Earlier this year, Mara was one of the recipients of the 2024 USC Mentoring Awards. This award “honor[s] faculty who contribute to an engaging, supportive, inclusive academic environment through their mentorship of students and faculty.”
While many know Mara as a world-renowned scientist, those who work with her consistently note her dedication to mentoring. Former and current lab members can attest to how Mara’s mentorship has helped them both in their research and careers, and how she shows respect, trust and care for her team.
Mara’s nomination for this award was supported by former lab members, Dr. Briana Kennedy and Dr. Michiko Sakaki. They both wrote about how Mara helped foster their science careers, and both singled out Mara’s continued mentorship long after they left the lab and embarked upon their own academic careers. For example, Dr. Kennedy, who is a former postdoctoral scholar in Mara’s lab and currently a senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia, wrote about how Mara inspires a passion for scientific exploration and provides particularly insightful feedback about “research, navigating academia, work-life balance, and career strategy.” Dr. Sakaki, a former research assistant professor and current tenure-track professor at University of Tübingen, described how Mara continues to stay in touch regularly with former mentees, and how she is “grateful for [Mara’s] support and training…during the time [she] worked with her at USC as well as even after [she] left USC.”
Congratulations to Mara on this well-deserved award!