Pamela Mertz, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, was named the recipient of the William C. Rose Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) for 2026. The award recognizes an individual who, at the undergraduate and/or graduate/professional levels, demonstrates an exceptional contribution to the teaching of biochemistry and molecular biology with a demonstrated commitment to student learning and mentorship, pedagogical engagement and teaching innovation.
“The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology gives out prestigious awards each year, most of them are based on accomplishments in life science research. This award is the only society award that focuses solely on contributions to education, and it is a great honor to receive it,” said Mertz. “I have profound admiration for previous recipients, and it is an amazing accomplishment to be added to this list of awardees.”
“Our faculty and students have long known Dr. Mertz as one of our most committed and innovative educators,” said SMCM Provost and Dean of Faculty Katie Gantz. “It's wonderful to see she's receiving national recognition for her teaching as well.”
Mertz teaches biochemistry and chemistry courses at SMCM and serves as the chair of the Health Sciences Advisory Committee. She actively involves her students in her research, specializing in lipid metabolism, enzyme regulation and biomolecular visualization. Recently, she and three of her students presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the ASBMB in Chicago, Illinois.
Mertz is highly active in science pedagogy, serving as associate director for BioMolViz, a network that has developed a framework for biomolecular visualization in teaching and making available tools, techniques and training to other faculty members to enhance their classroom teaching. As part of the Malate Dehydrogenase CUREs Community, Mertz developed a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) for the Biochemistry I laboratory course at SMCM as part of a National Science Foundation grant.
Mertz is widely published, most recently as a co-author of an open education resource, “Seeing the Invisible: Learning to Teach with Biomolecular Visualization.” She serves on the editorial board of the journal Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education. She also served twelve years on the ASBMB Student Chapters Committee, five years as chair, was recently appointed to the ASBMB Nominating Committee, and she is an ASBMB Fellow.
