Dr. Batra honored for his mentorship of graduate students

On the seventh floor of the Durham Research Center, Surinder Batra, Ph.D., mentors 10 graduate students from different departments.

Professor and chairman of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, Dr. Batra also is the Distinguished Helen Fretag Professor of Cancer Biology, senior associate dean for research and development in the College of Medicine and associate director for training and education in the Eppley Institute.

Surinder Batra, Ph.D.

Now, he is the 2010 recipient of UNMC’s Outstanding Mentor of Graduate Students Award.

Below he discusses the importance of mentoring.

What are the greatest rewards of mentoring?

The greatest reward of mentoring a young person is truly making a difference in their life. The roles of a mentor are to guide a young person to be all that they can be and there is no bigger reward then watching that young person attain their goals. From mentoring, not only does the young person learn, but I, as the mentor, also learn from the experience and grow as a person. Mentoring is an inspiring, creative and motivating experience, which aids the personal development of both the mentor and protege.

Describe a moment when you realized your influence made a difference in someone’s career.

I realized my influence made a difference in someone’s career when I saw him/her start to truly love what they do or things of that aspect. Some of my students are working in reputed medical centers like MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Iowa Medical school, Mayo Clinics, etc.

What does it take to be a successful mentor?

To be a successful mentor one must make him or herself available to the mentee. A successful mentor is one who listens to his mentees and guides them in the right direction, while still allowing the mentees to have their own individualism. Most importantly, a mentor inspires by seeing the possibilities and bringing to life the qualities we aspire for ourselves.

List three things few people know about you.

• I enjoy Duke basketball and watched for nine years at Duke (didn’t miss a single game).
  
• I like to listen to music and have a large collection.
  
• I like shopping with my wife, Sunita.