Skilled, rigorous, insightful

"I am nominating Dr. Olga Chechneva because she is the quiet backbone of our research group. The person who shows up early, stays late, and always carries the lab forward even when no one is watching. She embodies what it means to be a lab hero, not through big publicity moments, but through hundreds of unseen actions that collectively make our science possible. Olga is the person who answers the 7:30pm messages because an incubator alarm went off. She is the person who trains new students and junior specialists with patience, clarity, and care not because it is her job description, but because she genuinely wants them to succeed. She steps in to fix protocols, double-checks experimental details, and catches problems before they become failures. She is the person everyone goes to when they’re stuck whether it’s a confusing result, an unexpected curve in the data, or just needing a second scientific brain, and she always finds a way to guide them through it. Beyond her technical expertise, Olga elevates morale in the most stressful moments. She protects the integrity of the science even when timelines are urgent and stakes are high. She advocates for better planning, safer workflows, and more thoughtful experimental design, and because of her influence, our work is not only more successful, but more rigorous and reproducible. In animal surgeries, cell culture, and molecular assays, she continually demonstrates exceptional skill, but her true impact is her generosity. She makes everyone around her better. She models professionalism with humility, leadership without ego, and mentorship that is rooted in kindness. Science is full of brilliant ideas, but it is people like Olga who turn those ideas into results, grants, publications, and discoveries. She is the type of person this award was created for: someone who strengthens the entire lab through her dedication, her heart, and her unwavering commitment to the success of others. This is why Olga is our Lab Hero."

Nominated by Iris Martinez, Neurosurgery, UC Davis, United States