psychological science within health and health care.
Thurston, also the director of the Center for Women’s Biobehavioral Health Research at the University of Pittsburgh, is internationally recognized for her studies on menopause transition and serves as the principal investigator for several National Institutes of Health-funded studies examining midlife reproductive, cardiovascular and neurocognitive health. Her specialization in clinical psychology is treating the behavioral health concerns of midlife women, and she co-leads the American Psychological Association presidential task force focused on the research and clinical priorities in mental health during menopause.
Thurston has authored more than 250 publications, and her work is frequently featured in major media outlets. She is past president of The Menopause Society and a fellow of the Society of Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, and the American Heart Association. Her other honors include winning the Henry Burger Award from the International Menopause Society, widely considered the highest international honor in menopause research, the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, and being chosen for Wellcome Leap’s Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk Through Endocrinology program to advance the science of menopause and Alzheimer’s disease.