You could say that service is in the DNA of Paul Dainer, MD.

He learned from his parents at an early age that service to others is one of the highest callings; it’s a calling he has answered time and time again.

He served his country in the United States Navy and Navy Reserves for over 30 years combined.

He has served his patients, both military and civilian, faithfully since 1972.

Since arriving in Augusta, he has served his community through the Rotary Club, both locally in Richmond and Columbia counties and beyond in the CSRA.

And he has served his students since arriving at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University in 1992.

For the latter, Dainer, an associate professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at MCG and the Georgia Cancer Center, has been recognized with the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award. True to form, he used that award as a way to continue to serve students by donating a significant portion of the $25,000 prize money to MCG’s Southwest Campus in Albany.

“Dr. Dainer is great. He’s been at MCG for many years and has had a great career. I worked with him a good bit during my third and fourth years, and he was mentoring me to help me get into residency programs,” said Koosh Desai, MD, assistant dean of the MCG Southwest Campus. Desai nominated Dainer, his former mentor, for the award.