Jun 17, 2026 · 18 min · 10 segments
Finding the right mentor can shape the trajectory of an entire career. Join host Geoff Barnes as he speaks with David Ginsburg, a recipient of the 2026 ISTH Outstanding Mentor Award, alongside Randal…
David GinsburgGuest
Geoffrey BarnesHost
Randal WestrickGuest
It's a pleasure to be here on this momentous occasion of having David have this wonderful award.
Dr. Ginsberg, you serve as the James Neal Distinguished University Professor of Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, as well as the Warner Lambert Park Davis Professor of Medicine and a member of our Life Sciences Institute.
Dr. Westerich is a professor of biological sciences and bioengineering, as well as an investigator for the Institute for Data Science at Oakland University.
This is an important and exciting award, the 2026 ISTH Outstanding Mentor Award.
As you look over the arc of your career, how has mentorship played an important role for you, both as a mentee and then as a mentor? And what impact has it had on your professional life?
I have to say that mentorship, both sides of it, being a mentee and being a mentor is profoundly rewarding.
And I think perhaps one of the most rewarding parts of this, one of the unique aspects of our academic careers.
When I was an undergrad, I worked in Joan Stites' lab at Yale, spectacular, world-class scientist.
And then as a hematology fellow, I was the second postdoc in Stu Orkin's lab at Boston Children's.
And we're still very close friends, and Stu had a profound impact on my career.
Since then, one of the greatest joys and satisfaction of my own independent professional career has been the people like Randy that I got to mentor and the enormous sense of pride and joy I get out of watching their careers develop.
It's a pleasure to be here on this momentous occasion of having David have this wonderful award.
Dr. Ginsberg, you serve as the James Neal Distinguished University Professor of Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, as well as the Warner Lambert Park Davis Professor of Medicine and a member of our Life Sciences Institute.
Dr. Westerich is a professor of biological sciences and bioengineering, as well as an investigator for the Institute for Data Science at Oakland University.
This is an important and exciting award, the 2026 ISTH Outstanding Mentor Award.
As you look over the arc of your career, how has mentorship played an important role for you, both as a mentee and then as a mentor? And what impact has it had on your professional life?
I have to say that mentorship, both sides of it, being a mentee and being a mentor is profoundly rewarding.
And I think perhaps one of the most rewarding parts of this, one of the unique aspects of our academic careers.
When I was an undergrad, I worked in Joan Stites' lab at Yale, spectacular, world-class scientist.
And then as a hematology fellow, I was the second postdoc in Stu Orkin's lab at Boston Children's.
And we're still very close friends, and Stu had a profound impact on my career.
Since then, one of the greatest joys and satisfaction of my own independent professional career has been the people like Randy that I got to mentor and the enormous sense of pride and joy I get out of watching their careers develop.
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