Dr. Stuart Nelson, PhD

Dr. Stuart Nelson, PhD, established the Dr. Stuart Nelson UW-Superior Pre-Medicine Student Award in 2019 to aid UW-Superior Pre-Health/Medicine students get into medical schools. Upon establishing the award, Dr. Nelson detailed why he supports these students:

“There are several reasons for initiating the “Dr. Stuart Nelson UW-Superior Pre-Medicine Student Award”. During my many years as a Pre-Clinical Medical School Professor, I frequently served on Med School Admissions Committees and came to learn a great deal about the rigors that hopeful candidates go through during the application. Also, I mentored and supported my two sons through the entire grueling processes involved in undergraduate education, medical school, internship, residency, and finally fellowship. One is currently a Plastic Surgeon while the other is an Anesthesiologist. Therefore I know a thing or two about the effort it takes. I also know it can be done, but applicants need to take it one step at a time and one year at a time. The path is filled with some great exhilarating accomplishments along with intermittent setbacks that can be disheartening. And sometimes, a little assistance from an outside source goes a long way as encouragement, including financial help. Therefore I thought it appropriate to help pre-medicine students with one piece of the process, and that is “getting into Med School”. Since it can be rather expensive, costing up to $2000 – $3000 depending on various factors, I wanted to help students fund their application process.

One further point plays into the mix. An important highlight of my career was teaching an Honors Zoology Class at UW-Superior in the early 1990s. I sprinkled the course with some medical science, a portion of which required some deep critical thinking. Quite frankly, I was amazed at the talent of the students. My career included lecturing Pathology and Medical Microbiology at over 60 different U.S. Medical Schools across the country, and I can tell you with certainty that those UW-Superior Honors Students could academically stand “toe to toe” with any of the many students I met during my travels. It is my hope that the Pre-Med Initiative at UW-Superior prospers in the upcoming years."