Your Digital Mentor Podcast

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

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Grant Funding for Research

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Alice Matimba, Jennifer Gardy, Nicki Tiffin) — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 04:00:00 +0000

The pressure to win a grant and chasing the next funding source is stressful for all researchers. Besides, finding success in funding often requires sacrificing private time and overcoming the frustrations about being rejected.

In this episode, we asked our guests, Dr. Nicki Tiffin and Dr. Jennifer Gardy, what key skills to have and develop to apply for grant funding. Join us and listen to our guests’ experiences of how funding opportunities impacted their careers, how they took the step to launch their research independently and how they stayed motivated to achieve it.

Guest information

Dr Nicki Tiffin is a Zimbabwean, living in South Africa, with a Ph D in molecular genetics and a Masters in Public Health (epidemiology). I have worked in South Africa, the UK and the USA, in lab science and as a bioinformaticist in human health genomics research, as well as in health informatics in the public health sector. Connect with Nicki on LinkedIn

Dr Jennifer Gardy is the Deputy Director for Surveillance, Data, & Epidemiology on the Gates Foundation's Malaria team, where she oversees work related to routine malaria surveillance, parasite and vector genomic epidemiology, and geospatial and mathematical modeling. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter @jennifergardy. More about Jennifer’s work https://www.gatesfoundation.org/our-work/programs/global-health/malaria

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba

Host: Alice Matimba

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holme

Email: enquiries@yourdigimentor.net

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

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Academia vs Industry

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Nicole Soranzo, Darren Logan, Isabela Malta) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Our guests talk about the pros and cons of careers in industry and academia, and mention some of the traits that might be beneficial to have to be successful in each environment.

Resources

Research culture, changing expectations. Darren Logan for the Royal Society: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/research-culture/changing-expectations/dr-darren-logan/
10 Simple Rules for Choosing Between Industry and Academia: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000388

Guest information

Prof. Soranzo is a human geneticist working in the field of human complex trait genetics. She graduated in biological sciences at the University of Milano, Italy, obtained a PhD in genetics from the University of Dundee, and undertook post-doctoral training at University College London. Between 2005-2007 she worked for Johnson & Johnson in the USA, before returning to academia. Presently, she is a Senior group leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Professor of Human Genetics at the School of Clinical Medicine of the University of Cambridge, and Head of the Genomics Research Centre at Human Technopole in Italy.

@nicolesoranzo

After an academic career in genetics leading to the Wellcome Sanger Institute faculty, Darren Logan joined for the Waltham Petcare Science Institute – the global research centre for Mars Petcare. There he leads a multidisciplinary team of over 90 scientists that strive to improve the health and wellbeing of pets worldwide. @darrenlogan

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Isabela Malta

Producers: Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer and Research Lead), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Catherine Holmes (Marketing Lead).

Host: Isabela Malta

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holme

Email: enquiries@yourdigimentor.net

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

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https://openhardware.science/about/

Entrepreneurship and Commercialising Science Products

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Jenny Molly, Simon Travers, Douglas Sanyahumbi) — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Sometimes publishing a paper that has the potential to impact might not be enough. You are driven to change: “potential” to “is” (Simon Travers). Scientists and researchers can create living products/businesses that have value and address key needs in the lives of others. We learn from Jenny, Simon, and Douglas about the how of this process.

They share their experiences initiating, supporting, and leading different companies, businesses, and projects, across the globe. They discuss how they navigate the murky waters of leading start-up companies, navigating politics around patents, seeking support, guidance, and resources, and challenges associated with the different aspects of being scientists and entrepreneurs.

Resources

Gathering for Open Science Hardware

Hyrax Biosciences

https://hyraxbio.co.za/

The Key to successful entrepreneurship in the life sciences

https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/the-key-to-successful-entrepreneurship-in-the-life-sciences/

Science and entrepreneurship: Different careers, common ground

http://blog.cdnsciencepub.com/science-and-entrepreneurship-different-careers-common-ground/

Guest information

Douglas Sanyahumbi is an innovation management professional with over 15 years of experience facilitating the commercialisation of research outputs. Currently based in Malawi, Doug is actively involved in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation activities with aspiring entrepreneurs and at research institutions in Malawi and several other African countries through different projects. LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougsanyas/

Jenny Molloy is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge where she builds open source tools for distributed manufacturing of enzymes for biological research. She also co-founded three social enterprises and communities, working with collaborators in Africa, Latin America, and beyond to build an open, sustainable and equitable global bioeconomy. Twitter: jenny_molloy

Simon Travers is CEO of Hyrax Biosciences. He is a "reformed academic" who established a research programme in Ireland and subsequently in South Africa studying the molecular evolution of viruses. Hyrax Biosciences spun out of his research group in South Africa and was established to enable widespread access to DNA sequencing-based diagnostics. Hyrax Biosciences works with biotechnology companies and pathology labs providing them with software to easily analyse and interpret data and, where relevant, provide clinically actionable insights for patients. Twitter: @simon_trav

Acknowledgments

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Emmanuela Oppong & Alice Matimba

Producers: Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer).

