Registration is now open for the JIN Career Advancement and Research Exchange Dinner on Thursday, January 15th, 2026
Register here!
Thursday, January 15, 2026
4:30pm – 7:30pm
Doubletree by Hilton
‘Canterbury Room’
4727 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE 19803
Seema S. Sonnad Mentor-of-the-Year Award
We are also asking for nominations for the Seema S. Sonnad Mentor-of-the-Year Award. Please go to the registration link to nominate your favorite mentor. Attendance at the event is not needed to nominate someone.
Please provide your nominee’s name and share the reasons you believe they should be acknowledged. Feel free to highlight the qualities they exhibit that showcase their exceptional mentorship. You may nominate anyone that you feel is an exceptional mentor for you (they do not have to be a Primary PI).
To help with your decision, below is some of the criteria that may make a good mentor:
- Respects their trainees as a peer rather than a cheap pair of hands
- Helps to set concrete goals and helps you achieve these goals
- A good listener who also communicates clearly
- Provides honest feedback that is not demeaning
- Does not micromanage through unrealistic expectations and demands
- Defines people by their strengths and potential rather than limitations
Past Recipients:
- 2016 Melinda Duncan, PhD, FARVO, UDel
- 2017 Andy Kolb, MD Nemours
- 2018 Claudine Jurkovitz, MD, MPH, CC
- 2019 Anne Kazak, PhD, ABPP, Nemours
- 2020-2022 – hiatus due to COVID-19
- 2023 – Melissa Alderfer, PhD, Nemours Children’s Health
- 2024 – Susan D. Smith, PhD, RN, ChristianaCare Health Services
Questions? Contact Mentoring@de-ctr.org
View the flyer here.