Pharmacy’s Cherrington earns national mentoring award

Nathan J. Cherrington, PhD, the Musil Family Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery, professor and associate dean for research at the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy, has been awarded the Society of Toxicology 2025 Mentoring Award. 

Cherrington, who joined the U of A in 2002 and is a member of the BIO5 Institute, not only mentors students and postdoctoral trainees who work in his lab, but he also mentors through the T32 Training Program in the Toxicology of Human Disease, the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center and the Pharmacology and Toxicology graduate program. 

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“The training I received from two of the most gifted mentors in my field and the continued support from my colleagues and collaborators at the University of Arizona has allowed me to mentor some of the best and brightest students. I am proud of their accomplishments,” said Cherrington. “It was an honor to be nominated by my former students. It was an honor to have been selected. It is an honor that I hope to justify over the next 20 years of dedicated mentoring.”

Cherrington was nominated by former students and mentees who credit their success, both in their graduate programs and professional lives, to his mentorship. 

“Through his exceptional leadership, moral principles and encouragement for innovative thinking, he is the epitome of a positive role model,” wrote Kayla L. Frost, PhD, a senior scientist at AbbVie and a former mentee. “The friendships Nathan has sustained across the country allowed me to learn from a multitude of professionals with diverse backgrounds and expertise. At least once a week during our meetings, he would say, ‘Oh, you know who is the expert on that subject? Let’s have a meeting to get their opinion.’

“Instead of simply introducing me, he would empower me to lead the meetings, present my questions and make me feel secure by providing subtle guidance. This method taught me how to prepare for meetings, think independently and gain confidence in my ability to effectively communicate.”

While Cherrington is lauded for supporting his mentees, he is far less comfortable being in the spotlight himself. 

“I’m not very comfortable with it,” he said when asked how he felt about receiving the award. “I feel like I’ve trained with some of the best mentors out there in our field, but all I really see is the things that I need to improve on.”

That’s not how John D. Clarke, PhD, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Washington State University, sees Cherrington. 

“Nathan’s mentorship has no stopping point,” wrote Clarke in his nomination letter. “I have known mentors who maintain no contact with their mentees after they leave the mentor’s lab. That is not the case for Nathan. On many occasions, I have reached out to him with questions or problems, and he has always taken the time to talk me through it. Nathan does these things because he understands the intrinsic value that comes from helping the next generation of toxicologists succeed.”

For more than 50 years, the SOT awards have honored toxicologists by recognizing their contributions to advancing the science of toxicology through groundbreaking research, leadership, mentorship and a commitment to education. 

“As I navigate through my career, I use Nathan’s example as a guide,” Clarke said. “He rarely self-promotes, but he has remained incredibly successful and influential in toxicology. This is a testament to me of the enduring example he is of a true mentor in toxicology.”