MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences faculty member Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD, was elected as a member of the 2022 class of the UT Kenneth I. Shine, M. Academy of Health Science Education.

Kalluri is the Frederick F. Becker Distinguished Endowed Chair of Cancer Research, as well as a professor and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at MD Anderson. He also serves as assistant dean at the GSBS and Director of the Office of Mentoring and Training of Scientist at MD Anderson.

As a GSBS faculty member, Kalluri is dedicated to the training of the next generation of scientists and cancer researchers. He’s affiliated with the Genetics and Epigenetics and Cancer Biology programs, and has directed and taught various program courses including GSBS Core Course module, a Cancer Biology course, Cancer Metastasis course, and a Topics of Molecular Medicine course in the MD/PhD program.

He has also served as co-director and director of our T32 NCI Cancer Biology Training Grant.

“Mentoring is a gift that needs to be cherished and respected,” Kalluri says. “The measured aspects of a successful mentor, such as publications and future career success of mentees, are tied to effective mentoring. The most important measure remains the compassionate, honest, selfless and joyful science and social citizenship the mentee will carry with them. I’ve mentored over 300 high school, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty in my lifetime. This is truly my most important achievement.”

The mission of the Shine Academy is to foster excellence in education in the health sciences by recognition of outstanding educators and advancement of knowledge and innovation in the field of education. Eligible members in the academy must be outstanding teachers in The University of Texas health science system.

This honor is bestowed on up to 16 faculty members from the UT System’s six health institutions every year.

Kalluri joins 15 other GSBS faculty members who have been inducted into the Shine Academy since its inception in 2005.

Some of the information for this story came from an MD Anderson media release.