Networks & Communities of Practice

Overview of Networks & Communities of Practice

The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) strives to be a convener, collaborator and connector – we want to support individuals and organizations as they move their efforts forward to engage in conversations with others across the country about improving mentorship relationships and organizational support for those relationships.

On this page, we share some of those opportunities of which we are aware such as for: Mentorship Educators & Advocates | Finding Mentors & Mentees

Know other online spaces, professional societies, conferences or efforts?

We would love to know! Please email us at cimer@wcer.wisc.edu with the subject line, “Networks & Communities of Practice”.

Mentorship Educators & Advocates – Sharing Models, Opportunities and Challenges

CIMER strives to empower individuals to connect with others about challenges and opportunities that they encounter in their mentoring relationships and leadership efforts to build cultures of mentorship in the research workforce.

My NRMN online groups

Originally developed during the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Phase I grant (2014-2019), these online communities are for individuals interested in implementing our mentorship training curricula. We invite you tojoin these groups to learn more about the curricula, seek implementation advice, and share best practices

Research Mentor Training

Research Mentee Training

MyNRMN Facilitators of Entering Research (research mentee training)

Trained Facilitator Directory

The individuals listed in these national directories participated in a train-the-trainer facilitator training workshop (either Facilitating Entering Mentoring, Entering Research Curriculum Development Institute, or Facilitating Culturally Aware Mentoring) sponsored by the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) or the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and gave us permission to include them.

The linked directories below are searchable by institution and state.

If you participated in “Facilitating Entering Mentoring” or “Facilitating Entering Research” and would like to be included in the national directory, please complete this Google Form (Consent Form for Trained Facilitator National Directory). If at any time you wish to be removed from the national directory, you may contact Kim Spencer (kcspencer2@wisc.edu).

Culturally Aware Mentoring Trained Facilitators

First Name	Last Name	Email	Institution	Home State
Manny	Azizi	eazizi@uci.edu	University of California Irvine	CA
Diana	Azurdia	dazurdia@mednet.ucla.edu	University of California Los Angeles	WI
Bruce	Birren	bwb@broadinstitute.org	Broad Institute	MA
Chellakkan	Blesson	selvanes@bcm.edu	Baylor College of Medicine	TX
Joel	Brady	jcb33@pitt.edu	University of Pittsburgh	PA
Joseph	Brown	jlbrown@stanford.edu	Stanford University	CA
Amanda	Butz	abutz2@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Angela	Byars-Winston	ambwinst@medicine.wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Aisling	Caffrey	Aisling_Caffrey@uri.edu	University of Rhode Island, Providence Veterans Affairs Healthcare System	RI
Kecia	Carroll	Kecia.carroll@mssm.edu	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	NY
Philip	Cheng	pcheng1@hfhs.org	Henry Ford Health System	MI
Mariana	Cherner	mcherner@health.ucsd.edu	University of California San Diego	CA
Shobhina	Chheda	sgc@medicine.wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health	WI
Kareen	Coulombe	kareen_coulombe@brown.edu	Brown University	RI
Janet	Cross	cross@virginia.edu	University of Virginia	VA
Brigitte	Dauwalder	bdauwalder@uh.edu	University of Houston	TX
Cintia	de Paiva	cintiadp@bcm.edu	Baylor College of Medicine	TX
Kelly	Diggs	kelly.diggs.andrews@gmail.com	Diggs-Andrews Consulting, LLC	VA
April	Dukes	aprila@pitt.edu	University of Pittsburgh	PA
Celeste	Finnerty	ccfinner@utmb.edu	University of Texas Medical Branch	TX
Christie	Fowler	cdfowler@uci.edu	University of California Irvine	CA
Ashalla	Freeman	ashalla@unc.edu	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC
Gentzon	Hall	gentzon.hall@duke.edu	Duke University	NC
Emil	Hernandez-Pagan	emilhp@udel.edu	University of Delaware	DE
Stephanie	House	house2@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Beth	Jakob	ejakob@umass.edu	University of Massachusetts Amherst	MA
Lisa	Jaremka	ljaremka@udel.edu	University of Delaware	DE
Erin	Kelleher	eskelleher@uh.edu	University of Houston	TX
Charmaine	Koo	ckoo@umass.edu	University of Massachusetts Amherst	MA
Sangeeta	Lamba	lambasa@njms.rutgers.edu	Rutgers University	NJ
Steve	Lee	spl33@stanford.edu	Stanford University	CA
Brenda	Martinez	martibre@ohsu.edu	Oregon Health and Science University	OR
Kermin	Martinez-Hernandez	kerminjoel@gmail.com	St. John Fisher College	NY
Cheryl	Maslen	maslenc@ohsu.edu	Oregon Health and Science University	OR
Melissa	McDaniels	mmcdaniels@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	MI
David	McDonald	david.mcdonald@unc.edu	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC
Richard (Rick)	McGee	r-mcgee@northwestern.edu	Northwestern University	IL
Ulrike	Mende	ulrike_mende@brown.edu	Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University	RI
April	Mohanty	april.mohanty@utah.edu	University of Utah and the Veterans Health Administration	UT
Zhenying (Jane)	Nie	niez@ohsu.edu	Oregon Health and Science University	OR
Manuella	Oliveira Yassa	manuella.yassa@uci.edu	University of California Irvine	CA
Greg	Payne	gpayne@mednet.ucla.edu	University of California Los Angeles	CA
Fred	Pereira	fpereira@bcm.edu	Baylor College of Medicine	TX
Christine	Pfund	christine.pfund@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Denise	Pope	dspope@umass.edu	University of Massachusetts Amherst	MA
Amy	Prunuske	aprunuske@mcw.edu	Medical College of Wisconsin	TX
Sangeeta	Rao	srao@oq.rutgers.edu	Rutgers University	NJ
Becca	Riggins	rbr7@georgetown.edu	Georgetown University	DC
Victoria	Risbrough	vrisbrough@ucsd.edu	University of California San Diego	CA
Shannon	Roberts	scroberts@umass.edu	University of Massachusetts Amherst	MA
Randall	Roper	rjroper@iupui.edu	Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis	IN
Nasia	Safdar	ns2@medicine.wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Fátima	Sancheznieto	ruiz9@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Marin	Schweizer	mschweizer@medicine.wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Amber	Smith	amber.smith@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Christine	Sorkness	casorkness@pharmacy.wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Melanie	Steiner	m.steiner.sherwood@utah.edu	University of Utah	UT
Robert	Tillman	robert.tillman@bcm.edu	Baylor College of Medicine	TX
Tracy	Toliver-Kinsky	ttoliver@utmb.edu	University of Texas Medical Branch	TX
Jason	Umans	jgu@georgetown.edu	Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science	DC
Emily	Utzerath	emily.utzerath@wisc.edu	University of Wisconsin Madison	WI
Etta	Ward	emward@iupui.edu	Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis	IN
Anne Marie	Weber-Main	weber005@umn.edu	University of Minnesota	MN
Ashley	Woodard	adw5x@uvahealth.org	University of Virginia	VA
Robert	Wright	robert.wright@mssm.edu	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	NY
Michael	Yassa	myassa@uci.edu	University of California Irvine	CA
Sonia	Zárate	soniaz@envisioningstem.com	Howard Hughes Medical Institute	MD

Facilitator Recognition Program

Growth of the research workforce would not be possible without the ongoing efforts of facilitators who implement research mentor, research mentee and culturally aware mentor trainings. The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) is devoted to recognizing the achievements and dedication of these facilitators at various stages.

Facilitator recognition allows you to demonstrate your individual commitment to the local dissemination of research mentor and/or research mentee training to support an inclusive scientific workforce.

CIMER acknowledges those who are committed to facilitating research mentor and/or research mentee and/or culturally aware mentoring training in their local contexts through recognition as a Trained Facilitator (level 1) and Certified Facilitator (level 2).

For more information:

Facilitator recognition for Entering Mentoring (research mentor training)
Facilitator recognition for Entering Research (research mentee training)
Facilitator recognition for Culturally Aware Mentoring

Communities of Practice

In the coming years, CIMER and its collaborators will host a number of communities of practice (CoPs) that provide members with access to information and people committed to advancing the science and practice of mentorship.

CTSA+ Community of Practice

A community including clinical and translational scientists, mentorship experts, practitioners, scholars and institutional leaders from across career stages who are interested in advancing the science and practice of mentorship in the clinical and translational research sciences and beyond.
Link: https://sites.google.com/wisc.edu/ctsacop/home

Federally-Funded Research Centers (National Labs) Community of Practice

A community of national laboratory staff interested in supporting the dissemination of evidence-based mentorship education in national laboratories as well as policies that incentivize high quality and inclusive mentorship. This community was started with support of the NSF-supported Inclusive Graduate Education Network of which CIMER was a co-investigator.

Interested in starting a Community of Practice?

Please email us at cimer@wicer.wisc.edu with the subject line, “Networks & Communities of Practice”.

CIMER Newsletter

Our team curates a newsletter to support the advancement of mentoring research and practice. The audience is faculty, staff and administrators who are facilitators of our research mentor and mentee training curricula and leaders who are engaged in culture change efforts at their institutions. We share news, research, and learning opportunities to support the development of robust cultures of research mentorship across the country.

Sign up for the Newsletter

If you are interested in getting on the CIMER Newsletter mailing list, sign up here for the CIMER newsletter .

For any other questions or comments, contact Taylor Ajamian: tajamian@wisc.edu.

Finding Mentors and Mentees

There are a number of organizations and online platforms that have been established specifically to help connect interested mentors and mentees. The list below is not an exhaustive one. Please email us at [EMAIL] with the subject line, “Networks & Communities of Practice”.

MentorNet

MentorNet is a platform for mentoring that combines the technology of social networks with the social science of mentoring. The platform strategically matches STEM students and professionals in compatible mentoring relationships, delivers evidence-based programs that address the issues impacting retention and success in STEM fields, and conducts controlled studies and evaluation to identify and verify factors that impact student success.
Link: https://greatmindsinstem.org/mentornet/

National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN)

NRMN connects mentor and mentee scientists at all career stages of research from across the country.
Link: https://nrmnet.net/mynrmn/

American Public Health Association (APHA) Disability Section Mentoring Program

This program aims to strengthen the public health workforce and improve representation of people with disabilities and allies in leadership.
Link: https://www.disabilitysectionmentoring.org/

American Psychological Association (APA) Disability Mentoring Program

This program supports graduate psychology students, psychologists entering the field and practicing psychologists with disabilities.
Link: https://www.apa.org/pi/disability/resources/mentoring

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Entry Point!

This program engages STEM employers across industries to place individuals with disabilities into 10-week long internships.
Link: https://www.aaas.org/programs/entry-point