Our Mentorship Structure

As part of PREP’s multiple mentor model, inspired by Portland State University's NIH BUILD EXITO program, postbaccalaureate scholars will have the support of a research mentor (PI), a near-peer mentor, and a career mentor throughout their time in the program. Each individual is a node in the scholar’s professional support network, allowing postbacs to have diverse sources of information on how to successfully navigate academia and learn about the expectations of graduate school, acquire technical and scientific subject-area knowledge, career navigation, and receive social and cultural support as a trainee.

Through direct supervision and guidance, research mentors provide mentees insight on how to best design, execute, and communicate research[1]. Research mentors help reinforce a PREP scholar’s accountability as a scientist, monitor productivity, and support the postbac’s pursuit of scholarly milestones. Mentor buddies are near-peer mentors who are available when scholars first join OHSU PREP and transition to living in Portland, OR. These buddies help provide personal support to ease the transition into a postbac role after college, while also modeling what to expect as a graduate student in the biomedical sciences.

Finally, a career mentor serves a different role than the research mentor. Career mentors serve as advisors whose assistance is influenced by the scholar’s academic interests, circumstances, and personal goals. Like research mentors, career mentors can provide a faculty perspective on suitable biomedical graduate programs, relevant research conferences, professional development resources, while also providing guidance on how a postbac scholar can best position themselves to transition to a career field of interest after obtaining their PhD. Without the managerial insight and potential conflicts of interest with respect to the goals a PI might have of their trainees, career mentors can also provide neutral guidance and help coach scholars to better mediate potential conflicts around professionalism or research skills with their research mentors.