Linda McManus, Ph.D., distinguished teaching professor of pathology and periodontics at the UT Health San Antonio and director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Robbins Distinguished Educator Award by the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP).

According to the ASIP website, The Robbins Distinguished Educator Award recognizes contributions to pathology education that have had a distinct regional, national, or international impact. The award is named in honor of Stanley L. Robbins, M.D., who was a dynamic leader in academic pathology.

“I am deeply honored to be the recipient of the Robbins Distinguished Educator Award.  My 46 year career in pathology research and education has always emphasized mechanisms of disease; being named a distinguished educator in pathology is humbling,” Dr. McManus said. “My love of teaching and an enduring cadre of appreciative trainees and students have fueled my sustained inspiration to achieve excellence. This award and recognition by my professional society is especially meaningful.”

Dr. McManus is a longstanding member of the ASIP and served in leadership, in positions such as president, secretary-treasurer, member of council, and chair of several committees (specifically many years as education chair). She also served in the leadership of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), where she was treasurer.

At UT Health San Antonio, Dr. McManus directed a NIH-sponsored research training program (T32) for postdoctoral fellows in cardiovascular pathobiology for over two decades. Presently, she co-directs a NIH training program (TL1) that supports trainees in translational science, as well as an institutional K12 program (IRACDA) for postdoctoral trainees. She is chair-elect of the Postdoctorate Leaders Section of the GREAT Group at the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and represents ASIP on the FASEB Training and Career Opportunities Subcommittee.

A native of Texas, she received her Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from the University of Colorado Medical School in 1978 and completed postdoctoral research training in pathology at UT Health San Antonio. In 1980. Dr. McManus joined the faculty in the department of pathology where her research focused on the cellular and molecular regulation of inflammatory events in tissue injury and disease. Together with Rick Mitchell, she co-edited, Pathobiology of Human Disease, a Dynamic Encyclopedia of Disease Mechanisms, a 5,000 page compendium published in 2014. 

The ASIP Robbins Distinguished Educator awardee is traditionally recognized at the ASIP Annual Spring Meeting which was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the award will be bestowed during the virtual ASIP Fall meeting, Pathobiology for Investigators, Students, and Academicians, to be held Nov 7 – 9, 2020.