Endowing a Legacy of Discovery at UNC’s Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies

For A Leslie Morrow, PhD, renowned neuroscientist and longtime faculty member at UNC School of Medicine, the opportunity to give back to the institution that shaped her career is both personal and profound. Together with husband Michael Lish, MD – also a former School of Medicine faculty member and physician – Morrow and Lish are endowing a distinguished professorship to support the next generation of researchers at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

Since its start in 1994, the Bowles Center has achieved significant success, evolving from a focus on alcohol use disorders (AUD) to broader addiction research. As a researcher, faculty member and associate director, Morrow has been instrumental in building its reputation.

Her lab’s groundbreaking research uncovered the therapeutic potential of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone in treating AUD. This work laid the foundation for recent clinical trials using pregnenolone, a related compound, which has shown remarkable success in reducing alcohol cravings and stress responses in humans. Her team also discovered the steroid’s potent anti-inflammatory effects in the brain – findings that are reshaping how scientists understand and treat addiction.

“It’s been an inspiring and exciting journey to see how she started on this real basic science, to now, where we have treatments that are derived from the knowledge that she was part of creating,” said Thomas Kash, PhD, John R. Andrews Distinguished Professor and director of the Center.

The newly established A Leslie Morrow Distinguished Professorship will help ensure that the Center can retain top talent and recruit future leaders to advance new research and fuel breakthrough treatments. These positions not only recognize excellence but also help attract the best minds in a competitive academic landscape. Morrow’s contribution is especially meaningful because it comes from someone within the faculty, making it deeply inspiring.

“I am so excited about this professorship because I had the most rewarding and successful career at UNC that I could have ever dreamed of,” Morrow said. “Being a professor and having the opportunity to build a research program on questions that you care about, it’s just a really special thing.”

Morrow joined UNC in 1990 as the first tenure-track faculty member affiliated with the Bowles Center. Over the next three decades, she helped transform the Center into one of the world’s leading hubs for alcohol and addiction research. As associate director, Morrow worked closely with longtime director Fulton Crews, PhD, and Kash to drive the Center’s growth by securing major NIH funding and mentoring countless trainees. Even in retirement, Morrow remains actively engaged as a Distinguished Emeritus Professor, continuing to publish research and mentor colleagues.

The A Leslie Morrow Distinguished Professorship is designated for a faculty member with a primary appointment in psychiatry and affiliation with the Bowles Center—mirroring Morrow’s own path. Appointed the John Andrews Distinguished Professor in 2010, Morrow came to deeply understand how a professorship can empower discovery and elevate impact.

Distinguished professorships provide flexible resources that faculty can use at their discretion to support their labs, trainees, or new lines of research. These funds allowed Morrow to better support her trainees and keep her lab remain active until her final day at UNC.

“To get the best and brightest, people have to feel engaged and recognized for the great work they’re doing – and distinguished professorships allow us to do that,” said Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, Executive Dean of UNC School of Medicine and former chair of the Department of Psychiatry. “It’s one thing to have external donors, and we’re grateful for them all, but for faculty who want to give back in this way, it is very inspiring.”

The gift comes at a critical time for the Center and for research into alcohol use and addiction. Despite AUD being one of the most pressing public health challenges in the U.S., it remains an underfunded area of research. Yet, thanks to research like Morrow’s, the field has begun to deliver transformative treatments.

“This is one of the most exciting times in alcohol research,” Morrow said. “We’re finally seeing compounds that work. We’re making a difference. And I’m proud to help ensure that UNC continues to lead the way.”