Lisa Rucks, PhD, will be the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Graduate Students Award during the UNMC Faculty Senate annual meeting on April 15. The award recognizes faculty who exemplify excellence in the mentoring of graduate students at UNMC.
- Name: Elizabeth (Lisa) Rucks, PhD
- Title at UNMC: Professor, UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
- Joined UNMC: 2017
- Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama
What are the greatest rewards of mentoring graduate students?
Their fresh perspectives and thoughts about a topic you have been thinking about for decades.
Describe a moment in your career when you realized you had picked the right profession.
When I was a graduate student, I changed my home answering machine message to include the lab number, which made me much easier to reach. Also, that was a better solution for me than spending less time in lab.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a mentor?
As scientists, we are currently facing significant challenges due to changing federal policies. One of the biggest challenges as a mentor is to help students build resilience and maintain hope in this environment. Despite these difficulties, I remain optimistic about their ability to adapt, persevere, and shape a meaningful future in science.
How do you know when you’ve been successful as a mentor?
When I get that random text from a former trainee that says some version of, “You’d be proud of me because …” Those are the best.