This philosophy is designed to be a living document that I alter as I learn from experiences, coursework, and feedback.

Philosophy:

My goal as a mentor is to set my mentees up for success in their next step, whatever it may be. First, any mentees that join the lab must read and agree to our Lab Expectations and Code of Conduct, and therefore abide by standards of ethical behavior that is expected of everyone in the lab. To assist in mentee professional development, I will focus on helping my mentees develop in a few areas:

1. Conducting ethical science, including considerations around the broader implications of our research, safety, data collection/handling, and conducting research on animals.

2. Conceptual understanding of their research, including how their projects fit into the research goals of the lab, helps move the field forward, and broader societal implications.

3. Mastery of protocols and statistical techniques necessary for their projects, and the ability to transfer these skills to new procedures.

4. Building professional skills, such as communicating with colleagues and supervisors, preparing for meetings, and maintaining a network.

To accomplish these goals, I will have one-on-one meetings regularly with mentees. During these meetings, we will:

1. Discuss academic articles that are pertinent to their research

2. Coordinate collaborations with others

3. Clearly establish a plan for next steps

4. Communicate long-term goals/outcomes, including potential for co-authorship on manuscripts when relevant

5. Discuss the mentee’s research and professional goals, including skills they would like to develop

6. Troubleshoot problems

7. Discuss concerns or dissatisfaction with their current project

Mentee success is not contingent on the success of the project. Rather, a mentee can display success by communicating their research effectively during conversation, in formal presentations, and/or in written research statements (i.e. grant proposals, research essays for class, draft manuscripts). A mentee should be comfortable communicating the theoretical basis of the experiment, questions and predictions, experimental design, statistical techniques used in the analysis, results, and limitations of the study. Additionally, mentees join the research team with a unique skill set and identities. Therefore, part of displaying competence is applying their unique background to the research by contributing novel ideas and displaying curiosity by asking questions. In short, I hope my mentees leave the lab with the confidence that they can not only complete an independent project, but that the knowledge they bring is a unique and valuable asset to any team.

By focusing on mentee success rather than the outcome of their experiment, I hope to foster an environment in which students feel they can be open to share their opinions and experiences, including having an active role in designing their projects or communicating when an experience isn’t working for them. I hope to foster a lab culture that maintains high scientific integrity and rigor, while recognizing everyone’s humanity and allowing people to establish boundaries around work. Importantly, I aim to share my love of science with my mentees, assist in creating a positive experience for them to develop their own passion for research, and learn from each new mentorship experience.