Interdisciplinary Mentoring in Science. Strategies for Success

187 Pages·2014·2.791 MB·English

by  Ofelia Olivero (Auth.)

Interdisciplinary
MENTORING IN
SCIENCE
Interdisciplinary
MENTORING IN
SCIENCE
Strategies for Success
OFELIA A. OLIVERO PhD
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DEDICATION
To Ovidio Nu´n˜ez,
Mentor of mentors
“Outstanding! Dr. Olivero’s interdisciplinary or I-Mentor model is
in-step with the growing trend of team and relational approaches to
professional life. In addition, she recognizes synchronicity and collec-
tive group experience as important elements in the I-Mentoring
process.”
Richard H. Geer,Author, Star JourneySymbol Method,
Walnut Creek, California
“Dr. Olivero provides an approach to interdisciplinary science that is
not merely cross-cultural, but multi-dimensionally cross-cultural. Not
only does the interdisciplinary mentor in team science have to deal
with ethnic diversity, but also the deep, under-appreciated challenges
of science-culture diversity. Dr. Olivero provides special emphasis on
these issues to coach the would-be mentor to develop the needed
sensitivitytohandlethecomplexhumaninteractionsoftoday'sscience
researchteam.”
Thomas Meylan,PhD,retired astrophysicist
“Dr. Olivero’s book on mentoring will be a valuable resource for
potential mentors as well as for mentees. Mentorship is the corner-
stone of the young scientist’s education...I believe that this book
will be particularly illuminating to independent researchers who are
deeply immersed in cutting edge, highly specialized research. Those
entrenched in the principles of classic mentoring may miss the
opportunity to influence the young students in the principles of a
new era of scientific investigation.”
Félix Fernández-Madrid,MD, PhD, FACP, Professor ofInternal
Medicine, Wayne State University,Detroit,Michigan
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my family, because they believed in me and helped me advance.
To all my mentees, who are an essential part of the mentor I am today.
To my mentors, the role models who imparted the many messages
that are now multiplied through the new generation.
To Andy and Kristine, who made the publishing process enjoyable by
being extremely supportive.
To all of you who made this possible. Thanks for your support and
encouragement.
To all the mentors who, day after day, change people’s lives without
asking anything in return.
xi
BIOGRAPHY
TheauthorwasbornandeducatedinArgentina.She
came to the US to train as a cancer researcher, and
is now a Senior Staff Scientist at a large biomedical
researchfacilityinBethesda,Maryland.Motivatedby
the educational gap and the lack of minority groups
in science, she took every opportunity to attract
minorities to her laboratory to generate a more
diverse environment. She has trained numerous stu-
dents and empowered them to believe in themselves
and pursue careers in science. Once she realized that PhotocourtesyofCarol
there was virtually no information on the topic of Jones.
mentoring in the sciences, she took the initiative to
write this book. She mentions that the bookis the result of herexperiences
asamentee,herdiscussionswithpeersinLatinAmerica,herlifeasamentor,
and the need to produce a change in mental outlook in some circles.
MotivatedbytheemergingfieldoftheScienceofTeamScience,sherealized
that the moment for new mentoring had arrived, and that the new genera-
tions needed to have training and built-in awareness of the science of the
future. She has therefore written this book in the hope of helping mentors
and mentees to engage in collaborative science and to generate a new
environment able to welcome creativity and blend the multiple talents
of a diverse scientific community. The “kaleidoscope effect” summarizes
these ideas in a new concept that is easy to explain and familiar to every-
one, regardless of cultural background. Dr Olivero is the mother of three
daughters and lives in Maryland with her husband.
xii
FOREWORD
Despite increased attention to the importance of mentoring in advancing
interdisciplinary science, the practice remains uneven. As a result, both
mentorsandmenteesareoftenuncertainaboutthedefinitionofmentoring,
the process, and the unique requirements of interdisciplinary mentoring in
particular. Ofelia Olivero answers many of their questions while offering
anarrayofexamples,lessonsfrompractice,insightsfrominterviews,andthe
I-Mentoring program model. The book’s interrogative approach, complete
with exercises, makes it simultaneously a self-directed reading and a group-
training resource. It is a deeply personal book, informed by Olivero’s own
experience and crafted as an invitation for readers to chart autobiographical
journeysoftheirown.
The customary feedback relationship between individuals that charac-
terizes mentoring is made complex when working across disciplinary and
professional boundaries. A single mentor may not be knowledgeable about
multiple areas of expertise, requiring the cooperation of multiple mentors.
In either case, individual and community both benefit from the forging of
new relationships based on mutuality. Diversities of status, gender, race, and
ethnicity further underscore the importance of negotiating difference while
assertingthevalueofself-definition.
The emergence of Science of Team Science as a recognized platform
for boundary-crossing collaborative research only underscores the urgency
ofcultivatingcapacityforaddressingcomplexproblemsandquestionsinthe
nextgenerationofresearchersandeducators.Doingsowillrequirenotonly
flexible organizational structures anddynamic work cultures. It also requires
fostering skills of communication, cooperation, collaboration, consensus,
and commitment across disciplines, professions, ranks, and institutions.
Couched in caveats and coached by guidelines, Interdisciplinary Mentoring in
Sciencechartsaninterdisciplinaryperspectiveonachievingthesegoals.
Julie Thompson Klein
Faculty Fellow for Interdisciplinary
Development in the Division of Research
and Professor of Humanities in the English
Department, Wayne State University
Detroit, MI, USA
xiii
11
CHAPTER
(cid:1)
Mentoring Definition The
Mentor Within
DEFINITION OF MENTORING
Mentoring is a process of continuous and dynamic feedback
between two individuals to establish a relationship through which
one person shares knowledge, skills, information, and perspective
to foster the personal and professional growth of the other.
THE MENTOR WITHIN
It would be of little value to supply a list of the ideal qualities
required for mentoring. The aspiring mentor is likely to be so
discouraged by the sheer number of characteristics required that
InterdisciplinaryMentoringinScience ©2014ElsevierInc.
1
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-415962-4.00001-1 Allrightsreserved.
2 InterdisciplinaryMentoringinScience
they either give up or close themselves to learning more about
the subject.
Instead, I prefer to facilitate the empowering of my readers,
enabling them to perform a deep self-assessment, to connect
with themselves and find their real wishes and motivations with
regard to mentoring.
Although is not easy to motivate scientists to focus on internal
topics, I have found that many are willing to participate and look
inside themselves. Firstly, if they signed up to be part of a mentor-
ing effort (rather than a mandatory training demanded to fulfill
academic obligations), or if they acquired this book or find them-
selves reading it for some other reason, then their motivation is
there. Secondly, if they are part of a mentoring forum with the
same common goal, to be better at something, to learn, to under-
stand better, the motivation is also there. They want to be part of
the effort, and all of them share a common interest. That is
already very valuable. If someone has signed up to attend a class of
this type, even more if they had to pay to attend, they will be
open and receptive. Provided that that is the case, a motivational
speech, rather than a laundry list of qualities, should be offered.
The mentor within has much more value than the laundry list in
becoming a good mentor.
The mentor within is the real energy that individuals put to work
once discovered. The gesture, the attitude, the good feeling of
empowering others, of facilitating them to grow, starts developing
and presents as a natural force within. Once discovered, the force
reshapes itself and becomes clearer, almost as an instinct.
The real exercise, to find the mentor within, combines the
introspection of the individual looking to become a mentor
with facilitation through a slow process guided by a coach. This