Congratulations to Jean Cook, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who was selected as a recipient of a 2010 Basic Science Preceptor Excellence in Teaching Award by the Academy of Educators at UNC-CH School of Medicine.
The UNC-CH School of Medicine Academy of Educators was founded in October 2006 as a part of the School’s strategic plan to enhance research and scholarship towards excellence in teaching. The Academy of Educators Committee on Teaching Awards has established a number of teaching awards to recognize the importance of excellence in medical student teaching, increase the prestige of great teachers and make teaching a more viable part of a faculty member’s career path.
Dr. Cook receives the Basic Science Preceptor Excellence in Teaching Award which is directed towards great teachers who are not course directors, but who make significant contributions to courses in years 1 and 2 of medical student education. The award comes with a financial prize of $1,000.
Dr. Cook is currently an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics who maintains a research lab that focuses on understanding how the DNA synthesis machinery is assembled at origins of DNA replication in mammalian cells. Eventually, this will allow for an understanding of how assembly of replication complexes is regulated by normal and aberrant cell signaling. This work has clear ramifications for the understanding and treatment of cancer and other cell proliferative diseases. To learn more about her research, please visit the Cook lab website.