{"id":754,"date":"2026-01-28T11:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/?page_id=754"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:55:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:55:48","slug":"mentor-spotlight-gupta","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentor Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Graduate Mentor of the Year Awardee Spotlight<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dr. Yogesh K. Gupta<\/h3>\n

\u201cMentoring is a long-term investment in people.\u201d<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1769622039969{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”.wrapped-image { margin: 0 100px 200px 0; }”]\"\"Every year, the Graduate Mentor of the Year Award recognizes faculty who exemplify outstanding commitment to cultivating the next generation of scientists\u2014those who support their trainees not only in technical skill development, but also in confidence, curiosity, and personal growth. Selected from 45 graduate student nominations representing 34 faculty, this year\u2019s honorees include Dr. Yogesh K. Gupta, Associate Professor at the Greehey Children\u2019s Cancer Research Institute. Dr. Gupta was nominated by Abhay Kumar, a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Program, who credits Dr. Gupta\u2019s mentorship as a defining force in his scientific training and professional development.<\/p>\n

A Mentor Who Sees Potential<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abhay describes Dr. Gupta as a mentor who \u201cnot only sees potential in his students, but actively nurtures it in a thoughtful and strategic way.\u201d He shared: \u201cHe understands my capabilities really well and knows how to push me just enough to help me grow, without making it overwhelming.\u201d<\/em> In Dr. Gupta\u2019s lab, trainees are encouraged to think independently, approach problems creatively, and take ownership of their work. Abhay noted that this approach has strengthened his confidence as a developing scientist: \u201cHe lets me first approach research problems on my own and then, through discussions, helps steer me in the right direction. That kind of support has really helped me build confidence and a sense of ownership.\u201d<\/em> This balance of guidance and independence\u2014paired with Dr. Gupta\u2019s exceptional patience\u2014has set an environment where students feel supported to learn at their own pace while still being challenged.<\/p>\n

A Transformative Mentorship Philosophy<\/strong><\/p>\n

When asked what mentoring means to him, Dr. Gupta shared that his philosophy has evolved significantly: \u201cEarly in my career, I saw mentoring as passing on technical skills. Over time, I\u2019ve realized it\u2019s far more about listening, guiding, and empowering.\u201d<\/strong> He describes his approach as \u201ccompassionate rigor\u201d or striving for scientific excellence in an environment where students feel safe to take risks, make mistakes, and ask questions. Dr. Gupta aims to foster more than technical proficiency. He hopes mentees leave his lab with a sense of scientific curiosity, integrity, resilience, and an appreciation for collaboration: \u201cI want them to trust their ideas, seek help with humility, support others, and see that purpose, kindness, and rigor can coexist to make lasting impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helping Students Grow Beyond the Bench\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abhay shared two powerful stories that illustrate Dr. Gupta\u2019s mentorship in action.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Overcoming fear and finding confidence <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Public speaking was once a major hurdle for Abhay. Recognizing this, Dr. Gupta gently nudged him toward growth\u2014encouraging him to attend lunches with visiting speakers, suggesting he present posters at local symposia, and reinforcing small wins. The result? Abhay not only presented posters\u2014he won 2nd and 3rd place at the Mays Cancer Symposium and the Mikiten Graduate Symposium. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for Dr. Gupta\u2019s encouragement, I don\u2019t think I would have ever taken that step.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Developing independence as a structural biologist<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      When Abhay joined the lab, he was new to the field and unsure of himself. Dr. Gupta met this uncertainty with patience, resources, and steady support. Three years later, Abhay has co-authored two papers in Cell and eLife, and is preparing his first-author manuscript. \u201cDr. Gupta doesn\u2019t just train researchers\u2014he builds confident, independent scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n

      To further illustrate Dr. Gupta\u2019s mentorship and its impact beyond the bench is one of his proudest mentoring moments \u2014the success of one of his first graduate students, Shan Qi. Despite facing potential setbacks when another group published similar findings, Shan reframed the challenge into an opportunity\u2014with Dr. Gupta\u2019s encouragement. Shan\u2019s resulting work earned a prestigious Hibbs Award, a first-author publication, and a postdoctoral position with an HHMI investigator.<\/p>\n

      Advice to New Mentors\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Dr. Gupta encourages new faculty to remember that mentorship is inherently individual: \u201cGrowth takes time and guidance, not pressure. Maintain open, honest conversations\u2014not just about data, but about goals, challenges, and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

      He also believes institutions should treat mentoring as a core measure of academic excellence, woven into promotion, training, and evaluation. Reflecting on the role mentoring has played in his own career, he shared: \u201cMy mentees have mentored me back. Their curiosity and perseverance inspire me and remind me why I chose this path.\u201d<\/p>\n

      The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences proudly recognizes Dr. Yogesh K. Gupta, Graduate Mentor of the Year, for his exceptional dedication to cultivating capable, confident, and compassionate scientists.<\/p>\n

      To learn more, reach out to Mentoring@uthscsa.edu<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Graduate Mentor of the Year Awardee Spotlight Dr. Yogesh K. Gupta \u201cMentoring is a long-term investment in people.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1769622039969{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”.wrapped-image { margin: 0 100px 200px 0; }”]Every year, the Graduate Mentor of the Year Award recognizes faculty who exemplify outstanding commitment to cultivating the next generation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":701,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-754","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nMentor Spotlight - The Mentoring Academy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mentor Spotlight - The Mentoring Academy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Graduate Mentor of the Year Awardee Spotlight Dr. Yogesh K. Gupta \u201cMentoring is a long-term investment in people.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1769622039969{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”.wrapped-image { margin: 0 100px 200px 0; }”]Every year, the Graduate Mentor of the Year Award recognizes faculty who exemplify outstanding commitment to cultivating the next generation […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Mentoring Academy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T17:55:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/192\/2026\/01\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"433\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mentor Spotlight - The Mentoring Academy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/192\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop-550x366.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-28T17:41:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T17:55:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/192\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/192\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop.jpg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":433},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mentor Spotlight\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Mentoring Academy\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wp.uthscsa.edu\\\/mentoring-academy\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mentor Spotlight - The Mentoring Academy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mentor Spotlight - The Mentoring Academy","og_description":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Graduate Mentor of the Year Awardee Spotlight Dr. Yogesh K. Gupta \u201cMentoring is a long-term investment in people.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1769622039969{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”.wrapped-image { margin: 0 100px 200px 0; }”]Every year, the Graduate Mentor of the Year Award recognizes faculty who exemplify outstanding commitment to cultivating the next generation […]","og_url":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/","og_site_name":"The Mentoring Academy","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T17:55:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":433,"url":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/192\/2026\/01\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/","url":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/","name":"Mentor Spotlight - The Mentoring Academy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/192\/2026\/01\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop-550x366.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-28T17:41:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T17:55:48+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/192\/2026\/01\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/192\/2026\/01\/Yogesh-Gupta-Env-34_webop.jpg","width":650,"height":433},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/mentor-spotlight-gupta\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mentor Spotlight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/","name":"The Mentoring Academy","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/701"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/754\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.uthscsa.edu\/mentoring-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}