Engineering National Academies of Sciences, Medicine

Recent research has made it clear that mentorship plays an incredibly strong role in launching careers in STEMM. However, much of education remains organized around traditional missional axes of teaching, research, and service. Mentorship plays a determining factor in all three aspects. It accelerates and perpetuates careers.

The National Academies, filled with the most outstanding scholars in America, supplied this consensus statement about the research around this topic. Based on evidence, they summarize findings and suggest future directions for the implementation of successful mentorship programs.

Recently, the NIH has required a mentorship program as a key component of training grant applications. So it’s important, even vital, to future educational efforts. Unfortunately, in the current system, privileged classes benefit disproportionately in terms of access rather than traditionally underrepresented groups. Further, those underrepresented groups tend to have more negative experiences that further discourage the formation of a science identity. Yet diverse workplace teams play a larger role in addressing national and global challenges.

Fortunately, research doesn’t just identify these problems in mentorship, but they also suggest improvements. Unlike commonly thought, mentors can be trained through education; they are not just born that way. That education can provide skills to interact with different types of people, including those with different life experiences and identities. This report identifies specific ways that those involved, from a university president and faculty all the way to program managers and mentees, can take actionable steps to better the situation.

As a scientist, I love reading the National Academies’ reports on issues that I’m interested in. Their consensus statements provide a level of scholarly excellence that I just cannot replicate in individual papers. Obviously, this book’s audience is limited to those involved in research and education. Nonetheless, that audience has an outsized impact in future STEMM careers. And STEMM professionals play an outsized role in the country’s economic health. After learning from this research, I will take several insights to my desk to explore in coming weeks.… (more)

Evidence-based consensus by a committee of experts, an unbiased report about short- and long-term effects of marijuana use. Amongst the unexpected findings (to me) was that there is statistical evidence for increases in: (1) developing testicular germ cell tumors but not other forms of prostrate cancer (2) triggering of acute myocardial infarction (3) Ischemic stroke (4) frequent chronic bronchitis (but no association with lung cancer, based on the current literature). In addition, there was no evidence to support decreased PTSD or dementia. No studies were discussed regarding the effects on neural development in adolescents or the effects on pregnant women and unborn babies.… (more)