Congratulate Dr. Michelle Rockwell and Dr. John Epling on being awarded VTCSOM Mentors of the Year!

Recently, Dr. Michelle Rockwell and Dr. John Epling were nominated and awarded Mentors of the Year by VTCSOM. They were given the opportunity to present at the Medical Student Research Symposium in March. Watch a recording of this here: VTCSOM Class of 2025 Annual Student Research Symposium (1:10:36). 

Here are some thoughts from our medical students about Drs. Epling and Rockwell's leadership: 

• "With a quick wit and steadfast commitment to high quality research, Dr. Epling is a mentor who challenges his mentees with apt questions that encourages us to critically engage with our research hypothesis, methodology, and conclusions. Dr. Michelle Rockwell, a tenacious and thoughtful mentor, goes above and beyond to push student projects forward, efficiently troubleshooting challenges that inevitably appear, and is remarkably generous with her time and expertise. Their extensive experiences in health services research solidifies them as experts in their fields and the subsequent wealth of knowledge they have combined is a boon to us as mentees."
• "They never fail to offer a personalized feedback session of our works in progress and ensure that we know we have their support."
• "As students who have had the privilege of being mentored by them both during our research endeavors, we are inspired by their unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of excellence and innovation in our academic community. They are researchers we aspire to be."

Join us in congratulating them on this accomplishment!