Educational Mentor of the Year Award

Maria Garzon, MD Named Apgar Academy

2024 Educational Mentor of the Year

In recognition of transformative engagement in the lives of students, trainees, clinicians, and scholars at Columbia and throughout the nation, Maria Garzon, MD is hereby named the 2024 Virginia Apgar Academy for Medical Educators Mentor of the Year.

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Maria Garzon, MD

Maria Garzon, M.D. is Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) and the Director of the Division of Pediatric Dermatology at NYP Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. With a significant body of published research, leadership and teaching experience, Dr. Garzon is an internationally recognized leader in pediatric dermatology. She is a leading expert on the care of children and adolescents with vascular anomalies, particularly hemangiomas and vascular malformations. Dr. Garzon is the Founder and Co-Director of the (NYP/CUIMC) Interdisciplinary Vascular Anomalies Group, a founding member and past President of the Hemangioma Investigator Group (HIG) and a founding member of the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA).  She is a past President of both the Society for Pediatric Dermatology and the New York Dermatological Society. She was elected to the Academy of Clinical Excellence (ACE) at VP&S and named a Samberg Scholar at NYP Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Dr. Garzon has authored numerous seminal, field-inaugurating articles and book chapters on pediatric dermatology and has lectured at many national and international meetings including the American Academy of Dermatology, American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatric Academic Societies, World Congress of Pediatric Dermatology, NIH,  and International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies. 

Nominators of Dr. Garzon celebrate her “commitment to fostering a positive mentorship environment marked by inclusivity, respect, and collaboration.” Through her mentorship, she has propelled numerous mentees to successful national careers in pediatric dermatology. Dr. Garzon’s approach is “infused with empathy and compassion, intuitively recognizing and addressing the struggles of students and residents, ensuring their well-being and growth.” Her unwavering commitment and passion for education and mentorship has been formally recognized numerous times. Within the Department of Dermatology Dr. Garzon’s colleagues describe her as  “the ‘go-to’ person for career advice for many faculty and residents in our department, regardless of their career interests. Always mindful to align with the individual’s personal and professional goals and never imposes her own goals on others, she is gifted at constructively guiding and supporting each individual’s unique career paths, as well as providing sage advice on maintaining work-life balance. While mindful of potential academic opportunities (within or outside of our institution) that are of interest to our faculty, residents, and fellows.”

We  applaud Dr. Garzon for this distinction and join with all her students and trainees in the deepest thanks.  Dr. Garzon was recognized for this distinction at the annual Apgar Academy Dinner hosted April 24, 2024.

 

Recipients of the Apgar Educational Mentor of the Year Award

2023 Elaine J. Abrams, MD

2022 Elisabeth B. Guthrie, MD

Educational Mentor of the Year Award

Call for Nominations | Deadline to Submit: March 17, 2025

 

The fourth Apgar Academy Mentor of the Year Award in Education will be presented to a faculty member on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) campus in recognition of their outstanding guidance and support provided to students, fellows, and colleagues in their roles as educators. Mentoring is a fundamental determinant of success in medical education. These awards recognize outstanding mentors who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to mentoring students, trainees, and/or junior faculty toward expertise as teachers and educators. Moreover, through their positive impact on the mentee's careers, they have advanced medical education and research for the benefit of the community at large.

Eligibility

  • Nominations may come from student, postdocs, and/or faculty members. Self-nominations will not be accepted.
  • Nominators must be a previous or current mentee(s) of the mentor or be a colleague of the nominee with personal knowledge of the nominee's mentoring qualities and excellence.
  • There must be a primary and secondary nominator providing written nominations and documentations.
  • Mentors must be affiliated with one of the schools on the CUIMC campus (Mailman School of Public Health, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, College of Dental Medicine, School of Nursing, or Graduate School of Arts and Sciences). 
  • Nominees should have a sustained outstanding record of mentoring over time.

Requirements

Mentor award nominations will be evaluated based on the positive educational and/or research experiences of the mentors' trainees, including the impact of mentorship on their subsequent professional and personal success. Nominating letters should summarize the nominee's impact on mentoring with clear examples of the positive outcomes on students, trainees, and/or junior faculty. If the nominator(s) is a mentee, a narrative of how the mentor influenced their career(s) and those of others should be included.

Key roles of a mentor include:

  • A wise and trusted advisor- Provide exemplary academic and professional preparation advisement for students.
  • Intellectual growth and development - Encourage student involvement in professional opportunities, such as including students in service projects or research activities, supporting student membership in professional organizations/meetings, or enabling student attendance at professional meetings.
  • Career and professional guidance- Serve as an outstanding role model of professionalism by modeling appropriate professional behavior and positive professional standards.

Submission

Nominations will be reviewed and scored by the Apgar Academy administration based on the award criteria outlined above. Nominations should be submitted to the academy administrator at rs3970@cumc.columbia.edu no later than Monday, March 17, 2025.  Previous nominees are eligible to be nominated again if they have not received the award before.