Pennington Biomedical Scientist Named Postdoctoral Mentor of the Year

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Released: Friday, March 16, 2018

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Dr. Leanne M. Redman, PhD, an associate professor in the Clinical Sciences Division at LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center, has won the 2018 National Postdoctoral Association Garnett-Powers & Associates, Inc. Mentor Award.

The NPA announced the award on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. The award recognizes a faculty member who has engaged in exceptional mentoring of postdoctoral scholars.

Redman is an expert in human metabolic phenotyping and well-known in the fields of obesity, lifestyle intervention and energy metabolism. She started the Reproductive Endocrinology and Women's Health Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical and has mentored Honors, Masters and PhD candidates from the neighboring LSU campus as well as postdoctoral fellows from around the world. Many of her predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows have been recognized for their work either with NIH funding (F or K awards), awarded competitive training opportunities to support their candidature or been finalists or award recipients at national and international meetings.

"My mentees are truly the ones to be recognized here because without their ambition, willingness to be mentored and feedback of my mentoring, I would not be experiencing the successes I am afforded as an academic mentor," Redman said. "Moreover, I would not be able to enjoy (alongside them), the academic accolades they receive for publications of their work and funding of their independent ideas. I'm very proud to accept this award but it's really on the behalf of them!"

Redman was nominated for the award by Nicholas T. Broskey, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Anne Gilmore, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; Kara Marlatt, Ph.D., M.P.H., postdoctoral research fellow, Pennington Biomedical Research Center; and Jasper Most, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

The NPA press release included quotes from the nomination letters. In hers, Marlatt praised Redman for her open-door policy and fostering "a highly collaborative research environment" among her four postdoctoral trainees and research staff.

"She is challenging, incredibly thought-provoking, and constantly helps me probe the 'big picture' questions about my current research projects and career path. She is truly a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction,&quote; Marlatt said.

Broskey's nomination letter cited Redman's advocacy for research skill development. Redman holds a weekly academic development club to review grants or academic article submissions. "Dr. Redman also provides open lines of communications to all of her mentees by connecting us to scientists in our field that are not at our institute. She is constantly reaching out to external researchers to aid us in our projects and papers. The environment that she creates for her postdocs is tremendous to our growth as scientists," Broskey said.

In her nomination letter, Gilmore said her personal and professional growth as a doctoral fellow and assistant professor exceeded all her expectations because of Redman's leadership. "Dr. Redman has empowered me to go beyond my own perceived limitations and supported the development of my own independent research area of obesity and cancer with unmitigated enthusiasm," Gilmore said.

The NPA applauds Redman for her contribution to the postdoctoral community and the considerable time and effort she has dedicated to the mentoring and development of postdocs.

Redman is a Fellow of The Obesity Society, the leading professional society dedicated to better understanding, preventing and treating obesity.

Redman obtained her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from Southern Cross University in 1999, a PhD in Physiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology from the University of Adelaide in 2004, both within Australia, and a Master of Clinical Science from Tulane University in New Orleans in 2011. Redman moved to the United States for postdoctoral training in female reproductive endocrinology with Anne Loucks, PhD at Ohio University and then moved to Pennington Biomedical to complete an Australian overseas postdoctoral training fellowship in energy metabolism with Eric Ravussin, PhD.

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The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 educational association headquartered in Rockville, MD. Founded in 2003, the NPA seeks to provide a national voice for postdoctoral scholars; to facilitate positive change for postdocs; and thereby to advance the research enterprise in the United States. The NPA serves the postdoctoral community, including more than 9,600 individual members and some 200 organizational members. The NPA provides support to the postdoctoral community through resources, toolkits, professional development and networking opportunities.

About the Pennington Biomedical Research Center The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 57 faculty and more than 18 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 40 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 450 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information, see http://www.pbrc.edu.

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The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes approximately 80 faculty and more than 25 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories supported by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Pennington Biomedical's more than 500 employees perform research activities in state-of-the-art facilities on the 222-acre campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.