2021 Yale Genetics Mentoring Award Recipient: Monkol Lek, PhD

“Monkol is not just supportive of my career goals, but he helps me achieve them. This includes creating opportunities for me to expand my network, supporting and reviewing fellowship applications, and helping me establish collaborations that strengthen my projects”

“The best thing about having Monkol as my mentor is that he really cares”

“Monkol trusts people. I can’t emphasize enough how great it is. Monkol always trusts me to do those very important experiments. Another very important thing is that Monkol never blames people for making mistakes. Instead, he always helps me to learn from the mistakes and to figure out ways to overcome or avoid those mistakes”

“Monkol’s integrity, optimism, and effort to make a difference are inspiring to me”

“Monkol has cultivated an environment where I feel comfortable to approach him with any issues I have. He has helped me find solutions to challenges in my own research, in navigating consortia and collaborations, and in the mentorship of others”

“I plan to become a PI myself in the future, and when I do, I certainly wish I can be a PI like Monkol”