Dr. Rizzino is outstanding mentor of graduate students

Angie Rizzino, Ph.D., will receive the Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Graduate Students Award at the April 23 annual faculty meeting.

• Name: Angie Rizzino, Ph.D.
• Title: Professor and program director, Eppley Institute
• Joined UNMC: December 1983
• Hometown: East Northport, N.Y.

How many graduate students do you work with?
Nineteen graduate students have earned their Ph.D. degree in my laboratory, and I am currently training my 20th Ph.D. student. I currently serve on the supervisory committees of approximately 10 pre-doctoral students and interact with many graduate students at UNMC.

What are the greatest rewards of mentoring?
Working with young, enthusiastic graduate students makes coming to the med center each day fun. Inspiring them to be the best that they can be inspires me. At the end of the day, the greatest reward of mentoring graduate students is knowing that I have contributed to the training of the next generation of scientists. Hopefully, in at least some small measure, I have made them better scientists and better people.

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

I have been rewarded with many such moments. When you see a student’s confidence grow, you know that you have made a difference in that person’s life. Confidence in one’s self is a key determinant of success. For most, it trumps IQ.

Three things that few people know about me:

• If it had not been for an outstanding high school biology teacher, I probably would have taken over my father’s business, and I most likely would not have gone to college. Good teachers make a world of difference!
• My interest in cancer began at an early age. During my senior year in high school, I researched and wrote a long essay (22 pages — it seemed like a long essay at the time) that examined the potential causes of cancer. It was called “Clues to the Causations of an Unmerciful Killer.”
• I taught biology in high school for a year and a half. That experience helped solidify my main belief about the role of education. Education needs to place far greater emphasis on preparing students to develop the skills needed to become lifetime learners. My journey toward this view also was aided greatly when my cell biology teacher in college explained why I should learn the Krebs cycle yet another time: “Because I told you to.” Bad teachers also make a world of difference!