Twenty-two Harvard Medical School faculty members were recognized this year at the 25th annual Excellence in Mentoring Awards ceremony for their commitment to nurturing consequential mentoring relationships and for the impact they have had on professional and career development in basic and clinical medicine, research, teaching and administration.
HMS Dean George Q. Daley praised this year’s recipients at the September 14 event, acknowledging the vital importance mentorship had in his own career.
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“The best accolade a mentor can receive is the recognition of the role he or she has played in the academic and career development of their trainees,” Daley said. “Mentoring benefits, not only the mentee, but the mentor and the institution as a whole by developing individuals who will be better prepared to assume a greater responsibility at Harvard Medical School and in the greater community.”
HMS Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership Joan Reede hosted the virtual ceremony, inviting awardees to reflect on the bidirectional rewards of mentoring.
Alexi Wright, HMS assistant professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award recipient, shared a sentiment echoed by many of her fellow honorees saying, “This is the most meaningful award I've received in my lifetime.”
Quoting one of her mentees, Wright said that mentorship is “the ultimate generous act, which puts the mentees interests over one's own, knowing possibilities that the mentees cannot yet see. I thank my mentees who make mentorships such a rewarding, inspiring and effortless endeavor—and a great deal of fun. This [award] means more to me than you will ever know.”
In closing remarks, Reede commended Daley for his commitment to advancing mentorship and supporting faculty development, initiatives that are articulated in the School’s Better Together plan, which aims to create opportunity and inclusiveness at all levels of the HMS ecosystem.
“The stories we've heard today testify to the importance of good mentoring, to the extraordinary commitment and dedication of our faculty and to the difference that these faculty members have made in others' lives. I'm proud to be a part of an institution that honors those who mentor. This is fundamental to the success of Harvard Medical School,” Reede said.
This year, 398 nominations were submitted for 159 individual nominees. An advisory committee with representatives from across the Harvard community reviewed the nominations and recommended this year's recipients.
The recipients of the 2020 Excellence in Mentoring Awards are:
William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award
The William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award honors and acknowledges the lifetime commitment Silen made to mentoring students, residents and faculty.
C. Ronald Kahn, the Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine, HMS and Joslin Diabetes Center
Alan Leichtner, HMS professor of pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital
Gordon Moore, HMS professor of population medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Eric P. Winer, HMS professor of medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award
The A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award honors Barger, who devoted his career to bringing out the best in those who studied, trained and worked at HMS.
Richard Bachur, the Michael W. Shannon, MD, Professor of Pediatrics in the Field of Emergency Medicine, HMS and Boston Children’s Hospital
Areej El-Jawahri, HMS assistant professor of medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Mitchel Harris, the Edith M. Ashley Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, HMS and Massachusetts General Hospital
Alden Landry, HMS assistant professor of emergency medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Bernard Lee, HMS professor of surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Ateev Mehrotra, associate professor of health care policy, Blavatnik Institute at HMS
Katherine Miller, HMS assistant professor of medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance
Alexi Wright, HMS assistant professor of medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Young Mentor Award
The Young Mentor Award was established in 2005 to recognize faculty who are still in the early stages of their careers yet devote considerable time to mentor others.
Rachid El Fatimy, HMS instructor in neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Maha Farhat, assistant professor of biomedical informatics, Blavatnik Institute at HMS
Molly Franke, associate professor of global health and social medicine, Blavatnik Institute at HMS
Eric Goralnick, HMS associate professor of emergency medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Adaira Landry, HMS assistant professor of emergency medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Zachary Peacock, assistant professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Alex Shalek, member of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology faculty, HMS-MIT
HMS Scholars in Medicine Excellence in Student Mentoring Award
The HMS Scholars in Medicine Excellence in Student Mentoring Award was established in 2017 to recognize faculty who have carefully and skillfully guided our medical students, not only in their scholarly projects but also as they train in their professions. Each year, graduating HMS students are invited to nominate their mentors. Faculty from the Scholars in Medicine Program select the finalists.
Carole Mitnick, associate professor of global health and social medicine, Blavatnik Institute at HMS
Soumya Raychaudhuri, professor of medicine and of biomedical informatics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and HMS
David Shaye, HMS assistant professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
