The Tom Volkert Memorial Award for Mentorship

Tom Volkert was the director of the Genomics and Technology Core at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research for over 20 years before passing away unexpectedly in 2024. Beyond his day-to-day work with the researchers at WIBR where he assisted hundreds of scientists performing systems biology studies, Tom worked closely with sister core facilities in Boston and across the country, collaborating on scientific and logistical issues, as well as creating unique social environments that have fostered a sense of the collaboration among the cores. Tom also had a gift for thinking about challenging problems, and his advice was critical in the success of many of our facilities.  

To honor his memory, NERLSCD has established the Tom Volkert Memorial Award for Mentorship. 

This award will honor those whose work goes beyond their own core but reaches out to the whole shared resource community. It will acknowledge those who have provided guidance or critical advice, and will have a particular emphasis on recognizing those who, like Tom, do not have a terminal degree. Our goal is to honor those who help other cores to be successful, and create an environment of collaboration instead of competition, understanding that the really important fights are to create novel therapies and save lives.