Career Development

ASBMR Mentorship Program

Looking for a mentor?

ASBMR represents diverse scientific experts at all stages. ASBMR members are willing to share significant scientific experiences and professional expertise on a broad range of topics with other members and offer advice on challenges in many areas during early, mid or late career stages.

ASBMR members at all career stages enroll as mentors to help other members with career advice and/or offer constructive one-on-one discussion on topics of professional interest. You can find mentors who can assist with reviewing manuscripts and grant proposals, provide general career advice, or share technical expertise. Members are invited to find a mentor by entering their membership login and password information in the boxes located at the top of this page, then clicking on “Search for a Mentor” and select keywords to obtain a listing of all scientists who have indicated a willingness to serve.

Search for a Mentor Now

Suggested Guidelines for Individuals Seeking Mentors

The ASBMR mentorship website was developed so that any member can volunteer to mentor or receive mentorship. It is therefore important that individuals seeking mentors carefully evaluate potential candidates for indicators that the selected individual will be able to provide adequate advice or has the requisite experience to engage in meaningful discussions.

Upon identifying potential candidate mentors, mentees may wish to consult with public information available through PubMed, departmental web pages, citation services (e.g., ISI) and/or web search engines (e.g., Google.com).

For advice on major research applications, the mentee may wish to consider the publication record and research productivity of the candidate mentor before selecting one or more individuals. The mentee may wish to engage in some dialogue with potential mentors, prior to making serious time commitments and request updated NIH style resumes.

Individual circumstances are important for a successful interaction between investigator and mentor. It is acceptable to decline the offer of a potential mentor, if a professional match is not complemented with personal rapport after the initial contact. Also, mentees must understand the serious time and efforts that their senior peers may expend to assist them. Mutual appreciation between mentee and mentor is therefore an important foundation for a meaningful long-term interaction.

While a distinguished and experienced investigator may be the first choice for a mentee, such an individual may be unavailable due to time-constraints, and or, prior commitments to other mentees. Therefore, mentees should consider selecting individuals who will be accessible to them.