Behind nearly every great researcher is a strong mentor who encouraged them to think in new creative ways to approach a question or problem, University of Miami scientists assert. It's someone who guided a student or colleague and helped brainstorm when obstacles arose.
"All of us have had someone in the past who brought them under their wing as research mentors, and the rest is history," said Deborah Jones Weiss, assistant vice provost for research mentoring and development at the Miller School of Medicine and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a veteran HIV researcher. "Mentoring is also critical to advancing research because funding agencies aren't usually interested in the ideas of one person. They want to see team science. We bring science forward when we bring together people from different disciplines … and the best way to make that happen is with research mentoring."
Research experts like Jones Weiss know how important mentors can be to helping students and faculty members uncover groundbreaking discoveries. That is why she is leading the first University of Miami's Collaborative Research Mentoring Program, a new initiative from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship. The program will host its first Research Mentoring Summit on Monday, March 23, in the Donna E. Shalala Student Center on the Coral Gables Campus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"Mentoring is one of the most powerful ways to strengthen a university's research enterprise over time," said Alberto Caban-Martinez, interim vice provost for research and scholarship and professor of public health sciences. "When junior investigators receive strong guidance early in their careers, they are better positioned to develop innovative ideas, build collaborative teams, and compete successfully for external funding."
It's not like they have had to reinvent the wheel. The University has many strong mentoring relationships, and at the summit, several faculty members will be recognized as mentoring champions for their success in guiding others toward weighty research questions and cultivating second generation research mentors. Both Jones Weiss and Caban-Martinez have benefited from mentors at the University and have become second-generation mentors but know there is always room to improve.
"Many of our faculty are already doing outstanding mentoring within their departments and centers, but there is real value in creating a Universitywide conversation about what effective mentoring looks like," added Caban-Martinez. "We hope the summit will serve as a catalyst for building a more connected mentoring community across the University of Miami."
Jones Weiss agreed. She was already an experienced mentor before attending a conference about research mentoring in 2015 and it helped her immensely, she said. Now, she is glad she can extend the experience to the entire campus.
"Mentors are not born, so anyone can learn these skills—and existing mentors can develop their skills," she said. "We want to create a stronger culture of mentoring at the University, so more people will want to be mentors, or to be mentored by others."
The summit is the first event for the Collaborative Research Mentoring Program, which aims to build networking opportunities for researchers across campuses, address challenges and resource gaps, and foster sustained research growth.
At the summit, Kenzie Cameron, senior director of mentoring and leadership development at Northwestern University, will give a keynote address. A passionate researcher and mentor, Cameron is also a professor of medicine, medical education, preventive medicine, and medical social sciences at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
The summit will leave time for networking, a panel on research mentoring tips and experiences, a presentation on research mentoring ethics, and lunch. Jones Weiss believes the event will energize faculty members who may want to brush up on these skills and inspire early-career investigators.
"I want those who attend to walk away wanting to know more about being a good mentor and for people who need a strong research mentor to know they can find one at the University of Miami," she added.
