Invitrogen Science Hero Awards: Fulfilling the Need to Recognize Unsung Heroes in the Lab

We’re now at the halfway point of the 2016 Invitrogen Science Hero Awards nomination period and similar to last year, we’re seeing a high number of nominations stand out in two specific categories. This suggests that scientists, ranging from first year graduate students to seasoned lab directors, have been waiting to recognize the hard work and dedication of their lab employees outside the realm of scientific publication.

Any guesses on what those two categories are?

If you guessed “Behind the Scenes” and “Best Lab Mentor,” you’d be correct. Out of the nine award categories in 2015, 25% of the nominations were for Behind the Scenes and 22% were for Best Lab Mentor. To date for 2016, there are 33% in the “Behind the Scenes” category and 22% for “Best Lab Mentor” (at the university level). Behind the Scenes category is one of the few options that allow one to nominate a non-scientist that helps with the day-to-day activities within the laboratory.

Here are just a couple of examples of the nominations received from last year that really showed the depth of appreciation that members of the lab held for their “Behind the Scenes” nominees:

The Best Lab Mentor Award was originally designated for the person “who regularly goes over and beyond to mentor lab members in techniques and processes or provide a ‘guiding light’ through sound educational or career advice.” The entries for this category were amazing, sincerely heart-felt and motivating to read whether they featured high school educators or college/graduate level mentors. In fact, the entries were so inspiring that we felt that for 2016, it was important enough to add the “Science Educator” category, for the high school instructors that ultimately influenced students to pursue their careers in science. And unsurprisingly, the number of nominations we’ve received has meant that this new category has now raced up to #3 overall.

Below is a small sample of the nominations received in 2015.

As we continue to see nominations come in for all of the categories in 2016, we’re constantly amazed at the amount of time and effort that has been dedicated to ensuring that these Science Heroes are being recognized. Every single nominee is a winner in their own way.

If you know of someone who is deserving of an Invitrogen Science Hero Award, in any of our nine categories, please submit your nomination at Invitrogen Science Hero.