2010 Award Press Release
The Stanford University Post-Doctoral association (SUPD) is proud to
announce the two winners of the third annual SUPD Postdoctoral Mentoring
Award: Prof. Krishna Shenoy in the Electrical Engineering Department, and
Prof. Anne Brunet in the Genetics Department. The award is the first to
recognize excellence in postdoctoral mentoring across Stanford University,
and carries a cash prize of $2500 for each winner. Seventy nominations were
received in two rounds, and in addition to the two winners, Prof. James Spudich
in Biochemistry and Prof. Andrew Hoffman from the Department of Medicine
and the Palo Alto Veteran Affairs were recognized with honorable mentions.
| 2010 Winners |
 |
 |
Anne Brunet
Genetics |
Krishna Shenoy
Electrical Engineering |
| Honorable Mentions |
James Spudich
Biochemistry |
Andrew Hoffman
Palo Alto VA |
Strong mentoring has been recognized as the most significant factor
affecting both job satisfaction and research success according to a
survey conducted by the scientific research society Sigma Xi. In
addition, both the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the National Science Foundation have established mentoring awards to
recognize the value of this activity. Stanford is alone amongst our peer
institutions at recognizing on a university-wide level the value of
postdoctoral mentoring, which is critical due to the great power that
individual faculty exercise over the lives and careers of their
postdoctoral mentees.
Being a good mentor is a challenging task. It involves interchangeably
taking on the roles of teacher, motivator, sponsor and advocate. At its
best, a mentoring relationship catalyses the transition of a post-doc
from trainee to colleague and in the process can have a profoundly
positive impact on both the mentor and mentee. The selection committee
was impressed by the outstanding examples of mentoring and strong
commitment to the postdoctoral researchers demonstrated by the nominated
Stanford faculty. In the three years that the award has been given, two
faculty members received the award in the School of Medicine, School of
Engineering, and School of Humanities and Sciences, and thus this award
really represents outstanding commitment to postdoctoral mentoring across
the entire campus.
The Stanford University Post-Doctoral association hopes that this award
and recognition will inspire and encourage more faculty members both at
Stanford and in other universities to engage in effective mentoring and
leadership for their students and researchers at all levels of
education. For those interested in how to develop and evaluate a
postdoctoral mentoring plan, a useful resource is provided in the
mentoring plan of the National Postdoc Association.
2009 Award Press Release
The Stanford University Postdoctoral Association is proud to announce
the two winners of the second annual Stanford Postdoctoral Mentoring
Award: Prof. Kang Shen in the Biology Department, and Dr. Michaela
Kiernan from the Stanford Prevention Center in the Department of
Medicine. The Stanford Postdoctoral Mentoring Award is the first
university-wide post-baccalaureate mentoring award at Stanford
University, and carries a cash prize of $2500 for each winner. Fifty-
one nominations were received for thirty-six individuals, and in
addition to the two winners, Prof. Susan McConnell (Biology) and Prof.
Paul Segall (Geophysics) are recognized with honorable mentions.
Strong mentoring has been recognized as the most significant factor
affecting both job satisfaction and research according to a survey
conducted by the scientific research society Sigma Xi. In
addition, both the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the National Science Foundation have established mentoring awards
to recognize the value of this activity.
Kang Shen's nominators cited
that "it takes a special mentor to think so carefully and thoughtfully
about his students' professional future" and that he "instinctively
knows how to adjust to each student and postdoc and how to best guide
them."
Michaela Kiernan's nominators mentioned that she "fosters an
environment of hard work and intellectual rigor" and "actively strives
to maintain a balance of work and play(fulness)." They also noted
that she "capitalizes on teachable moments" and "regularly asks for
feedback about herself as a leader and mentor."
The selection
committee was impressed by the outstanding examples of mentoring and
strong commitment to the postdoctoral researchers demonstrated by all
of the nominated Stanford faculty. The Stanford University
Postdoctoral Association hopes that this award and recognition of
outstanding postdoctoral mentors will inspire and encourage more
faculty members to engage in effective mentoring for their students
and researchers at all levels of education.
The awards will be presented at the annual School of Medicine Awards
Ceremony held on Wednesday, June 10th, at 4pm, in the Dean's
Courtyard. The SUPD gratefully acknowledges the financial support of
the Dean of the School of Medicine and the Vice Provost for Graduate
Education for this award.
| 2009 Winners |
 |
 |
| Kang Shen |
Michaela Kiernan |
| Honorable Mentions |
| Susan McConnell, Biology |
Paul Segall, Geophysics |
2008 Award Press Release
The Stanford University Postdoctoral Association is proud to announce the two winners of the inaugural Stanford Postdoctoral Mentoring Award: Prof. Andrea Goldsmith in Electrical Engineering, and Prof. James Gross in Psychology. The award is the first to recognize excellence in postdoctoral mentoring across Stanford University, and carries a cash prize of $2500 for each winner. Forty-seven nominations were received and in addition to the two winners, thirteen faculty members were recognized with honorable mentions.
Strong mentoring has been recognized as the most significant factor affecting both job satisfaction and research success according to a survey conducted by the scientific research society Sigma Xi. Being a good mentor is a challenging task. It involves interchangeably taking on the roles of teacher, motivator, sponsor and advocate. At its best, a mentoring relationship catalyses the transition of a post-doc from trainee to colleague and in the process can have a profoundly positive impact on both the mentor and mentee. The selection committee was impressed by the outstanding examples of mentoring and strong commitment to the postdoctoral researchers demonstrated by the nominated Stanford faculty.
The Stanford University Postdoctoral Association hopes that this award and recognition will inspire and encourage more faculty members to engage in effective mentoring and leadership for their students and researchers at all levels of education.
The awards were presented at the annual Stanford University Postdoctoral Association town hall meeting held on June 25th 2008.
Notable nomination excerpts included:
"[my mentor] taught me to remain a positive when there are uncertainties and difficulties ahead; to encourage others about their future and share my expertise with them"
"I learned the skills of communication, such as effectively communicating my research thoughts and ideas to other people and respectively disagree without being blunt and annoy other people.....through collaborations I have also learnt to foster respect and appreciate people's differences"
"[my mentor] fosters an environment of reciprocal mentorship that encourages each and every member to seek the guidance they need and share the knowledge they have"
"[my mentor] taught me how to execute the delicate balance of providing feedback in a way that would facilitate improved performance without rupturing the mentor/mentee relationship"
| Winners |
 |
 |
| Andrea Goldsmith |
James Gross |
| Honorable Mentions |
| Ben Barres, Neurobiology |
John Huguenard, Nuerology |
| Kiki Chang, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences |
Thomas Krummel, Surgery |
| Gretchen Daily, Biology/Woods Institute |
W. James Nelson, Biology |
| Ronald Dalman, Surgery |
Jennifer Raymond, Neurobiology |
| Shanhui Fan, Electrical Engineering |
Daria Mochly-Rosen, Chemical and Systems Biology |
| Christopher Field, Biology |
Kang Shen, Biology |
| Fumiko Hoeft, CIBR |
