For Maurice Swanson, PhD, a professor in the UF Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, mentorship begins with one goal: to spark excitement.

Running experiments comes with unavoidable challenges and complications. From the moment he begins mentoring his graduate and postdoctoral students, Swanson engages them through the importance of both foundational and clinical science, helping them troubleshoot these difficulties and progress their thinking.

“I want to be a cheerleader for the students,” he said, “where I’m continuing to try and excite them about science.”

Most of Swanson’s students start off unsure of where their passion lies. He tries to help them discover it by guiding them via their own technical and intellectual expertise.

His research follows the same approach — connecting discoveries with meaningful impact. By focusing on repetitive DNA sequences, which are often an overlooked part of the human genome, his work has helped identify the causes of more than 60 hereditary diseases.