Look Who it Was Random video

Faculty Awards | Sandra Degen, PhD | Cincinnati Children's (longer version)

103 views · Published 9 February 2015 · 1:50 · Indexed 10 October 2026

Channel: Cincinnati Children's · 2015 · Nonprofits & Activism

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Cincinnati Children's Faculty Awards

Before we hear some concluding remarks from our chairman, there is one more bit of business to tend to.

Since today has been a day for recognizing so many of our outstanding faculty, it only seems right that we should also thank the faculty member who started it all. 

Dr. Sandra Degen started this event four years ago. It was so well received that, well…here we are.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Sandra would create a program like this. Although a distinguished scientist in her own right, she has devoted most of her career to helping other scientists succeed.

Recently we learned that Sandra and her husband Jay, himself a distinguished researcher in our Division of Experimental Hematology – will retire on July 1.  After 30 years with Cincinnati Children’s, they will be moving west – to Santa Cruz, California. 

You might say they’ll have gone full circle.

California is where Sandra and Jay met, as sophomores in calculus class at the University of California in San Diego. The story goes that their relationship began when Sandra fooled Jay into believing she didn't understand an assignment and needed his help.  

They married the summer after college graduation and went on to the University of Washington, where each earned a PhD. in biochemistry. 

The couple was recruited to Cincinnati Children’s in 1985, where they each established highly productive research labs. Sandra also held several significant academic posts here and at the University of Cincinnati.

But Sandra stands out especially for her deep passion for mentoring women faculty and trainees. Starting with a generous gift from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Trust in 1998, Sandra created the Center for Development of Careers in Child Health, which has since grown to offer a variety of career-building programs. One of those is the Schmidlapp Women Scholars Program, which has awarded scholarships to 22 promising young scientists, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in their research fields.  

It would be impossible to count all the people Sandra a has helped over the years. Suffice it to say that there are many in this room and beyond these walls whose careers have been shaped and whose lives have been touched by the work of Sandra Degen.

Come this July, as Jay and Sandra head “right back where they started from,”  we wish them many happy, healthy, productive years, and extend an open invitation to come back and visit often.

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