As indicated in the first chapter, science is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary. Thus, mentees may need to receive training in different fields of science to accomplish their goals. Multidisciplinary training is more essential than ever, and having a mentor whose skills and outlook are complementary is recommended. Mentors should consider whether to encourage their mentees to receive training in additional disciplines depending on the individual situation. Additionally, mentors should be prepared to support this training, to help find and recruit other mentors if appropriate, and to assist mentees in developing a plan to work with others outside the mentors' own fields.
Many scientists are focused on collaborators in their own division, department, or field. However, networking across divisions, departments, and institutions is an important way to identify potential collaborators who might be willing to share data and other resources (Saha et al., 1999). It is also a way to adopt a more multidisciplinary perspective. Building a professional network is crucial to successful academic careers (Bland and Ruffin, 1990; Bower et al., 1999). A mentor should help mentees build their own network of contacts and potential collaborators. Most researchers are willing to talk about their work and exchange ideas with junior colleagues or fellows. For junior faculty or fellows who are new to an institution, several recommendations for networking techniques are provided on the next page. Many organizations also have formal one-on-one mentoring programs and networking events at their meetings.
A mentoring mosaic is typically constructed such that a mentee works with mentors in separate but complementary ways. Members of the mentoring mosaic may work with the mentee in different roles, such as a "research mentor" and a "career mentor," or they may mentor on different aspects of a research project. There are many reasons to develop a mentoring mosaic: for example, the available mentors may not meet all mentee needs, or either a mentee desires or the science demands a more multidisciplinary experience. It is common to find a senior methodological mentor, but one who lacks content knowledge in a chosen field (or vice versa). A primary mentor can help develop this mosaic.
The mentoring mosaic can include multiple senior level mentors or a combination of senior mentors and peer mentors. Peer mentors are colleagues at the mentee level or slightly above who provide advice and counsel (Chin et al., 1998). Types of peer mentors include basic peer mentors, facilitator mentors, and peer mentor project managers. A basic peer mentor is a self-identified junior faculty member with shared interest; a facilitator mentor is a faculty member with expressed interest and skill in mentoring; and a peer mentor project manager is a member of the peer group identified as lead author or manager of an academic project. Data indicate that semistructured, facilitated group mentoring improved writing, satisfaction with accomplishments, and skills needed for success.
The drug abuse research community has traditionally placed a high priority on recruiting minority trainees from diverse and uderrepresented backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities. This priority has been a part of all facets of the research mentoring process and is consistent with NIH's commitment to increasing the pool of investigators from underrepresented minority groups in biomedical and behavioral research. Since 1989, NIH has mandated that all training grant proposals include specific plans to recruit and retain underrepresented minorities. In addition, NIH now requires that training directors document recruitment efforts and minority retention data in all progress reports, and that they provide information on both successful and unsuccessful recruitment strategies. The success of efforts to recruit and retain minority trainees is also a factor in the assessment of the quality of the trainee pool and is reflected in the priority score of the application. If minority recruitment plans are judged to be unacceptable, funding can be delayed or withheld.
Even with these guidelines in place, creative efforts are needed for success. Science recently reported that NIH is increasing its minority employment efforts after missing its recruitment target (Mervis, 2006). NIH is considering a proposal to double its recruitment of minority candidates seeking doctoral degrees in the biomedical and behavioral sciences over the course of 8 years. Other programs to recruit more minorities have not done well: less than 15 percent of undergraduates in the Minority Access to Research Careers U*STAR program progressed to Ph.D. studies. Additionally, nearly 40 percent of those funded for the Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) Program go on to faculty positions rather than to junior investigator positions.
NIDA has a number of programs to support and further mentor underrepresented scholars, including the Summer Research with NIDA Program; the Diversity Supplement Program; the Diversity-promoting Institutions Drug Abuse Research Program (DIDARP); and the Recruitment and Training Program offered by NIDA's intramural program. In some cases, these programs will support minority students very early in the development of their science skills (high school) as well as those at the Ph.D. or M.D. level. The Diversity Supplement Program supports individuals underrepresented in science to work on currently funded grants through the diversity supplement program. The DIDARP provides funding to institutions to increase the capacity of identified scholars to conduct drug abuse research, fosters the research career development of racial/ethnic minority and other faculty and staff who are underrepresented in drug abuse research, and enhances the research infrastructure of diversity-promoting institutions. Additional information on these programs can be found at DrugFacts: NIDA's Opportunities for Special Populations.
In addition to NIH's efforts to foster improved mentorship and training for underrepresented researchers, a number of other organizations have created programs to identify new opportunities to recruit minority students for careers in research:
Other activities for mentors that can increase the diversity of mentees:
Mentees from underrepresented groups need to feel that they are valued members of the research team and not isolated from other research fellows or trainees in their programs. To help build trust, mentees should be encouraged to build mentoring relationships with other underrepresented investigators at other institutions or departments. Mentors should—
Since July 1990, NIH has required that all training grants and mentored scientists' (relevant Ks) proposals include plans for instruction in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). According to the funding announcements, applications must include a description of instruction in scientific integrity. Areas that must be covered include—
Plans must address the topics, as well as the format of the instruction, participation of faculty, a list of required attendees, and the frequency of the program.
Because NIH encourages collaborating institutions—regardless of their source of support—to provide instruction in RCR to all graduate students, postdocs, and research staff, mentors must make RCR training a priority. Ideas for mentoring include arranging for the mentee to observe or serve on a local human subjects committee, institutional review board, or institutional animal care and use committee; to actively participate in discussions on the ethical conduct of science; and to become involved with institutional RCR activities either on the World Wide Web (see Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research for more information) or in person.
It is recommended that this training be ongoing. Ongoing training combined with a substantial plan is the standard expectation of the NIH review committee that reviews these applications for NIDA. Training for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and previous ethics courses in graduate school are not ongoing and are therefore not applicable. The Office of Research Integrity Newsletter includes information about RCR training, misconduct case reports, articles, new regulations, conferences that specifically address RCR, and other important and timely news. Articles from this quarterly newsletter can be discussed with mentees as well.
Sometimes a mentee has no choice but to go outside of his/her institution or geographical area to find an appropriate mentor (Bennis, 1994). If the mentor–mentee relationship is long-distance, the following recommendations are provided for improving the mentoring experience: