Neena Schwartz Department of Neurobiology and Physiology Northwestern

Neena Schwartz Department of Neurobiology and Physiology Northwestern University Evanston IL n-schwartz@northwestern. edu

COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

How does it start? Usually when the potential mentee has a problem! COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

Mentee Mentor

How does it start? How formal is it? It can be as informal as meeting in the corridor or locker room or it can be scheduled, as between an advisor and trainee or a faculty member and a department chair. COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

How does it start? How formal is it? How frequently should you meet (talk)? Chair should meet untenured faculty once a quarter. For your trainees it’s a good idea to be in the lab available for informal chats, not just formal scheduled time. Weekly lab meetings are a must for reviewing data and methodology glitches. I found collecting samples at night a good way to mentor. COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

Dean Department Chair (Head) Tenured faculty member Tenure ranks Untenured faculty member Research associates Post doc Grad student Undergraduates Technicians “Authority” Cascade

How does it start? How formal is it? How frequently should you meet (talk)? Who can be a mentor/mentee? Theoretically anybody, but as in learning to play tennis, you learn more about the game if you seek a mentor with more experience than you have. COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

Academic Ladder Dean Department Chair (Head) Tenured faculty member Tenure ranks Untenured faculty member Research associates Post doc Grad student Undergraduates Technicians “Authority” Cascade

How does it start? How formal is it? How frequently should you meet (talk)? Who can be a mentor/mentee? Role of “assignments”? You need to make explicit to someone you are mentoring what expectations are for success. COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

University committees University administration Grants and fellowships NIH and NSF review boards

How does it start? How formal is it? How frequently should you meet (talk)? Who can be a mentor/mentee? Role of “assignments”? YES!! If there is a potential problem. Should process be documented? COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION!!!

Practitioners M=male F=female Female unfriendly Female friendly field