Host: Alice Matimba

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

https://stories.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/beer-and-science/index.html

Communicating and Engaging about Science with the Public

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Monica Abrudan, Arporn Wangwiwatsin) — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Researchers and scientists are doing great and impactful work that can change lives. But are people really aware or understand their work? How can we engage with people outside our field and community?

In this week's episode we discuss how researchers and scientists can go about creating spaces of engagement, via different avenues including blogging or in-person activities—at a party or in a local community. Researchers can work together in person as they would, for example, do on a research paper as co-authors. This can help eliminate challenges connected with interacting and presenting ideas to others.

Join in and listen to the innovative ways Dr. Apron and Monica have been able to learn, experience as well as communicate their work in science. Whether it's through “beer and science” or through a future flash mob…

Resources

Beer and Science

Public engagement is key for the future of science research

https://www.nature.com/articles/npjscilearn201610

AAAS Communication Toolkit

https://www.aaas.org/resources/communication-toolkit

10 ideas to spread word about your science

https://medium.com/sparrho/10-ideas-to-get-people-talk-about-your-science-fc3d411da59a

Crowdsourcing in Health and Health Research: A Practical Guide

https://www.who.int/tdr/publications/year/2018/crowdsourcing-practical-guide/en/

Guest information

Dr. Arporn Wangwiwatsin grew up in Thailand, spent a good ten years in the UK. She is now a lecturer at Khon Kaen University. Her scientific endeavour is primarily on parasitic diseases, bile duct cancer, and catching up with the new genomics development. Public engagement is an outlet for her artistic side. Twitter: @akoiwang

Dr. Monica Abrudan, Training Development Lead in the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance (CGPS), at the University of Oxford, where she develops courses in pathogen genomics and bioinformatics. She became interested in science communication during her PhD in Microbial Ecology and Evolution at the University of Manchester. Twitter: @MonicaAbrudan

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Emmanuela Oppong & Alice Matimba

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer)

Host: Emmanuela Oppong

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Skills Lab: Leadership

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Stephen Baker, Marcia Philbin, Isabela Malta) — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Leadership might be fulfilling, but it is not easy: Our guests Marcia Philbin and Stephen Baker talk about some of the challenges they face as leaders and what skills and factors helped them succeed.

Resources

Ted talk by Carla Harris - How to find the person who can help you get ahead at work: https://www.ted.com/talks/carla_harris_how_to_find_the_person_who_can_help_you_get_ahead_at_work?language=en

Guest information

Marcia Philbin’s Jamaican parents believed in the transformative power of education. For Marcia, this is the reason she is now a black female scientist with a PhD in chemistry, the Chief Executive of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. @Mphil22M @FacultyFarmMed

Stephen Baker is Director of Research For Global Health in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Faculty at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. He is a molecular epidemiologist whose career has focused on understanding how infectious disease in people in low-middle income countries evolve and spread. He was previously located at the Wellcome Africa- Asia programme in Vietnam for 12 years, where he established an internationally recognised programme of research on enteric (gastrointestinal) infections. @Baker_Lab_Cam

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Isabela Malta

Host: Isabela Malta

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holme

Email: enquiries@yourdigimentor.net

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

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Skills Lab: Presenting Skills

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Claire Chewapreecha, Kate Baker) — Wed, 1 Sep 2021 03:00:00 +0000

We talked to Dr. Claire Chewapreecha and Dr. Kate Baker on tips on effective communication, presentation skills and how they have both adapted to the new zoom environment.

Resources

Ted talk by Marcus Alexander Velazquez on effective communication: https://www.ted.com/talks/marcus_alexander_velazquez_the_art_of_effective_communication_jan_2020
Forbes Article on effective communication within a company by Naira Velumyan: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/09/04/how-to-develop-effective-communication-within-a-company/

Guest information

Dr. Claire Chewapreecha is a Wellcome Intermediate and Sanger International Fellow based at Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok, Thailand. She works on melioidosis, a grossly under-recognised tropical disease, caused by a soil bacterium. Her team investigates the relationship between the host and bacterial genomics that determine melioidosis susceptibility and severity. Connect with Claire on twitter @chewapreecha

Dr. Kate Baker is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool who leads a research group on the genomic epidemiology of bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. She has won over £8m of research funding, published prolifically, and influenced public health policy and practice. Connect with Kate on twitter @ksbakes. More info on Kate: https://baker-lab.github.io/

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Christine Boinett

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holme

Email: enquiries@yourdigimentor.net

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

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Skills Lab: Writing skills

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Jeffrey McDonnell) — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 03:00:00 +0000

We interview Prof. Jeffrey McDonnell, author of “Navigating an Academic Career: A Brief Guide for PhD Students, Postdocs and Early Career Faculty” on writing skills. We cover how and when to find the time to write and how this impacts your research career.

Resources

Jeff’s Book: Navigating an Academic Career: A Brief Guide for PhD Students, Postdocs, and New Faculty - https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Navigating+an+Academic+Career%3A+A+Brief+Guide+for+PhD+Students%2C+Postdocs%2C+and+New+Faculty-p-9781119642176

W.I Beveridge; The Art of Scientific Investigation: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Scientific-Investigation-W-Beveridge/dp/1932846050

Mark Manson: The subtle art of not giving a ****: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713

Nature mentoring collection of articles: https://www.nature.com/collections/lhgrjpzydm/

Science magazine career articles: https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/articles

Randy Olson; And, But, Therefore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijC2g6FBdXI

Randy Olson; Houston we have a Narrative: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Houston-We-Have-Narrative-Science/dp/022627084X

Randy Olson; Don’t be such a scientist: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Such-Scientist-Second-Substance/dp/1610919173/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_i=1610919173&psc=1

Guest information

Jeffrey McDonnell is a Professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and author of 2020 book:“Navigating an Academic Career: A Brief Guide for PhD Students, Postdocs and Early Career Faculty”. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Website: https://water.usask.ca/hillslope/

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Christine Boinett

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Email: enquiries@yourdigimentor.net

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

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Mentores y mentorías, cómo encontrarles y cómo establecer una relación exitosa.

Wed, 4 Aug 2021 03:00:00 +0000

What is covered in this episode

¿Qué es para ti la mentoría ?
¿Cómo la mentoría ha influenciado en tu carrera?
¿Has encontrado, a lo largo de tu carrera, desafíos y/o dificultades en encontrar o mantener una relación de mentoría?
¿Qué estrategias recomiendas para romper con la estructura jerárquica y con las viejas ideas y conceptos que impiden un mejor relacionamiento entre las partes?
¿Existen dificultades particulares al establecimiento de mentorías en tu región de origen? Por ejemplo, falta de cultura de mentoría, falta de entrenamiento, falta de reconocimiento del rol de mentor.

Resources

Strengthening mentoring in LMICs: https://europepmc.org/article/med/30430982

Benefits of mentoring: https://hr.ucdavis.edu/departments/learning-dev/toolkits/mentoring/benefits

Importance of mentoring: http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2014/11/06/how-important-is-it-to-have-a-mentor-in-your-academic-career/

What makes a good mentor: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-the-best-mentors-do?utm_source=pocket-newtab

More about our host Anna Protasio:

Originally Uruguay, Anna is currently a Research Fellow at Christ’s College Cambridge and Group Leader at the Dept of Pathology, University of Cambridge. Her expertise is in helminth parasitology and genomics. Apart from research, Anna has developed online and in-person courses in bioinformatics with particular focus in genomics and computational tools. Learn more about Anna’s career here (add link : https://annaprotasio.github.io/). Follow Anna on twitter @annaprotasio

Guest information

Dr. Alena Pance: Originally Czech, I grew up and went to university in Venezuela, focussing on cell biology of infectious diseases. A PhD in Cambridge followed, introducing me to transcriptional regulation that became my long-term interest. After a postdoc in France, an MC Fellowship brought me back to Cambridge, at the Wellcome Sanger Institute working on malaria. I am also passionate about teaching and supporting colleagues and students to achieve their career goals. I’m heavily involved in public engagement activities to explain science to the wider public and make it accessible to everyone. LinkedIn. Hear more of Alena’s story here.

Dr. Andres Lescano: Dr. Lescano started and led Emerge, the Emerging Diseases and Climate Change Unit and Epidemiology Masters’ and Doctoral programs at Cayetano University in Peru. He trained at Johns Hopkins, has published >130 manuscripts, trained hundreds of epidemiologists, and has joint appointments at the Tulane, Johns Hopkins, Wake Forest and Texas/Medical Branch universities.

