Postdoctoral Fellow Soumya Yandamuri, MSE, PhD is one of five recipients of the 2023 Yale Mentoring Award. Given by the office of the Provost and the Yale Postdoctoral Association, the award recognizes Dr. Yandamuri’s exceptional dedication to mentoring undergraduate and postgraduates.
Dr. Yandamuri, currently a member of the O’Connor Lab in the Departments of Neurology and Immunobiology, mentors undergraduates and graduate students in the lab, as well as graduate students in the Women in Science at Yale program. Nominated by her mentees for this award, her approach to mentorship is unique and comprehensive, with topics ranging from scientific career advice to guidance in writing fellowship applications.
“I fundamentally want my mentees to feel inspired and supported,” says Dr. Yandamuri. “The goal is to learn how to experimentally answer a scientific question and enjoy the process.”
Her positive and collaborative outlook on the mentorship relationship helps facilitate open channels of communication and promotes a collegial training environment, all while molding the next leaders in medicine and public health.
Dr. Yandamuri plans to continue as a mentor, noting how she has benefited – as well as mentees – by serving in this role.
“[Mentorship] serves as a facet of my training as a postdoctoral scientist and gives me the pleasure of working with brilliant junior scientists with their own ideas, perspectives, questions, and interests. In the end, they serve as inspiration to me as well!”