Belfer Institute Introduces Postdoctoral Service Award
On Thursday, September 27, 2018, the Belfer Institute for Advanced Biomedical Studies awarded Lorenza Favrot, Ph.D., Einstein’s inaugural Postdoctoral Service Award. The honor recognizes Dr. Favrot’s outstanding service to the postdoctoral community at the College of Medicine.
Established this year, the award will be granted annually to a postdoctoral fellow who has made exceptional voluntary contributions in serving postdoctoral fellows while demonstrating leadership in enhancing the postdoctoral experience at Einstein. Examples of service include working with the Einstein Postdoctoral Association (EPA), service on Einstein committees or the Senate, and volunteering at, or organizing events that have a direct impact on the postdoctoral community.
Recognition from Belfer
EPA leadership first conceived the idea for the award in May 2017. This past June, postdoctoral fellows received an email from Anne Bresnick, Ph.D., director of the Belfer Institute, asking them to nominate themselves or a fellow postdoc who they felt was deserving of the award. Faculty members Jonathan Backer, M.D., professor and chair of molecular pharmacology and former Belfer Institute director, and David Spray, Ph.D., professor of neuroscience and of medicine, joined Dr. Bresnick on the awards committee that selected the winner.
Dr. Favrot received the award during a special event for postdocs, held in celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, in Einstein’s LeFrak Auditorium. At the event, Dr. Bresnick addressed the postdocs, emphasizing the important role they have in advancing research at Einstein, and praising the efforts of volunteers who dedicate their time to the service of the postdoctoral community.
“We want our postdocs to be actively involved in the Einstein community, and we hope that awards like these will encourage more postdocs to take on leadership and service roles at Einstein and within the postdoctoral community,” she said. She then described the activities in which Dr. Favrot was involved, both with the EPA and beyond, and congratulated her on receiving the award.
“This award is significant because it recognizes the dedication of fellows who selflessly strive to improve the quality of life of postdocs—an under-recognized community that drives advances in medicine and innovative healthcare,” said Srinjoy Chakraborti, Ph.D., one of the postdocs in attendance.
The event concluded with a reception in the lower atrium of the Price Center/Block Research Pavilion.
Outstanding Service
Since joining the laboratory of John Blanchard, Ph.D., in biochemistry, in 2014, Dr. Favrot has organized monthly social/networking events to provide more opportunities for postdocs to interact with their peers. She began volunteering in the EPA in April 2015, serving as a co-chair for two years as well as helping to restructure the association and to draft guidelines defining the functions and roles of various EPA committees. She also has coordinated many postdoc events, including the International Coffee Hour, the Winter Social Hour, and two annual postdoc parties. And, she has organized several career and professional development events for postdocs, such as the “Guess who's Talking about Science” seminars that feature external invited speakers. In 2016, she organized and moderated a science outreach panel discussion with professionals from the New York City area. Dr. Favrot also manages the EPA’s online social media and maintains the new EPA website, which she designed in 2016.
“Becoming a volunteer and then a co-chair of EPA provided me the opportunity to help improve the experience of postdocs at Einstein,” she said. “I’m happy to play a small part and feel very proud to be selected to receive this award.”
Posted on: Friday, December 28, 2018