St. Louis, MO — April 21, 2025 — Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD, was honored with the Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award during a special ceremony recognizing exemplary contributions to the academic community. The 26th annual Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award Ceremony took place on Monday, April 21, at 5:00 p.m. in Steinberg Auditorium on the Danforth Campus.
This award ceremony has been a tradition of the Graduate Student Senate for 25 years. Hosted annually by The Graduate and Professional Student Council, the Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award celebrates individuals who have made a lasting impact on student experiences through mentorship, teaching, and service.
This year, students in Masters, PhD, and professional programs across WashU were invited to submit nominations. Dr. Apte, a distinguished faculty member, was nominated by students for his dedication, support, and inspirational leadership. Dr. Apte was nominated by Jason Colasanti, Zelun Wang, Joseph Lin, and Chas Pfeifer. Joseph Lin and Zelun Wang presented Dr. Apte with his award.
Mentoring students, residents, research and clinical fellows and junior faculty is the most rewarding part of my job and what I cherish the most. Receiving the outstanding faculty award from the largest professional student body at WashU is a great honor.
– Dr. Rajendra Apte
The ceremony included brief remarks from students, who shared their reasons for nominating each recipient before presenting the awards. Following the ceremony, a reception was held in Weil Hall, occupying both the downstairs lobby and Kuehner Court.
About WashU Medicine
WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with 2,900 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the second largest among U.S. medical schools and has grown 56% in the last seven years. Together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently within the top five in the country, with more than 1,900 faculty physicians practicing at 130 locations and who are also the medical staffs of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals of BJC HealthCare. WashU Medicine has a storied history in MD/PhD training, recently dedicated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and is home to top-notch training programs in every medical subspecialty as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology and communications sciences.