Yale’s Daniel Colón-Ramos, associate professor of neuroscience and cell biology, has been selected for the Landis Mentoring Award for Outstanding Mentorship, a new annual award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Landis Award, named after former NINDS director Dr. Story Landis, is awarded to six faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities who have demonstrated outstanding mentorship in neuroscience research. The award was established in order to emphasize the high value NINDS places on mentorship, hoping to encourage faculty to make mentorship a key component of their career, and inspire institutional leaders to recognize and encourage dedication to mentorship in addition to outstanding research accomplishments.
“I believe science works best to produce truly novel insights when influenced by diverse ideas from individuals working together,” said Colón-Ramos. “I work to create a lab environment which honors scientific rigor and respects the dignity of individuals to create a learning and discovery space where we are all comfortable identifying and recognizing our unique strengths and opportunities for growth.” Colón-Ramos conducts research into how synapses are assembled in living animals to build the neuronal architecture that underlies behavior and stores memories. The Colón-Ramos lab seeks to improve knowledge of synaptic cell biology in higher organisms, which could be essential for understanding disease.
I work to create a lab environment which honors scientific rigor and respects the dignity of individuals to create a learning and discovery space where we are all comfortable identifying and recognizing our unique strengths and opportunities for growth.
Daniel Colón-Ramos
Awardees receive $100,000 in direct costs towards their existing NINDS grant(s) this fiscal year to support their efforts in fostering career advancement of their trainees. NINDS will make an official presentation of certificates for the Landis Award during November’s annual Society for Neuroscience meeting held in San Diego.