Robert W. Gereau IV, PhD

2024 Dean’s Impact Award Recipient

Robert W. Gereau IV, PhD, has an exceptional history of mentorship over the last two and a half decades. He has supported and trained dozens of young scientists, including more than 20 PhD or MD/PhD students, 25 postdoctoral trainees, three clinical junior faculty developing independent research programs, as well as many medical, undergraduate and high school students. Gereau is one of the founders and the executive director of the Anesthesiology Summer Research (ASSURE) program. ASSURE is an innovative training program launched in 2021 that provides mentored research opportunities for local college students who may not have otherwise had an opportunity to learn at WashU Medicine. Gereau genuinely believes that the primary “product” and success of his lab is not the grants he obtains or the publications, but rather the young scientists he helps train and develop as researchers and human beings. He considers mentorship to be his most important responsibility, and this is reflected in everything he does as a PI and as a department leader and institutional citizen. Gereau not only trains junior scientific minds, but he also provides mentorship on career trajectories, character and integrity.