Mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral fellows is a privilege, is an important part of our role as PIs, and takes ongoing training to learn the best ways to mentor trainees who have many different styles of work. The School of Medicine Basic Sciences offers opportunities for faculty to participate in workshops on various topics throughout the year.
CIMER Workshops
The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experience in Research (CIMER) teaches best practices in mentoring. In these sessions, you will “learn how to improve mentor-mentee relationships at all career stages, develop excellence in research mentoring, and best train the next research workforce.” More information about CIMER can be found here.
Seven of our faculty members have undergone training with CIMER to be “Entering Mentoring” facilitators. Registration is required. Please contact Tracy O’Brien (tracy.obrien.1@vanderbilt.edu) if you have any questions.
CIMER Workshop Instructors
Lourdes Estrada, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry
Maureen Gannon, Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Michelle Southard-Smith
Professor of Medicine
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Digna Velez-Edwards, Ph.D.
Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Todd Edwards, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Associate Director Vanderbilt Genetics Institute Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Henrique Serezani, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Disease
Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Madhvi J. Venkatesh, D.Phil.
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Mentoring Statement Workshops
This 90-minute session will discuss five key aspects of mentoring. You will have time to draft a mentoring-focused paragraph for the Personal Statement section of your Biosketch. This can be used for training grant applications, fellowship applications, and any other applications that revolve around supporting trainees.