Iraklis Pipinos, M.D., Ph.D. – Outstanding Mentor of Junior Faculty

Iraklis Pipinos, M.D., Ph.D., professor, surgery-general surgery, College of Medicine, will receive the Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Junior Faculty at Thursday’s annual faculty meeting.

• Name: Iraklis Pipinos, M.D., Ph.D.
• Title: Vascular surgeon
• Joined UNMC: 2001
• Hometown: Rhodes, Greece, and Omaha, Neb.

With how many junior faculty members do you work?
Five.

What are the greatest rewards of mentoring?
When I work with junior faculty, I always remember my own mentors — the people who made a great difference in my career like Drs. George Casale, Tim Baxter, Alex Shepard and Jae Cho. Somehow, in this process, I feel that I get to know these excellent physicians and scientists a little better, and it makes me very happy to be in a position to share all the knowledge and experience they shared with me.

Describe a moment when you realized your influence made a difference in someone’s career.
It was the first time a junior faculty member I worked with received his first extramural grant. It was a truly joyous moment!

List three things few people know about you.

• I am from an island in Greece named Kasos and moved to the United States when I was 24 years old.
• The two mentors I admire the most are my father Elias and my wife Kostoula.
• The majority of my clinical practice is at the Omaha VA hospital. I really love taking care of our veterans. They are the most kind, loyal and unselfish people.