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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Jan 14.
Published in final edited form as: Kidney Cancer J. 2020 Dec;18(4):114.

Academic Mentorship: Choosing the Right Research Mentor(s)

Nirmish Singla 1
PMCID: PMC7808721  NIHMSID: NIHMS1659251  PMID: 33456642

Selecting an academic mentor is not a trivial process and warrants close attention given the potential influence on one’s research interests and career trajectory. While finding a mentor who is accomplished—academically productive and prominent in the field of kidney cancer—is preferred, this should not serve as the sole factor in selecting a mentor1. Other important factors to consider in choosing the ideal mentor include finding someone who is:

  • Respected: has good relations with others in the field

  • Trusted: has a track record of successful mentoring in kidney cancer

  • Accessible: has time for mentees and meets with them regularly

  • Invested: shares interest and enthusiasm in mentees’ work and in developing their careers

  • Funded: can provide logistical support and resources

A mentor should also serve as an advocate for mentee visibility and promotion in the form of conference presentations, coauthorship on manuscripts, and award nominations. Mentors should provide mentees with guidance, intellectual input, and thoughtful critique of their work. By constantly challenging their mentees, mentors should strive to facilitate mentees in their transition to their next career phase.

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Successful mentorship is bidirectional, however, and mentees play a critical role that cannot be overlooked in the reciprocal mentor-mentee relationship2. Mentees must show self-awareness and be cognizant of their goals, skills, and weaknesses. Mentees should prepare adequately for every meeting with their mentors, ideally by crafting a structured agenda, and demonstrate investment in the research opportunity by reading, addressing weaknesses, and meeting or surpassing mentor expectations. Furthermore, mentees should take an active role in learning how to mentor others in preparation for transitioning to the next phase of their careers3.

Finally, as kidney cancer research is largely multidisciplinary, mentees should not feel limited to only one mentor. Co-mentorship models are becoming increasingly common and offer multiple advantages. Aside from integrating varied backgrounds and experiences, co-mentorship models may enable mentees to learn about another field and may increase the impact of both manuscripts and grant applications in kidney cancer.

Footnotes

Disclosures: None

REFERENCES

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