Connect with Andres on twitter here: @emergeupch

Acknowledgements

Guest Host: Anna Protasio

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Producers: Anna Protasio, Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

ACSC: https://coursesandconferences.wellcomegenomecampus.org

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

Support

WSI:

https://www.sanger.ac.uk

Just checkin in...

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Your Digital Mentor) — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 08:20:12 +0000

More about the Decoding Life podcast

We have assembled interviews from some of the most amazing people around the Wellcome Genome Campus to find out about their paths into science. From PhD students to group leaders, software developers to diversity champions, we get a first-hand account of what it is really like to do some of these jobs and learn some interesting science along the way. We have some incredible insights about life in science, for example, coming back after an 8 year break, why it's important to inspire young girls to code, and making mentorship and training accessible.

Listen on:

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/2J2W9Ob3GHdTzRUh8GrUmq

Anchor

https://anchor.fm/decoding-life-pod

Breaker

https://www.breaker.audio/decoding-life-1

Google Podcasts

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80ZDM1MTkzYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

Pocket Casts

https://pca.st/hzmdkqud

Radio Public

https://radiopublic.com/decoding-life-GE5y9P

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/decodinglifepodcast/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DecodingLifePod

Bonus Episode - Reverse mentoring

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Martin Dougherty, Alice Matimba) — Wed, 3 Feb 2021 04:00:00 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

In reverse mentoring, find someone who is different from you, has a different background and has different perspectives.

Aim to build a mutual connection as mentor and mentee, firstly creating a sense of psychological safety which enables open and honest dialogue

Reverse mentorship approach empowers people with skills to effectively engage in sensitive topics such as racism and facilitates discussions with the right audiences who have the power to do something about it.

A mentor supports the organisation through the person they are mentoring, bringing awareness to unspoken nuances which could help to refine organisational initiatives and policies for promoting positive behaviours and culture.

Reverse mentoring is a rewarding experience to learn, educate and feed forward. If you get a reverse mentorship opportunity - go for it!

Resources

Creating better leaders by Patrice Gordon

https://www.ted.com/talks/patrice_gordon_how_reverse_mentorship_can_help_create_better_leaders

Impact of reverse mentoring - NHS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaoN8JV4LKA&feature=emb_logo

Value of reverse mentoring

https://www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/reverse-mentoring-delivers-real-value/7025222.article

Reverse mentoring for senior NHS leaders: a new type of relationship. Future Healthc J. 2020 Feb;7(1):94-96. doi: 10.7861/fhj.2019-0028.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7032576/

Reverse mentoring for equitable workplaces

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/how_reverse_mentoring_can_lead_to_more_equitable_workplaces

Reverse mentoring framework

https://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/policies/equality-diversity-inclusion/reverse-mentoring-framework

Host and guest information

Dr. Alice Matimba is the Senior Producer of YDMP. In her role at the Wellcome Genome Campus, she manages the organisation, development and delivery of genomics courses for researchers and healthcare professionals in Africa, Asia and Latin America as part of the ACSC programme. Her expertise is in biomedical sciences, pharmacogenomics, health research and education, and capacity building for LMICs. Connect with Alice on Twitter @alicepn

Dr. Martin Dougherty is the Chief Operating Officer at Wellcome Sanger Institute and have the pleasure of working with our senior operational leadership team across all areas of our organisation. He is also a Special Constable and combat organised crime gangs and dealing with their victims and he quotes - “This keeps my feet firmly on the ground”. Connect with Martin on https://www.linkedin.com/in/martindougherty

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer)

Host: Alice Matimba

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Meet our awesome team!

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 04:00:00 +0000

The ‘Sensational Six’ team:

Dr Christine Boinett - Creator and Executive producer

Originally from Kenya, is the product manager and head of training for the JUNO and GPS global genome projects at WSI. My expertise is in Bacterial genetics and antimicrobial resistance. In my current role, I develop free online bioinformatic courses for JUNO and GPS as well as continuing to deliver training for ACSC and the FutureLearn MOOC platform.

Dr. Alice Matimba - Senior producer

Originally from Zimbabwe, she manages the organisation, development and delivery of genomics courses for researchers and healthcare professionals in Africa, Asia and Latin America as part of the ACSC programme. Her expertise is in biomedical sciences, pharmacogenomics, health research and education, and capacity building for LMICs. @alicepn

Isabela Malta - Research Lead and Producer

Originally from Brazil, recently joined the ACSC team where she assists in managing the organisation and development of courses for audiences in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Her background is in microbiology and data sciences.

