Interactive Mentoring Activities for Under-Represented Minority Faculty

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The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will direct a career development and mentoring program called Interactive Mentoring Activities for Grantsmanship Enhancement (IMAGE). IMAGE was developed because there is a serious lack of faculty development programs that target under-represented minority faculty, particularly senior postdoctoral scientists and early-stage Assistant Professors. The IMAGE program seeks to increase the number of federally-funded junior faculty, particularly members of groups that are under-represented in STEM disciplines and faculty that teach at minority serving institutions. Given that a key element of a sustainable academic career in the sciences is extramural funding, developing tenable strategies to improve the success rates of under-represented minority faculty in securing funding is a critical component in increasing the number of under-represented minorities in academia. IMAGE will offer annual mentoring workshops and one-on-one structured mentoring. In addition, IMAGE will provide a web-based interactive resource for dissemination of grant writing and career development resources, as well as for mentoring. This online resource will make information obtained through the IMAGE program widely available to a broad audience.The IMAGE program will provide intensive mentoring on grantsmanship skills and career development strategies over a three-year period. Senior postdoctoral scientists and early-stage Assistant Professors from groups under-represented in science will attend annual mentoring workshops focusing on grant-writing, peer mentoring, and career development advice, as well as receiving one-on-one structured mentoring where each participant will be paired with a senior, successful scientist who has a strong track record of securing federal funding. Best practices and other resources generated through the IMAGE program will be made widely available through the development of an online web-based resource. The IMAGE program has the following specific aims: 1) To organize an annual grant-writing and mentoring workshop for Junior Faculty and Postdoctoral Fellows. 2) To provide one-on-one mentoring in the preparation and submission of a competitive NSF grant application. 3) To provide postdoctoral mentees with effective strategies for obtaining a faculty position. 4) To develop a curated web-based resource for use by postdoctoral fellows and faculty.This award is supported jointly by Programs in the Chemistry of Life Processes (Division of Chemistry) and Molecular Biophysics (Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences).