Professor Timothy Street Receives 2020 Dean’s Mentoring Award
May 22, 2020
Cynthia Kipkorir | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Timothy Street, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, has received the 2020 Dean’s Mentoring Award. The $2,500 award is given to a faculty member who demonstrates “outstanding ability as a mentor” in the supervision of students enrolled in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). The award also gives current GSAS students and GSAS alumni the opportunity to nominate and celebrate the support and guidance they have received from faculty members who have impacted their education inside and outside the classroom. Street is the second faculty member in the Division of Science to receive the award.
When presenting the award, Dean Eric Chasalow said, “We received eight enthusiastic nomination letters about Timo, and a repeated theme in their messages was his patience and dedication in promoting their problem-solving, presentation, and writing skills, and helping them think critically about their research.” One nominator wrote, “Though he is very busy, Timo always makes time for his students to talk through a scientific question or for general advice. The advice he gives is thoughtful and always geared towards improving my skills.” Students also attributed their success—during and after their PhD program—to Street's guidance and encouragement. “My productivity in graduate school and my development as a scientist are a direct result of Timo’s outstanding mentorship and guidance,” wrote another nominator.
Street, whose research focuses on mechanisms of protein folding in the cell, was “honored to receive this award.” He went on to say, “I truly enjoy working with students in my lab and I am proud of their discoveries. My own scientific thinking has evolved and has been enriched through the ideas and perspectives of the people in my group.” He cites the support he received during his time as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins and as a postdoc at UCSF as motivation to provide great mentorship to his students. He has kept comments from his mentor Doug Barrick on his graduate school manuscripts and that the notes remind him of the “tremendous care and effort that went into my training as a scientist.” He added that it is “heartening to think that I can have a positive impact on other people, just as my advisors had a positive impact on me.” Professor Street also adds that he is grateful for his department and for Brandeis for creating a suitable environment for a stellar mentorship between faculty and students.