Temerty Medicine faculty honoured for transformative impact on graduate education
From left to right: Pamela Plant, Arthur Mortha & Ahmed El-Sohemy, recipients of this year’s Graduate Faculty Teaching Awards
By
Sarah McMahon
The Office of the Vice Dean, Research and Health Science Education (RHSE) in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine has named Pamela Plant, Arthur Mortha and Ahmed El-Sohemy as the 2026 recipients of the Temerty Medicine Graduate Faculty Teaching Awards.
The annual awards celebrate exceptional contributions to graduate education across Temerty Medicine. Each year, graduate units nominate their most remarkable faculty members who teach in doctoral stream or professional graduate programs. Nominees are evaluated for excellence across a broad range of criteria, including commitment, communication, subject mastery, organization, teaching and mentorship.
Pamela Plant, director of graduate professional development for the institute of medical science and assistant professor (teaching stream) of laboratory medicine and pathobiology received the Early Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship award. This award highlights emerging leaders, early in their academic careers, who demonstrate a remarkable dedication to graduate learners and set a high bar for innovative teaching and attentive mentorship.
Plant, formerly a genomics specialist and adjunct scientist at the Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science at UnityHealth, works to help graduate students prepare for diverse careers through a skills-based curriculum.
Associate professor of immunology, Arthur Mortha, was recognized with the Mid-Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship award to acknowledge his ongoing commitment to outstanding instruction, mentorship and meaningful engagement with graduate students.
In addition to spearheading new graduate courses, Mortha leads a highly collaborative training environment in which graduate students benefit from his commitment to interinstitutional and international alliances.
Ahmed El-Sohemy, professor of nutritional sciences and associate chair of undergraduate education, was honoured with the Sustained Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship award. This award recognizes an enduring record of outstanding instruction, mentorship and meaningful engagement with graduate students for no less than 15 years.
El-Sohemy established a research program in nutrigenomics and has taught and mentored graduate students in Temerty Medicine for over 25 years. He actively engages in graduate student supervision, advisory committees and examinations. His tireless commitment to graduate student mentorship exemplifies the spirit of this award.
Congratulations to this year’s recipients for their extraordinary contributions to graduate education and for strengthening the learning environment across Temerty Medicine.
