After careful deliberation, the selection committee has awarded The 2022 Mackenzie/Imle Mentoring Prize to Gary Fiskum, Ph.D., The M. Jane Matjasko Professor for Research and Vice-Chair for Research.

The Prize is awarded annually to “outstanding faculty members demonstrating excellent mentorship with a positive impact on professional development and career advancement in one or more of the following areas: clinical medicine, research, local and regional service, and teaching.”

In 1997, Dr. Fiskum was recruited from his professorial position at George Washington University and named the Department’s Director of Research. Over the next few years, Dr. Fiskum did much of the “heavy lifting” in constructing the foundation for neuroscience research within the Department.

While building out his own vibrant research program, Dr. Fiskum influenced a generation (or more!) of mentees. Dr. Fiskum has demonstrated impeccable skills as a teacher and mentor to a lengthy roster of medical students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, residents, and faculty members. Many of the young investigators successfully transitioned to faculty positions in our department, throughout other departments at UMB, and at academic centers across the country.