Emmanuella Oppong - Producer

Originally from Ghana, currently works as a teaching assistant in Harlem; she was a 2019 Watson fellow. Her background is in biomedical engineering, and global service & education.

Catherine Holmes - Marketing lead

From the UK, is a marketing professional currently working for Wellcome Genome Campus Connecting Science, leading on their marketing activities related to learning, training and research. Her background is marketing and communications for non-profit organisations.

Mariana Vaz - Sound and Media editor.

Originally from Portugal, is an award-winning filmmaker currently working on a freelance basis as a videographer and video editor. Previously interned with ACSC. More information about my work can be found here: marianacpvaz.com

Special thanks to:

First and foremost our funders, Wellcome Sanger Institute (WSI), Wellcome Advanced courses and scientific conferences (ACSC), and the Social entrepreneurship to spur health (SESH).
Joe Tucker from SESH Global, the London School of Hygiene and tropical Medicine and University of North Carolina.
Darren Hughes from ACSC.
Charles Weatherhogg from WSI.
Steve Palmer, Catriona Clarke, Alison Cranage, Mattew Midgely and the WSI Comms team.
Piraveen Gopalasingam and The Cabana Network, from the EMBL- European bioinformatics Institute.
Grace Mwaura and the African Academy of sciences.
Stephen Bentley from WSI and the JUNO and GPS networks.

Many thanks to our colleagues, friends, families and to you our listeners that made this podcast come to life. Hope you come back for season 2!

Contact us

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz: https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Host: Emmanuela Oppong

ACSC: https://coursesandconferences.wellcomegenomecampus.org

Support:

https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/5/e002068

Decolonising Global Health

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Desmond Jumbam, Renzo Guinto, Salma M Abdalla) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Decolonising global health is an ongoing movement allowing people (and researchers) to provide a local context in the conversations surrounding health.
Though many definitions exist, it is based on the undoing of the colonial legacy that surrounds countries in the global south.
Local health is global health - a local context is required to make it global.
It is important to reflect on issues on decolonising global health to avoid neo-colonization and include diverse voices from the global south to spearhead the movement.
It is not just about putting a researcher from the global south on the paper to get round publication guidelines and funders. It’s not about a tick-box exercise.
The conversation needs to address power imbalances in funding, teaching or accessibility to learning resources. Investment in these areas can start to close the gaps.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, written articles expected the global south to fail. But if we had diverse voices published and circulated en masse, the world would have known that the global south has always dealt with infectious outbreaks and the global north could have learnt some lessons from countries in the global south.

Resources

How NOT to write about Africa, by Desmond Jumbam: https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/7/e003164

‘The foreign Gaze’ by Seye Abimbola, the article referenced by Salma in the panel:

The word global heath and what we need to think about when talking about decolonising it: https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/8/e002947

COVID-19 and inequities surrounding the term global health: https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/8/e003394

What the world can learn from Africa’s response to COVID-19: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/covid-19-africa

Decolonizing COVID-19: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30134-0/fulltext

Read Renzo’s blog on global health: https://www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/author/renzo-r-guinto-md/

Salma’s article on what is global health:https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/10/e002884.info

Silenced voices in global health: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/silenced-voices-global-health

The Global Health Security Index: what value does it add?:

https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/4/e002477

Africa convening - Health systems global: https://healthsystemsglobal.org/news/decolonizing-hpsr-the-africa-convening/

Guest information

Renzo Guinto, MD DrPH is Associate Professor and Inaugural Director of the Global Health Program of the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine in the Philippines. An Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leader, Renzo is also the Chief Planetary Doctor of PH Lab – a “glo-cal think-and-do tank” for advancing the health of both people and the planet – and member of the Lancet–Chatham House Commission on Improving Population Health post COVID-19. Twitter: @RenzoGuinto

Desmond Jumbam is a Cameroonian health policy consultant based in Accra, Ghana. Currently, Desmond works with Operation Smile, a cleft NGO operating in over 30 countries, advising and leading the organization on health systems strengthening programs as well as health policy and advocacy engagements. He also leads research projects specifically focused on health financing for surgical care in low and middle-income countries. Prior to joining Operation Smile, Desmond was a health policy analyst with the Program in Global Surgery and Social Change at Harvard Medical School where he led and advised on the development of National Surgical Obstetric, Obstetric and Anesthesia Plans in several countries including Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Pakistan. Desmond holds a Master of Science in Global Health from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from Taylor University in the United States. Twitter: @desmondtanko

