Dr. Loreen Herwaldt has received the University of Iowa Graduate College’s Outstanding Faculty Postdoctoral Mentor Award. This inaugural award, selected by the UI Postdoc Association, recognizes a UI faculty member serving as an effective mentor and advocate, contributing to personal and professional growth by providing intellectual leadership and by fostering creative and independent thinking. “It is clear,” the selection committee told Dr. Herwaldt, “that you mentor the entire individual, not just the scientist.”
In her nomination letter, Dr. Hsiu-Yin Chiang cites the many ways Dr. Herwaldt has provided wisdom and guidance to her on professional and personal levels. Dr. Chiang says, “She encourages me to build my own projects and work independently, but she is always available when I need her guidance.” Dr. Herwaldt pushes her to deepen her understanding of concepts beyond those that immediately aid their current shared project. Dr. Chiang says simply in the end, “I would not be where I am today if she were not my mentor.”
Recent UI graduate and new resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. Sam Bailin, agrees. Dr. Herwaldt, he says, “is a role model not only because she is a great clinical researcher, but also because she teaches how to be a great clinical researcher.” He also cites the ways in which Dr. Herwaldt has continued to advocate for him since leaving the University of Iowa, putting him in touch immediately with her contacts and potential mentors for him at Vanderbilt.
We love to hear about the ways in which our faculty positively influence their students’ lives. Congratulations to Dr. Herwaldt on this wonderful award and for inspiring such a response from her postdocs.