Congratulations to Lynette Daws, PhD and Patrick Sung, PhD, who were named 2021 UT Health San Antonio Outstanding Postdoctoral Research Mentors during the Ninth Annual San Antonio Postdoctoral Research Forum (SAPRF) held virtually Dec. 6 - 7. The annual award recognizes exceptional faculty members who mentor postdoctoral research fellows at UT Health San Antonio. The awardees will receive institutional recognition and a $1,000 cash award.

Dr. Daws, professor of cellular and integrative physiology and the Frost Bank Distinguished Professor in Biomedical Research, received her PhD in Neuropsychopharmacology from The Flinders University of South Australia in 1994.  Following postdoctoral fellowships at UT Health San Antonio and the University of Adelaide, she joined the faculty at UT Health San Antonio in 1998 and became a full professor in 2011. As Nikki Clauss, PhD, the postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Daws’ lab who nominated her, shared, “Dr. Daws understands that the act of balancing our professional and personal identities looks different for everyone. All her mentees receive the structure and freedom that is essential to develop their scientific ideas.”

Dr. Sung, professor and chair ad-interim in the Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology, received his PhD in biochemistry from Oxford University in 1985 and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester in New York.  Following faculty positions at The University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston and UT Health San Antonio starting in 1993, he moved to Yale University in 2003, where he served as chair of molecular biophysics and biochemistry for six years before returning to UT Health San Antonio in 2018 as the holder of the Robert Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry. Dr. Sung was nominated by one of the postdoctoral research fellows in his lab, Arijit Dutta, PhD. Dr. Dutta wrote, “I greatly admire Dr. Sung’s philosophy of mentoring. He has a tailored approach towards every trainee in the lab.”

Jennifer Potter, PhD, MPH, vice president for research (interim) and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said: “Both Drs. Daws and Sung are very deserving of this recognition. Their exceptional mentoring over several decades has greatly impacted current and past postdoctoral research fellows. The guidance, understanding, support and encouragement they’ve provided their trainees is what good mentoring is all about. It is my hope that the seeds of their great mentorship will continue to thrive and be emulated for future generations of research professionals to come.”

The 2021 Outstanding Postdoctoral Research Mentors of the Year were selected by a distinguished panel of faculty from nominations submitted by current and immediate past postdoctoral mentees.