Celebrating Physician-Scientist Mentorship and the Janeway Society

The Janeway Society at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) was established in 2021 to support faculty career development and to shorten the time to research independence. The society is named for Charles Alderson Janeway, MD, a field-leading translational immunologist and celebrated professor who joined the YSM faculty in 1977. A dedicated mentor to medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty, Janeway sponsored and promoted the careers of a generation of immunobiologists.

The Janeway Society recently held its 2026 retreat, during which the Office of Physician-Scientist and Scientist Development announced the winners of this year’s Fund for Physician-Scientist Mentorship, an innovative award meant to recognize, honor, and promote mentorship of physician-scientists at YSM by senior and mid-career faculty.

The senior career faculty recipient was Gerald I. Shulman, MD, PhD, George R. Cowgill Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology), professor of cellular and molecular physiology, and co-director of the Yale Diabetes Research Center. Following his award, Shulman delivered the Fund for Physician Scientist Senior Career Mentorship Lecture, “Reflections on Research and Mentoring.”

This year’s mid-career faculty recipient was Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine (rheumatology, allergy & immunology) and chief of rheumatology in the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. With an interest in global health, Hsieh serves as the network lead for the Yale Network for Global Non-Communicable Diseases, the associate program director for the Global Health Emerging Scholars Program, and is an affiliated faculty member with the Yale Institute for Global Health.

“Mentorship is central to the culture of discovery, collaboration, and academic excellence at Yale,” says Keith Choate, MD, PhD, associate dean for physician-scientist development and Aaron B. and Marguerite Lerner Professor and Chair of Dermatology at YSM. “Awardees are recognized for mentorship that has nucleated careers and extends beyond standard scientific training to sponsorship and advocacy for the next generation of investigators who will advance biomedical science and patient care."

The Janeway Society retreat opened with a vibrant poster session, during which Janeway Society members presented and discussed their research with attendees.

Prominent keynote speakers were also invited to share insights from their careers. This year, the two speakers selected were: Jean Schaffer, MD, Ory Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, who presented a lecture titled, “Sweet Signals, Bitter Consequences: How Glucose Stress Rewires Pancreatic b-cell mRNA Translation,” and Ann Brown, MD, MHS, professor emerita of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, who presented on “Kerfuffles, Conflicts, and Misunderstandings: Strategies for Engagement.”