Faculty Mentors and Sponsor

Mentorship has been shown to be essential for junior investigators to achieve research success, and increases the odds of earning subsequent extramural funding.


Strong research mentors have active programs, research funding, recent publications and an interest in fostering your programs.

Selecting Mentors
  • Your Chair, senior investigators and SMHS Research Workforce Development can help you build your team.
  •  Explore our searchable faculty research database that profiles ~650 GW researchers, listing research interest, translational level, publications and contact information.
  • Consider mentors who align with your research career goals, such as
    • Clinical Mentors to guide patient care and clinical trial involvement.
    • Clinical Research Mentor to provide expertise in investigator- initiated trials (IITs), preparing IRBs, etc.
    • Health Science Mentor Can advise on bridging lab discoveries with clinical applications.
    • Experts in study design, implementation science, grant writing, or specific areas of research.
  • As faculty scholars develop their programs, the relationship with mentors may transition to that of Sponsors. Sponsors use their capital to promote scholars regionally and nationally.
Mentor Compact/ Mentorship Agreement

Mentors agree to provide timely feedback, attend program activities, and contribute to your development.

Mentorship also has its challenges! Explore scholar and experienced mentor resolutions to common mentorship challenges.

Mentoring the Mentors

Most training programs work to address common goals, such as

 

  • Aligning Expectations
  • Maintaining Effective Communication
  • Fostering independence
  • Assessing Understanding
  • Enhancing professional development

 

 

Mentoring workshops are provided by our specific training programs, as well as the Center for Faculty Excellence at SMHS. These workshops include “Effective Mentoring: Strategies for cultivating an effective mentor-mentee relationship”; “Feedback that Sticks:
Techniques for giving feedback and helping those receiving it”; “Creating an Environment of Psychological Safety: Strategies for fostering a climate in which people are comfortable expressing themselves and sharing concerns”; “Aligning Goals and Expectations”; “Mentoring Across Differences,” among others.