Postdoctoral Mentoring Program

Goal:

To provide mentorship and support for CGI postdoctoral fellows, PhD-level senior scientists, and non-tenure track junior faculty (i.e., instructors).

Background:

Thriving in a scientific career both within or outside academia has several challenges, particularly for postdoctoral fellows and other members of our groups who are not formally affiliated with a more structured program, such as those that are available to PhD and medical students. Our program is intended to fill this gap by providing mentoring and support for these individuals who are part of CGI labs.

Logistics:

CGI and associated faculty (including CGI SLU faculty members) to announce the program to their individual lab members, starting in the Spring of 2024. Each postdoctoral fellow will select 2-3 additional faculty (besides their own primary mentor – can be outside the CGI if desired) to serve on their mentoring team.

Expectations and responsibilities:

Mentoring committee: A faculty member will serve as chair of the committee and will have an initial 1:1 meeting with the mentee to understand their background, project, interests, challenges, and future goals. A form is provided (see below) which will help set up the expectations for the mentee and mentoring committee. With the help of the faculty chair as needed, the mentee will take the lead in organizing meetings with the mentoring committee.

The following page is intended to be a skeleton of structure to be provided for mentee/mentors to define/personalize the parameters of the program.

1. Mentee name:

2. Mentor/Mentor committee members:

3. Goals: What do you hope to achieve with this mentoring partnership?

4. Expectations: (of mentee)

5. Expectations: (of mentors)

6. The frequency of meetings will be: (e.g., once every 6-12 months)

7. The length of meetings will be: (e.g., one hour)

8. Some challenges that may arise:

9. Will there be confidentiality within this committee? If so, confidentiality in this committee means: (examples: the committee will not report anything back to the head of the lab, unless s/he gives us explicit permission to do so)

Additional notes:
The mentors agree to be honest and provide constructive feedback while sharing insight on their own experiences as well. The mentee agrees to be open to feedback that the mentors share and will respect the insight and experiences shared by the mentors.

No fault termination:
We are committed to open and honest communication in the mentee/mentor relationship. We will discuss and attempt to resolve any conflicts as they arise. If, however, one of us needs to terminate the relationship for any reason, we agree to honor one another’s decision without negative recourse or ill-will.