In memoriam:
Jack H. Mendelson, MD

Jack H. Mendelson, MD, (right) director of McLean Hospital’s Clinical Research Program on Substance Abuse, co-director of its Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center (ADARC) and a professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, died Aug. 15 after a brief illness. He was 77.

Widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of substance abuse research, Mendelson earned his bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1951 and his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1955. He completed his psychiatry residency training at the MGH. In 1966, he became the first chief of the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Alcoholism, a division of the National Institutes of Health. He was named chief of Psychiatry at Boston City Hospital in 1970 and three years later joined McLean, where he co-founded the ADARC with his wife, Nancy K. Mello, PhD.

Mendelson authored more than 480 original peer-reviewed articles in numerous biomedical journals and served on 11 editorial boards. He earned a number of prestigious awards during his career and was named a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2003. 

Donations in Mendelson’s memory may be sent to the Jack H. Mendelson Memorial Fund, McLean Hospital, Development Office, 115 Mill St., Belmont, Mass., 02478.