2021 Outstanding Mentor Awards
, by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.
Jonas Almeida, Megan Clarke, Rena Jones, and Minkyo Song
In 2021, four DCEG investigators were recognized as outstanding mentors, nominated by and voted upon by the DCEG fellow community. Below are the winners and select quotes from the nominating materials submitted by their trainees.
Jonas S. Almeida, Ph.D., Chief Data Scientist, Trans-Divisional Research Program
“Jonas gives me and all his trainees space to follow our own creativity, and he unfailingly credits us when he talks about our ideas. His zeal for pursuing novel ideas in biomedical data science was, and continues to be, extremely infectious. Not only is Jonas an incredible mentor, but he is also among the most amazing people I’ve ever known.”
Megan Clarke, Ph.D., M.H.S., Earl Stadtman investigator, Clinical Genetics Branch
“Megan always challenges me to push my boundaries and to take on advanced analyses and projects. She has never once doubted my abilities and has instilled in me the confidence that the work I did was valuable and important for everyone to hear, despite my being a very early career trainee. Megan always has my best interests at heart.”
Rena Jones, Ph.D., M.S., investigator, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch
“Rena is an incredibly kind, thoughtful, and hardworking mentor. She has been able to create a work environment with an impressive balance of hard work, flexibility, and support while being a listening ear to fellows’ concerns and being a voice for them to the Division leadership. We are inspired by Rena’s caring guidance.”
Minkyo Song, M.D., Ph.D., research fellow, Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch
“Minkyo has adeptly leveraged tools in the virtual workplace to foster a rich mentoring relationship built on mutual respect, support, and trust. She proactively identifies opportunities that have enhanced my career development and consistently shows me that my skills and time are valued through candid feedback, praise, and appreciation.”