Salma M Abdalla is a physician by training and currently a research fellow at Boston University School of Public Health. She is the lead Project Director of the Rockefeller-Boston University 3-D Commission on Determinants of health, Data science, and Decision making. Dr Abdalla’s research focuses on how inequalities and power dynamics shape the health of populations and applying a systems thinking approach to the social, political, and commercial determinants of health. She is also interested in studying the effects of mass trauma on the mental health of populations. Twitter: @SalmaMHAbdalla

Contact us

Twitter: @mentor_podcast

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Isabela Malta, Alice Matimba, Emmanuela Oppong, Christine Boinett

Producers: Isabela Malta (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer) and Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Host: Alice Matimba and Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Support

Simplicity in research

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Prof. Marco Mello, Dr. Fredros Okumu) — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Simple science is beautiful, but you must be open and be quick on your, learn on the job and do NOT minimise the advantage of soft skills.
There is no curriculum that will teach you all the skills you will need to succeed as an independent researcher but you can seek out good mentorship, engage with the public, pioneer flat leadership systems, and where you can, employ virtual systems/communications to increase visibility and learning.
There is room to analyse a problem in smaller bitesize chunks using available resources
Remember a little can go a long way to prioritise peoples health and well-being
Focus on scalable ways to address regional problems - “Regional focus with international footprint” and remember that the mission is to improve health for everyone.

Resources:

Fredros’ TED talk on developing creative innovative solutions for malaria prevention in rural Tanzania :https://www.ted.com/talks/fredros_okumu_why_i_study_the_most_dangerous_animal_on_earth_mosquitoes

Bill Gates on supporting Fredros’ work: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/williamhgates_would-you-put-your-arm-in-a-cage-with-500-activity-6703376045862600704-WFq2

Ubuntu philosophy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_philosophy

Redzone podcast interviewing Dr. Jeff Karp on “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B01FSkPgS2k

Guest information:

Dr. Fredros Okumu is Director of Science at Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania. He is a mosquito biologist and public health expert working on sustainable approaches for controlling vector-borne diseases. He is also passionate about improving ecosystems for young researchers in Africa. @Fredros_Inc (on twitter) blogs here [malariaworld.org], and has ~100 scientific publications archived here[scholar.google.co.uk] & here [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov].

Prof. Marco Mello is a Brazilian biologist with a PhD. in ecology, alumnus of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung. He worked as an associate researcher at Ulm University, Germany, and currently works as an associate professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. His research focuses on ecological synthesis, mainly about species interactions. Connect with Marco on twitter: @marcoarmello and his website: https://marcomellolab.wordpress.com

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer)

Host: Alice Matimba

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Women Leadership in STEM

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

“I was not put on earth to follow your wishes”, you have to help yourself and reach out to good people who can mentor you. Don’t compromise on your dreams.
Get mentorship from multiple sources.
You should not self-censor, this is a result of socialisation. Don’t be afraid to speak up.
Ask for support when you need it and stop trying to be superwoman and negotiate a partnership which works.

Resources

Some inspirational Women leaders in STEM from: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/research-action/women-leaders-global-health

Insights from Women Leaders: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/research-action/women-leaders-global-health/insights-women-leaders

Shubha’s article in nature; Mentorship comes from many sources: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41556-018-0189-x?WT.feed_name=subjects_neurogenesis

Inspirational words from Shuba Tole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr6l3GckVNI

Shubha Tole on not compromising on your dreams as a woman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7s7bP40gk0

Marriage, women and STEM: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/entrepreneurship/how-societal-norms-work-against-women-choosing-stem-careers/articleshow/60804962.cms

Review of gender inequities in sub-saharan Africa: http://genderandset.open.ac.uk/index.php/genderandset/article/view/652/0

Mansplaining: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180727-mansplaining-explained-in-one-chart

Interviews with Women in STEM podcast (In French): https://www.iybssd2022.org/20-a-podcast-where-women-in-science-and-tech-talk-about-themselves/

Guest information

Prof. Shubha Tole obtained her BSc (1978) from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, and a PhD (1994) from Caltech, USA. After a post-doc at the University of Chicago, she joined the faculty of the Tata Institute in Mumbai, India in 1999. Tole actively engages in public outreach and is an engaged mentor. Connect with Shuba on twitter @shubhatole. Website: https://www.tifr.res.in/~dbs/faculty/stolelab/Home.html

Prof. Dorothy Mbori-Ngacha is a Senior Specialist on HIV for UNICEF’s global programmes. A medical doctor with specialist training in pediatrics, infectious disease and child health, she has extensive experience as a public health professional; and in academia including as chair and professor of paediatrics at the University of Nairobi. @DeeMboriNgacha

Kyla Roland completed a B.S. in Biology at Davidson College in 2019, and during her senior year she was awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Currently she is a Post baccalaureate IRTA Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where she will pursue an independent research project with implications for understanding the spread of human diseases.

