Commencing in 2020, The International Biomedical Research Alliance introduced a service recognition award to honor Scholars in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge/Wellcome Trust Scholars Program who demonstrate exceptional community service. Awardees are nominated by their peers to be recognized for their exceptional service, not only to the Scholars Program but also to the greater NIH and University communities. It is an honor to be recognized, but especially notable when the recognition comes from peers who have a unique and focused view of the awardees and their efforts. The ceremony to honor the winner was held during the NIH Global Doctoral Partnerships Research Workshop held at Keble College, the University of Oxford July 26-28, 2022.
The Building a Better Community Through Service Award recognizes a Scholar for their outstanding service to the community. The Award honors an individual who continuously places significant importance on the well-being of their community. Committed to social responsibility, they invest their time and talent to elevate and inspire others and, in doing so, uplift the community as a whole.
The “Building a Better Community Through Service Award” was bestowed upon Alex Waldman. Alex Waldman is an NIH-Oxford MD/DPhil Scholar in the Class of 2018. His mentors are Dr. Michael Lenardo at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Professor Gabriele DeLuca at the University of Oxford. He is a medical student at Emory University. Since joining the NIH OxCam Program in 2018, Alex has been dedicated to serving this community. Through numerous positions on the Student Leadership Board, leading the American Physician Scientists Association, and now through leading the Annual Workshop Committee, Alex has consistently demonstrated his values of a strong community and creating spaces for his peers to connect and grow both personally and scientifically. His nominator shared, “his warm, welcoming, and gregarious manner enables him to be inclusive to all members of the community.” Without a doubt, his contributions have directly impacted the strength of the OxCam community and made him eminently deserving of this honor.
Reflecting on winning this award Alex said “The COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainties it continues to bring have really reinforced to us the importance of fostering a strong community. Therefore, it was particularly heartwarming to receive this honor at our first in-person Workshop in 3 years. As my time in the Program marches toward its conclusion, I have had the pleasure of working closely with the student body, Program leadership, and many members of the International Biomedical Research Alliance which is something that I consider a major highlight of my Ph.D. experience. Once again, thank you to the Directors of the International Biomedical Research Alliance for being such staunch supporters of the Program and the student body. We couldn’t pursue our dream to improve human health through biomedical research and clinical practice without you in our corners each step of the way. I look forward to the next stage of my training and very much hope we get to work together further moving forward.”