Nearly 30 years ago, Michael Shannon, joined the Boston Children’s Hospital and went on to become the first African-American to be named a full professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Shannon also served as chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine, chief of the Clinical Pharmacology Program, director of the Center for Biopreparedness and associate chief of the Pediatric Environmental Health Center during his tenure at Children’s.
The well-known pediatric toxicologist is remembered at the hospital as a tireless advocate for children’s health who stood as a personable mentor to all those around him. Through all these roles and more, Shannon positively affected many at Children’s.
Shannon died in March 2009, but his legacy is being honored through the renaming of the Excellence in Mentoring Award, given by the Consortium of Harvard Affiliated Offices for Faculty and Development and Diversity (CHADD), which will now be called the Michael Shannon, MD, MPH Excellence in Mentoring Award.
This year, the award was presented to Elliot Melendez, HMS instructor in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital. Melendez was recognized at a special Oct. 11 awards ceremony at HMS, attended by Shannon’s widow, Elaine.
Because of his dual training in both pediatric critical care and emergency medicine, Melendez serves on two divisions within Children’s, the Medicine Critical Care Program (MMCP) and the Division of Emergency Medicine.
Melendez also serves as the assistant director of quality and safety for MCCP, and is active in clinical research and quality improvement in children presenting with severe sepsis and shock. He was recently honored for his role in teaching and mentoring under represented and inner-city high school and college students, as well as HMS fellows and residents.
Now in its sixth year, the newly renamed award celebrates the diversity of underrepresented minority Harvard Medical students and faculty.
The mentorship program originated as an effort to bring together under represented minority faculty and students from the HMS community to provide support for trainees, as well as to identify positive role models for careers in academic medicine.
Each year, the award highlights the efforts of one individual who has made significant contributions to mentoring under represented HMS students, while celebrating the diversity of the HMS medical community.
