Gary Morrow, Ph.D., Receives National Mentorship Award
To honor a 36-year career during which he has mentored more than 50 young professionals in medicine and science, Gary R. Morrow, Ph.D., M.S., today received the Distinguished Research Mentor Award for 2012 from the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Morrow is a professor of Radiation Oncology and professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He has been the principal investigator on eight cancer-control grants, totaling more than $40 million, funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, and Department of Defense, and has presided over or been a member of several cancer review panels and councils.
In addition, Morrow is director of the UR Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program Research Base (CCOP), a national network of clinical research programs that develops, conducts, monitors, and evaluates clinical trials and trains researchers. Oncologists and patients look to the CCOP network to inform their decisions on care and treatment, with a particular focus on side effects of cancer therapy such as fatigue and nausea. The UR CCOP has been in existence since 1983, making it a leading resource in the country. It was the first CCOP Research base funded in a cancer center.
The SBM award is meant to single out those who have shown an outstanding commitment to training and mentoring, resulting in a major impact on the field of behavioral medicine.
Several junior faculty from the URMC James P. Wilmot Cancer Center nominated Morrow with heartfelt letters describing his exceptional support, acts of kindness, and “infectious passion for scientific research.”
The mentees highlighted Morrow’s generosity and close involvement in the progress of each person he mentors – for example, his door is always open; he uses his connections to match talented physician and doctoral graduates with seasoned researchers across the country; and his sincere desire to see mentees succeed on their own merits.
The SBM award was announced today during the Presidential Keynote Address at SBM’s 33rd annual meeting and scientific sessions in New Orleans. In 2009, Morrow also was recognized internally at URMC for his dedication to teaching, mentoring and research; he received what is now known as the Marvin J. Hoffman Faculty Mentor Award from the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry.
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