Nelson honored with Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award

Sarah Nelson, PhD, was selected by the UCSF Graduate Students Association and Graduate Division Alumni Association as the winner of the 2012 Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award.

Nelson was presented with the award during the Graduate Division commencement on May 18, 2012. She is a co-chair and faculty member of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, a joint department of the UCSF Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine,

The goal of the award is to “recognize and show appreciation for UCSF faculty members … who consistently provide exceptional support, both professional and personally.”

Initial nominations for the award are made by graduate students in the basic sciences, nursing, social and behavioral sciences, or physical therapy. Additional support for those nominated faculty members can then be provided by UCSF students and postdoctoral fellows from other programs.

Tributes from Nelson’s nominators noted:

• She “coached me to think broadly about a clinical problem, and has taught me how to establish connections with other complementary research groups to create truly translational research.”
• "Her strong work ethic, successful research career, practicality, and logic, editorial skills, kindness, and diplomacy are great examples of what kind of a role model she is to us.”
• She “reaches across the traditional boundaries to make sure her work is clinically relevant.”
• She has always “taken the time to individually meet with [students] to explore the significance of each project, discuss how these projects build upon each other to create meaningful translational research, and provide a safe space to express new ideas and directions.”

In addition to her outstanding mentoring and teaching, Nelson is director of the Surbeck Laboratory for Advanced Imaging at UCSF.