A Star in the Kansas INBRE Program Earns National Honor

A good mentor can make all the difference, and a Kansas professor’s talent for nurturing the next generation of scientists has been recognized nationally.

The National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health awarded Professor Virginia Rider of Pittsburg State University the first Sidney A. McNairy, Jr. Mentoring Award during the National IDeA Symposium for Biomedical Research Excellence held August 6 – 8 in Washington, DC. Dr. Rider serves as campus coordinator for the Kansas IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence, a statewide, $26 million initiative supported by NCRR and headquartered at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where University Distinguished Professor Joan Hunt is the principal investigator. Dr. Hunt nominated Dr. Rider for the award.

“Dr. Rider not only thoroughly enjoys her mentoring role but contributes much of the success of her research program to the hard work of the K-INBRE students, with their publications receiving national and international recognition,” says Dr. Hunt. “She exemplifies Dr. McNairy’s firm commitment to the idea that quality undergraduate research experience is the cornerstone for generating educated professionals and future scientists.”

Dr. Virginia Rider of Pittsburg State University was honored recently at the National IDeA Symposium in Washington, DC, with the first Sidney A. McNairy, Jr. Mentoring Award. Brent Cameron, shown here with Dr. Rider while a student at PSU's Department of Biology, is now entering his third year of an MD/PhD program at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

The award honors Dr. Sidney McNairy, Jr. for his leadership in pioneering practical initiatives to foster robust biomedical research and well trained researchers. As Director of the Division of Research Infrastructure at NCRR for the past decade, Dr. McNairy spearheaded the development and implementation of an entirely new concept to expand research opportunities for students and faculty in states that traditionally have had limited participation in the nation’s biomedical research agenda.

“We know that strong mentoring plays an integral role in programs that lead new researchers to choose careers in biomedical research,” says Dr. McNairy. “I’m delighted to know this award will recognize that key role and honor such outstanding mentors as Dr. Virginia Rider. She is truly exceptional as both a scientist and a teacher.”

Since joining the PSU faculty in 2000, Dr. Rider has secured more than $536,000 to support her research, which has generated 17 publications and five presentations at national and international meetings. Whenever possible, she has included her K-INBRE collaborators, as well as graduate and undergraduate students, a testament to her commitment to providing extensive student research opportunities.

“My impact on human beings is greater through mentoring students than any research I publish or discoveries in the laboratory,” says Dr. Rider. “If you can encourage young people in productive careers where they are happy, that’s the best thing you can have happen in your life.”

Because of Dr. Rider’s standing as an authority on female reproduction and her emerging status in the field of autoimmune disease in women, Dr. Rider serves by invitation as an editorial board member for two of the most prestigious scientific journals on reproduction, the Journal of Endocrinology and Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.

“Dr. Rider is passionate about her work and her students,” says Dr. Lynette J. Olson, Professor and Dean, PSU College of Arts and Sciences. “She sets the bar high for engagement of a faculty member as mentor to the next generation of researchers, teachers, and health science professionals.”

The Sidney A. McNairy, Jr. Mentoring Award will be given to one professor in the nation every two years at the National IDeA Symposium for Biomedical Research Excellence.