Over the past year, Meghan Lubner, MD received local and national awards in recognition of her exceptional commitment to education and mentorship. The UW School of Medicine and Public Health honored Dr. Lubner with the prestigious Dean’s Award for Excellence in Medical Student Research Mentorship Award, which was presented at this year’s Medical Education Day. On the national scale, she was awarded the Lifetime Honored Educator award from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in 2023 and the Igor Laufer Professorship from the Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) for 2023-2024.
An enthusiastic mentor for medical students, Dr. Lubner has partnered with Perry Pickhardt, MD and Jason Abel, MD for over a decade to guide scholars in the Shapiro Summer Research Program as they conduct their projects. Through this program, Dr. Lubner engages and connects with medical students on a deeper level.
“You get to really know one or two students over the summer, and you can often work with them longitudinally once the project has concluded. It’s also an opportunity to expose them to radiology as an exciting career path early– on in their education and showcase the discipline in all its glory.”
Serving as a Shapiro mentor, Dr. Lubner is also able to provide insight into career pathways the students can pursue. She enjoys discussing how they might fit into the academic framework and become a physician scientist, something she did not explore in the early stages of medical training.
Dr. Lubner wholeheartedly embraces the philosophy of lifelong learning, seeking out opportunities to enhance her skills as an educator. One such way she has done this is through participation on educational committees and review committees for RSNA and attending presentations at their annual conference to learn from peers.
As the SAR Igor Laufer Visiting Professor this past year, Dr. Lubner completed an international tour, traveling nearly 70,000 miles across 20 states and four countries. During the tour she made over 40 stops to visit radiology programs or attend conferences. While visiting so many different cities and institutions across the globe was an amazing experience, the personal connections that Dr. Lubner made were the highlight of her travels.
“It was so nice to interact with everyone in person. I had forgotten how special that can be as we have come back from the pandemic. There were a lot of our past trainees at these visits, and it was great to see them again! Whether I encountered them at a conference of their institutions it was so special to see them be successful in their careers.”
