In recognition of 25 years of inspiring work in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, Linda Bloom, PhD, received the 2024 Dr. Mavis Agbandje-McKenna Distinguished Research Mentoring Award this spring.

Trainees praise Bloom’s lab as a nurturing space to delve into DNA replication and repair research, enabling them to grow confidence alongside their cell cultures and petri dish samples.

“She doesn’t just train her students, she empowers them to become independent scientists,” said Savannah Pollenz, a fifth-year doctoral candidate in Bloom’s lab. “Being a mentor to us is her No. 1 priority.”

Despite keeping busy as a principal investigator, associate department chair, wife, and mother, Bloom dedicates time to weekly group meetings and individual check-ins with lab members Pollenz said, modeling for students both a thriving scientific career and a full personal life.

Bloom’s approachable demeanor, symbolized by her rainbow lab coat and preference for being addressed by her first name, cultivates a familial environment in the lab, where trainees enjoy challenging puzzles during breaks on one side of their workspace while navigating state-of-the-art research equipment on the other.

“Having a group of young, energetic students in the laboratory really helps keep the research going forward,” Bloom said. “As a mentor, I think my biggest success is to help train the next generation and get them out into the world.”

Learn more about Bloom and her work in the video below.