Mary Kollmer Horton named ASF’s top academic mentor
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship named Mary Kollmer Horton, MPH, MA, PhD, assistant professor in the Office of Educational Programs and director of the Medical Student Research Office, as its 2023 Academic Mentor of the Year.
“This award meant the world to me because it honored and celebrated the things that mean the most to me – helping students develop into their best professional selves and serving the community, especially the most vulnerable among us,” Horton said.
From left to right: Mark Hormann, MD; Mary Kollmer Horton, MPH, MA, PhD; and Nathan Carlin, PhD
With the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, academic mentors participate in the formation and development of highly motivated, service-minded students who are some of the best and brightest among emerging health leaders. The mentors help guide fellows in the planning, production, and implementation of their fellowship projects while acting as a resource in offering general guidance in both personal and professional development.
For nearly 30 years, Horton has worked with medical and graduate students in the areas of academic and professional development. She has presented nationally on physician-scientist training, as well as graduate and professional student success and wellness.
Horton holds two master’s degrees in sociomedical sciences (MPH) and psychiatric epidemiology (MA) from Columbia University and a doctorate in interdisciplinary humanities studies in the areas of medical history, philosophy of medicine, and sociology education from Emory University. Horton joined the McGovern Medical School faculty in 2020.
Dr. Mary Horton“The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship supports students who develop community health projects in needy communities,” Horton said. “To work with health profession students involved in developing these healthcare service projects and helping to sustain these important projects is among the most rewarding experiences I could imagine. This award honored those activities and made me so happy.”
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship offers graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to design and implement yearlong, mentored community projects that address an unmet health need for an underserved population. Students are paired with mentors, field experts, and community sites to enhance and extend the services of existing community organizations that serve vulnerable populations with the goal of creating immediate and lasting impacts.
Since 2008, Fellows from UTHealth Houston, UTMB, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Houston, Texas A&M, and Prairie View A&M have combined to contribute over 56,000 services hours.