CVM’s Gaddy Wins Research Society’s Award For Mentorship
Story by Dorian Martin
Dr. Dana Gaddy, a tenured professor in Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM), has been recognized with the 2019 Gideon A. Rodan Award for mentorship, presented by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). This award was presented during the ASBMR 2019 Annual Meeting at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
This annual award recognizes the outstanding support provided by a senior scientist who helps promote the independent careers of young investigators in bone and mineral metabolism. The recipient receives a $2,000 honorarium.
Gaddy, who is on the faculty of CVM’s Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS), believes that a meaningful mentorship is about helping both teach and guide an individual.
“If you’re going to accept a student or a postdoc in your lab, my philosophy is that you’re not just there to use their hands or to train them how to do an analytical technique,” she said. “You’re there to help them launch a career and wherever that takes them, but you have to help them find that out.”
Gaddy’s philosophy is in line with that of award namesake Dr. Gideon A. Rodan, ASBMR’s ninth president and director of Merck’s Department of Bone Biology & Osteoporosis Research. He was a pioneer in the field of bone cell biology and carried out early seminal studies in bone cell characterization, signal transduction, and cellular and molecular biology. Rodan was the first recipient of the ASBMR Excellence in Mentorship Award, which was renamed in his honor.
Gaddy had a close-up view of the effectiveness of Rodan’s mentoring efforts as he was a close personal friend and Gaddy considered him a mentor.
“Dr. Rodan mentored everybody in the field who was involved in developing bisphosphonates (a group of medicines that strengthen bones), such as Fosamax,” Gaddy said. “He also mentored postdocs who went to work with other companies on other drug development projects as well as scientists who went from industry to academia and back.”
Gaddy earned her Ph.D. in reproductive endocrinology at Baylor College of Medicine. She credits her adviser, Dr. Joanne Richards, for serving as a strong professional mentor. Richards’ efforts to tailor her mentoring to guide DVMs, PhDs and MDs helped shape Gaddy’s perspective on mentoring.
“You’ve got to help them find the direction that seems to be the place they’re going to be happiest, not just mould them after you,” the CVM faculty member said.
After completing her post-doctoral work at the Salk Institute, Gaddy received an initial faculty appointment and then earned tenure and eventual promotion to full professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She joined Texas A&M in 2015.
Her research interests include the effects of gonadal inhibins and activin on the reproductive-skeletal axis, bone cell biology, and aging and disuse effects on the musculoskeletal system. Gaddy’s lab group was the first to establish a large animal model of the human bone disease hypophosphatasia (HPP) using gene editing in sheep, which recapitulates the bone, muscle, and dental phenotype of human HPP.
Gaddy offers the same type of support to young investigators in the bone and mineral community through service on the executive boards and as vice-president and president of both Advances in Mineral Metabolism (AIMM) and the Women in Endocrinology. She also has helped organize AIMM’s young investigator activities at AIMM for the last 15 years. She has been an elected member of the ASBMR Council, a member of the Women’s Task Force and the Membership Development Committee, and participates in the Early Career Fellows days at the Endocrine Society.
Her far-reaching mentorship has had ripple effects throughout the ASBMR.
“The number of people who came out of the woodwork to say, ‘I’m so excited that you got this award’ or ‘Your mentorship was important to me and really helped me in my career,’ was incredibly gratifying,” Gaddy said.
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Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Interim Director of CVM Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216
