William M. Heller Mentor of the Year Award

Click HERE to read the Press Release about our 2023 Mentor of the Year Recipient

The William M. Heller Mentor of the Year is a highly visible award. Mentors are an integral part of AFPE’s mission. The Mentor of the Year is given to the AFPE mentor who exemplifies the characteristics of valuing ongoing learning, a willingness to share expertise, exhibiting enthusiasm in their field, providing guidance with respect, and is nominated by their mentees and colleagues.

William M. Heller (Bill) is a dedicated AFPE Fellow, mentor, global visionary, Remington awardee, Harvey A.K Whitney lecturer and, former AFPE board member, and the former Executive Director of USP. Bill has dedicated his career to drug quality and safety. His outstanding skills as a mentor have impacted those who are fortunate enough to have worked with him throughout his career.

AFPE requests nominations for the William M. Heller Mentor of the Year Award in April, and the winner is announced at the annual AACP meeting. The Mentor of the Year received an etched glass commemorative sculpture and a $1,000 award.

The 2023 Mentor of the Year Recipient is Carol S. Lim, University of Utah

Carol S. Lim, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics, Executive Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Pharmacy, University of Utah (UU), and member of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. She has taught in both the professional and PhD programs for the past 23 years and served on PhD advisory committees for 70 students. Over 100 students (high school students, undergraduates, PharmDs, and PhDs) have conducted research in her lab. Dr. Lim has graduated 16 PhD and 2 MS students, with 2 current PhD students. In 2015, Dr. Lim was the recipient of the University of Utah Mentor of the Year. Dr. Lim has received the Overall Outstanding Teacher of the Year in the College of Pharmacy four times and has won 6 other teaching awards in the college.

Dr. Lim serves on the PITCH T32 NIH Training Grant Committee at UU, actively mentors faculty in her college, and runs a monthly Grants Application Roundtable (faculty grant review). She was the College of Pharmacy Admissions Chair for 2 years. Dr. Lim has served as Director of the Globalization of Pharmaceutics Education Network international research program and has hosted 15 pharmacy students in research internships. She also was the Director of the college’s summer high school research program for 11 years, and has mentored 14 high school students, with 9 award winners at the Regional Science Fair, and one advancing to the International Science Fair. Eight students from her lab have received AFPE Pre-doctoral Fellowships. She is the current Faculty Advisor for the UU AAPS Student Chapter. In her department, Dr. Lim served as Interim Chair for 4 years and Director of Graduate Studies for 5 years. Dr. Lim’s research focuses on developing novel gene and protein/peptide therapeutics for cancer therapy and has received continuous federal/foundation funding since 2001, totaling $5.2M to date. She has patents for current projects on p53-based gene therapeutics, and a stapled protein inhibitor for chronic myeloid leukemia. She has co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and was a top three “Selected Highly Author” for the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. Dr. Lim served as a permanent member of NIH GDD study section, as well an ad hoc NIH reviewer many times since 2005. Dr. Lim is a member of the university’s OneU Research Council, tasked with making recommendations to the VPR for strategic, cross-campus research efforts.

Receiving the 2023 AFPE Mentor of the Year, Lim informed us: “I have had the honor of working with students from all over the world- from many parts of the U.S. and from other countries such as Germany, Palestine, Egypt, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, India, and Somalia. Each student has unique needs and talents, and as a mentor, it has been a great privilege to nurture students to reach their full potential. Mentoring to me represents the best part of academia- where we can work with others with diverse backgrounds to advance discoveries related to human health. ”

Past Mentors of the Year

2022: Peter W. Swaan, University of Maryland

2019: Kimberly Garza, Auburn University

2018: Kathleen Giacomini, University of California, San Francisco

2017: Gordon Amidon, University of Michigan

2016: Francis Szoka, University of California, San Francisco

2015: Lauren Aleksunes, Rutgers University