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Christine Boinett and Alice Matimba

Producers: Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer) and Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Networking is your Net-worth

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 03:00:00 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Practice: The more you network, the easier it becomes.
Be genuine. If you have a true interest in science, and a true interest in people, it is a very powerful combination that will make interactions easy.
Not everyone is comfortable with meeting and greeting. The good thing is that you have at least one interest in common, which is science. Once you start, the communication will flow.
Pay it forward, introduce people to each other especially if you have junior scientists that you are mentoring by seeding the conversation.

Resources

Networking in Academia: J. Streeter, 2014

Swaine’s Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/swaine_chen_dna_and_genomics_will_transform_our_lives

How to Network (Forbes article): https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/07/28/how-to-network-the-right-way-eight-tips/

Guest information

Dr. Swaine Chen is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore and a Group Leader in Bacterial Genomics at the Genome Institute of Singapore. His research focuses on using computational and experimental methods to understand why some bacteria are proficient at causing infections and outbreaks in humans, you can find him on Twitter @swaine_chen.

Dr. Silvia Argimón is a genomic epidemiologist at the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance, where she analyses pathogen genome sequences in the context of antimicrobial resistance and informs the development of web tools for global surveillance. Her work involves international collaborations for the implementation of whole-genome sequencing and teaching/training on genomics. Twitter: @silargi.

Dr. ThankGod Ebenezer is a Bioinformatician at EMBL-EBI, UK, within the UniProt team. His role focuses on developing computational pipelines for automatic functional annotation of proteins. Prior to joining EMBL-EBI he was a postdoc at Earlham Institute and studied for his PhD degree in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK. Twitter: @ThankGod_Ebenez

Website: https://euglenanetwork.wordpress.com/

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba and Isabela Malta.

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Hosts: Alice Matimba and Isabela Malta

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in science (Part 2)

Mon, 5 Oct 2020 03:05:00 +0000

Resources:

Representation in science: https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30740-6.pdf

Parachute research:https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30239-0/fulltext

The culture of research and how it needs to change: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2019/11/10/global-health-research-needs-more-than-a-makeover/#71523e2a7e34

Covid-19 and overlooked research from the global South: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/21/africa-coronavirus-successes-innovation-europe-us

Diversity and Inclusion podcast: https://www.mildon.co.uk/podcast

Guest information:

Diversity and inclusion in academic institutions

Soundbite: Dr. Ozama Ismail is a neuroscientist studying dementia. He co-founded the Minorities in STEM network, and is passionate about raising LGBTQ+ voices within science and ethnic minority groups. Oz co-hosts "Why Aren't You A Doctor Yet?" which tells compelling and diverse stories, combining science and tech with popular culture and comedy. @MinoritySTEM

Ijeoma Uchegbu is Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience, Pro-Vice Provost for Africa and The Middle East at University College London. She is Chief Scientific Officer of Nanomerics Ltd, editor of three books, a named inventor on 11 granted patents and has authored over 180 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Dr. Saher Ahmed is Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Genome Research Limited. Saher has 15 years’ experience working in the area of EDI and has set-up national projects and organisational strategy. Saher completed her PhD in Nuclear Physics at the University of Birmingham, UK and has two children @EqualityScience

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba, Isabela Malta, Christine Boinett and Emmanuela Oppong

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer) and Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Host: Isabela Malta (Part 1), Christine Boinett (Part 2), Alice Matimba (Part 3 & 4)

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Music:

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in science (Part 1)

Mon, 5 Oct 2020 03:00:00 +0000

Resources:

Representation in science: https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30740-6.pdf

Parachute research:https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30239-0/fulltext

The culture of research and how it needs to change: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2019/11/10/global-health-research-needs-more-than-a-makeover/#71523e2a7e34

Covid-19 and overlooked research from the global South: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/21/africa-coronavirus-successes-innovation-europe-us

Diversity and Inclusion podcast: https://www.mildon.co.uk/podcast

Guest information

Soundbite: Dr. Yolanda Ohene is a researcher at UCL specialising in developing novel MRI techniques. She is the co-founder of the Minorities in STEM network, and project head for two Minority in STEM symposia: Expanding Diversity and Level Up Your Academic Toolbox, to support, connect and showcase ethnic minorities in STEM fields. @MinoritySTEM @y_ohene

Interview 1: Sabrina Fleurimé from BBSTEM; Representation matters.

