Maureen Herrmann, HSCI's Program and Administrative Director, stands with Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, at the 2013 International Society for Stem Cell Research's President's Reception at the Harvard Club of Boston Downtown.

In March 2005, Maureen Herrmann was making dinner in her Duxbury home when an interview with Doug Melton, PhD, started playing on the evening news. She stopped and watched as the recent co-founder of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) spoke about the promise of regenerative medicine.

“It was clear as a bell that I would love to work in that area,” she recalled. “I remember thinking—that’s fascinating, but I’ll never be there.”

Five months later, Herrmann spotted an ad in the Sunday Boston Globe for an event coordinator position at the Institute. She applied, was called in to interview the next day, and got the job, which she began on September 6, 2005.

This spring, Herrmann, now HSCI’s Program and Administrative Director, is being recognized for her service with a Harvard Hero Award, the University’s most prestigious accolade for staff members. Only a handful of Harvard’s 10,000 employees receive the honor each year, which requires a thoughtful nomination by other members of the community.

“Maureen Herrmann epitomizes HSCI. Over the past decade, she has been integral to the creation of a thriving community of stem cell biologists, and, through her oversight of the HSCI’s Internship Program, has also helped develop the next generation of stem cell researchers,” co-wrote HSCI Executive Director Brock Reeve, MPhil, MBA, and M. William Lensch, PhD, Executive Director of Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology.

“Maureen treats everyone, from full professors to freshman interns, with kindness, empathy, and compassion,” they added. “Her hard work, competence, and skill set are outstanding contributors to stem cell science at Harvard.”

Herrmann credits the people at HSCI and their commitment to excellence for bringing out the best in her work. She tries to emulate the unselfish dedication that investigators bring to their research in her handling of the logistical side of scientific events and programs.

“I do what I can to help HSCI members accomplish their mission,” she said. “I try to get in their heads, walk in their shoes for a few minutes, and think about what they might need and make sure it is there—and always be ready with a plan B, no matter how well things are going.”

This empathy translates to the HSCI Internship Program, which Herrmann has managed since 2010. Each summer, she becomes the “on-call” person for the 40 or so undergraduates from Harvard and around the world selected to work in HSCI laboratories. In 2013, when an intern’s apartment burned down, Herrmann quickly located new accommodations and arranged for his internship to continue uninterrupted. This past winter, she organized a memorial service for a former intern from the UK who died following a brief battle with lymphoma.

“Maureen goes the extra mile to create a genuine and lasting community for the interns that continues to have a meaningful impact on their personal and professional development well beyond their time at Harvard,” said Lensch, the Program’s long-time director.

Herrmann admits that the side effect of organizing events and programs for current and future stem cell biologists is a growing appreciation for the work that is happening at Harvard, even if she doesn’t always understand the details.

“I’m not a scientist and I don’t pretend to be one, but I have been giving it a lot of energy to keep challenging myself to learn more,” she said. “I’ll never stop that, even when I leave this job or I’m old and reading about science, I know I’m going to try to understand it better—I just admire it so much.”