Distinguished Mentor Award and Lecture

The Daryl and Nancy Granner Distinguished Mentor Award honors an outstanding mentor of the Carver College of Medicine.  Awardees are distinguished faculty who have served a significant portion of their career at Iowa and whose mentees have gone on to distinguished careers of their own.  Awardees are also known for their collegiality, dedication to their profession, and the advancement of the Carver College of Medicine and the University of Iowa.  The annual award celebration includes a Distinguished Mentor’s Lecture given by an eminent scholar.

2023 Daryl and Nancy Granner Distinguished Mentor Award Celebration

The 2023 Distinguished Mentor Award Celebration will be held on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 3:00pm in the Prem Sahai Auditorium (1110A MERF). 

Distinguished Mentor Awardee: Joseph Zabner, MD

Dr. Zabner is Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine.  He has an outstanding record of selflessly mentoring students, post-doctoral trainees, and faculty.  He is an exceptional mentor whose mentees have gone on to distinguished careers of their own.  He is also nationally and internationally recognized for his pioneering research in cystic fibrosis and gene therapy.

Distinguished Mentor Lecturer: William G. Kaelin Jr, MD

Dr. Kaelin is Professor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.  He received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries in how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.  He identified molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen. His discoveries have important implications for treating multiple diseases.

Past Distinguished Mentor Awardees and Lecturers:

	Awardee	Lecturer
2022	Peggy C. Nopoulos, MD	Abraham Verghese, MD
2021	Donald D. Heistad, MD	David J. Skorton, MD
2019	Edward F. Bell, MD	Richard S. Finkel, MD
2018	Mary E. Wilson, MD	Peter Hotez, MD, PhD
2017	Robert G. Robinson, MD	Eve E. Marder, PhD
2016	John E. Donelson, PhD	Thomas R. Cech, PhD
2015	M. Sue O'Dorisio, MD, PhD	Robert A. Weinberg, PhD
2014	Peter Densen, MD	Bonnie L. Bassler, PhD
2013	Allyn L. Mark, MD	Bruce M. Spiegelman, PhD
2012	Michael A. Apicella, MD	David M. Oshinsky, PhD
2011	David P. Wacker, PhD	Huda Y. Zoghbi, MD
2010	Bruce J. Gantz, MD	David J. Julius, PhD
2009	Ignacio Ponseti, MD Stuart L. Weinstein, MD	David M. Kingsley, PhD
2008	Arthur A. Spector, MD	Jeffrey M. Friedman, MD, PhD
2007	Gary W. Hunninghake, MD	Anthony S. Fauci, MD
2006	François M. Abboud, MD	Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD
2005	Kevin P. Campbell, PhD	Eric R. Kandel, MD
2004	Jeffrey C. Murray, MD	Mary-Claire King, PhD
2003	Michael J. Welsh, MD	Günter Blobel, MD, PhD
2002	James A. Clifton, MD	Stephen O'Rahilly, MD

Nominations for the Distinguished Mentor Award:

Candidates for the Distinguished Mentor Award should be outstanding mentors whose mentees have gone on to distinguished careers of their own.  Candidates should have spent a significant portion of their career at Iowa.  Candidates may include: a) Mentors who have finished their active careers or achieved emeritus status, or b) Senior active faculty who have already made a substantial impact in the training of individuals who have gone on to success as independent faculty members.  Candidates should be known for their collegiality, dedication to their profession, and the betterment of the Carver College of Medicine and the University of Iowa.

UI Carver College of Medicine faculty, staff and alumni may submit nominations.  Complete nominations should include: a letter outlining the rationale for the nomination, the nominee's curriculum vitae, a list of former trainees, and up to ten supporting letters from colleagues and former trainees.

Nominations remain active for three years.  Nominators may update previous nominations that are still active.  Please submit nominations online.  Questions may be directed to Sonya Housholder. Due to the pandemic and consequent rescheduling of the 2020 celebration, we will not be selecting an awardee for 2021 year.  Individuals are welcome to nominate candidates for the 2022 award instead. 

The deadline for the 2022 Distinguished Mentor Award nominations: August 13, 2021.

The Distinguished Mentor Award and Distinguished Mentor's Lecture are made possible through a generous gift from Daryl Granner, 58BA, 62MS, 62MD, and Nancy Granner, 58BA.  Dr. Granner is a Distinguished Almunus, Professor Emeritus, and Founding Director, Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center, UI Carver College of Medicine.