Outstanding Mentor Award

The Outstanding Mentor Award (OMA) honors the considerable dedication of the Scripps Research faculty member who consistently and enthusiastically serve as effective mentor to graduate students and postdocs.  

Previous recipients of the Outstanding Mentor Award:

2022 - Stefano Forli, Associate Professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology
2019 - Luke Wiseman, Professor of Molecular Medicine
2018 - Wendy Havran, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
2017 - Keary Engle, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
2016 - Ashok Deniz, Associate Professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology

The Outstanding Mentor Award laureate is announced at a dedicated ceremony and is honored with the OMA trophy and $500 in funding to support team building or training efforts in their lab. 

Nomination criteria: Scripps Research alumni, postdocs, and graduate students may nominate any Scripps Research faculty member who has guided and contributed to their personal or professional development through a mutually trusting and respectful relationship. We seek nominations of faculty who model effective mentorship and leadership by:

• Developing mentees’ research and professional skills.
• Respecting and supporting scholars’ goals and well-being; and
• Offering valuable career planning and job search assistance.

Updated re-submissions of prior applications are allowed and encouraged; however, prior award recipients are not eligible. 

Nomination process: Nominations should include the mentor's current CV and letters of support from past or present mentees. 

Selection process: Nominations are reviewed by a panel of SOF Executive Committee members, the previous award winner(s), and volunteer trainees and administrators.