Mar 19, 2026
- Scott A. Summers, PhD, selected by the Academy of Health Science Educators’ Advancing Excellence in Education Committee for the 2026 Outstanding Educator Award
- Summers recognized for leadership in interdisciplinary graduate education, NIH-funded training programs, and mentorship
- Award highlights his national and international impact on health sciences graduate education
The Academy of Health Science Educators Advancing Excellence in Education Committee has selected Scott A. Summers, PhD, to receive the 2026 Outstanding Educator Award for Health Sciences Graduate Students. The award recognizes educators who demonstrate exceptional commitment to graduate education through innovation, mentorship, and sustained impact on trainee success. Summers was selected for his leadership in designing and advancing interdisciplinary graduate programs that integrate rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, and translational relevance.
Summers is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology at the University of Utah, where he holds the William J. Rutter Presidential Endowed Chair in Biochemistry and serves as co-executive director of the Center for Metabolic Health. He previously helped establish the PhD program in Integrated Biology and Medicine at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, serving as its inaugural director of graduate studies and developing a problem-based, literature-driven curriculum. At the University of Utah, he led the collaborative design and launch of the PhD program in Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, embedding doctoral training within a nationally competitive, NIH-funded research enterprise.
In addition to program development, Summers directs the NIH-funded T32 Interdisciplinary Training Program in Metabolism and serves as co–principal investigator on additional federally funded training initiatives that expand access to biomedical research careers. His educational efforts also include developing new pathways linking Registered Dietitian Nutritionist training with doctoral education and, more recently, with medical education. Over his career, Summers has mentored more than 20 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows now working across academia, industry, and translational science, reflecting his lasting impact on the next generation of health science leaders.