News Source: National Postdoctoral Association

The NPA names in Boston the winners of its NPA Gallagher Mentor Award, NPA Distinguished Service Award, and NPA SCRI Postdoc of the Year Award

BOSTON, Mass., March 21, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — During its annual conference, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) announced that Albert L. Gonzales, Ph.D., Christine Holmes, MBA, and Sixbert P. Muhoza, Ph.D., are the 2025 winners of the organization’s three most prestigious awards.

Image caption: National Postdoctoral Association (NPA).

“The NPA is committed to improving the postdoctoral experience and these three awards acknowledge the critical role postdocs and those who support them play in advancing knowledge and improving the human condition,” said Christopher T. Smith, Ph.D., chair of the NPA board. “Congratulations to this year’s well-deserved winners.”

The NPA Gallagher Mentor Award recognizes the very best of mentors across the nation who advocate for postdoctoral scholars, celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) values, and empower their postdoc scholars to succeed. The NPA is dedicated to both recognizing champions and serving as a model for greater DEIB across the postdoctoral community.

This year’s award was presented to Albert. L. Gonzales, assistant professor, department of physiology and cellular biology, at the University of Nevada, Reno. In the words of those supporting Gonzales for the Gallagher Mentor Award, “his philosophy is rooted in the belief that diversity of thought enhances scientific inquiry and innovation.” Another noted: “His mentorship has enriched the postdoctoral experience at our institution by setting a standard of excellence that inspires all who work with him.”

The NPA Distinguished Service Award recognizes the highest appreciation for an individual who has demonstrated a profound, sustained, or leadership contribution to improving the postdoctoral experience. Today, that honor was bestowed on Christine Holmes, MBA, director for postdoctoral studies at Cornell University.

Holmes received the award today to a field of applauding peers who celebrated her decades of support for the postdoctoral community. Holmes founded the Office of Postdoctoral Studies at Cornell when she became its first director in 1995. “She created important new structures to uplift and support postdoctoral scholars on a shoestring budget,” according to her peers who nominated her. “She has had a uniquely profound and sustained impact … on the lives of thousands of early-career scholars.”

This year, the NPA and Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI) presented its second annual Postdoc of the Year Award, bestowing that honor on Sixbert P. Muhoza, Ph.D., a Walter Massey Fellow at the Argonne National Laboratory. The NPA SCRI award recognizes a postdoc who has advanced the postdoctoral community in an exceptional manner beyond their work duties and in alignment with the NPA mission and core values.

In nominating Muhoza for this prestigious award, faculty members applauded his innovation and dedication, noting that he “has made substantial contributions to the scientific community and beyond during his fellowship, setting a new standard for postdoctoral excellence.”

“It’s an honor simply to work alongside these three individuals in the postdoctoral community,” said Tom Kimbis, executive director and chief executive officer of the NPA. “Holmes, Gonzales, and Muhoza are among the best of the best. Their excellence demonstrates the irreplaceable role of postdocs in the greater research environment. Postdocs are essential for maintaining American leadership in the sciences and beyond.”

Individuals and organizations can follow the work of Holmes, Gonzales, and Muhoza online by collaborating with the NPA, which is committed to advancing the skills and careers of our nation’s hard-working postdoctoral scholars, whose work in all disciplines benefits Americans across all fifty states.

About the National Postdoctoral Association:

The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) charitable and educational association headquartered in Bethesda, MD. Founded in 2003, the NPA envisions an inclusive community where all postdocs are empowered, valued, recognized, and supported in their current and future endeavors. The NPA serves the entire postdoctoral community, including its 24,000 individual and 250 organizational members.

Learn more: https://www.nationalpostdoc.org/

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