Mentoring Philosophy I have a long-standing commitment to training; all my researcher projects have involved mentees. As a result, I am aware of the importance of goal setting, periodic evaluation of milestone progress, and frequent communication. I have mentored >50 medical, graduate, postgraduate students, and new faculty, four of whom I have successfully mentored through their postdoctoral training and into Assistant Professor positions.
Within IDHI students actively participate in ongoing research projects, contributing to data collection and analysis activities. I believe in learning by doing. As such, primary training mechanisms that I use with mentees – include involving them in research studies at each phase – from planning through publication and dissemination. This includes working with them to carve out pieces of projects that they can take the lead on as well as ways in which they can play a more supportive, “trainee” role for project elements they may be less familiar with. Aside from traditional research assistant duties, IDHI students are offered the opportunity to first-author manuscripts, facilitate community discussions, or present at a national conference based on data from ongoing projects.. This approach has been extremely successful as a professional development vehicle for my students and staff.