BBSTEM is a non profit organisation campaigning for balance and representation of Black individuals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I am the Corporate Partnership Coordinator collaborating with various institutions to bring exciting opportunities to the talented individuals of our network. I am also a full time scientist working on Drug Development at a biotech in Cambridge. Twitter: @BB_STEM

Website: www.bbstem.co.uk

Interview 2: Prof. Iruka Okeke; Equity in academic research

Iruka N Okeke is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Fellow of the Nigerian and African Academies of Science. Her research group investigates the mechanisms bacteria use to colonize humans, cause disease and gain drug resistance. She also studies laboratory practice in Africa. Follow Iruka: @iruka_okeke

Interview 3: Prof. Eva Maria C. Cutiongco-de la Paz; Equity in academic research

Prof. Eva Maria C. Cutiongco-de la Paz is Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics and Executive Director of the National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines, Manila. She serves as the Director of the Health Program of the Philippine Genome Center.

Interview 4: Prof. Collet Dandara; Ensuring equity from the beginning

Professor Collet Dandara is a Professor of Human Genetics, Principal Investigator of the Pharmacogenomics and Drug Metabolism Research Group at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Twitter: @col_codza

Time stamps:

01:05 - Sabrina Fleurime, BBSTEM

11:37 - Prof. Iruka Okeke

41:21 - Prof. Eva Maria C. Cutiongco-de la Paz

01:04:43 - Prof. Collet Dandara

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba, Isabela Malta, Christine Boinett and Emmanuela Oppong

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer) and Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Host: Isabela Malta (Part 1), Christine Boinett (Part 2), Alice Matimba (Part 3 & 4)

Sponsors:

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/burn-out/en/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBurn%2Dout%20is%20a%20syndrome,related%20to%20one's%20job%3B%20and

Burnout Syndrome

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Halle Rubera, Dr Beth Thompson) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 03:00:06 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Research culture requires dialling down on perfectionism which would help to relieve the pressure.
People respect it when you say NO, so learn to say NO. politely.
Institutions should support mental health support to researchers
Be sensitive to different cultural views about mental health
Intersectionality in mental health means that different people experience the pressures of research in different ways.
Recognise diversity of individuals in research and use a more individual approach to dealing with mental health.

Resources

Burnout in global health by Madhu Pai: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2020/07/20/burnout-a-silent-crisis-in-global-health/#56387cab4df8

WHO:

Spotting signs of burnout: https://www.priorygroup.com/blog/managing-burnout-for-patients-and-gps

Blog by Beth Thompson: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/02/14/beth-thompson-we-need-to-reimagine-the-way-research-works/

Wellcome research culture survey:https://wellcome.ac.uk/press-release/largest-survey-research-culture-reveals-high-levels-stress-and-insecurity

Reducing stigma of mental health by using the Friendship Bench approach https://www.friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org/

Chris Denning (Uni of Nottingham blog) has posted his blog on his twitter account: @chrisdenning42

Guest information

Dr Beth Thompson leads Wellcome’s UK & EU policy and advocacy work, covering issues including Brexit and research investment, as well as Wellcome’s programme on research culture. Beth was awarded an MBE in 2017 for services to science. She gained her PhD from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in 2008.

@Beth_Thompson

@wellcometrust

Halle Rubera is a Rwandan who grew up in Kenya. She holds a B.A. in Political Science at Wellesley College, and was one of 6 finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship - East Africa. She is passionate about education in Africa, which is reflected in her podcast "Drained"-- a platform for African students to discuss their mental health.

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Christine Boinett

Producers: Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer) and Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Imposter syndrome

Wed, 2 Sep 2020 03:00:06 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Imposter syndrome deals with the struggle of the Internal struggle (often to prove oneself) vs the external environment, including the lack of representation in different fields.
In presentations and even in life, remember It’s ok to say ‘I don’t know’.
Some ways one can work through the imposter syndrome include: acknowledging it is a common feeling, separating these feelings from facts about oneself, sharing these feelings with others and thinking: "what's the worst that can happen."
Everyone gets rejections in academia, do not take it personally and do not give up trying.

Resources

How to deal with imposter syndrome: https://time.com/5312483/how-to-deal-with-impostor-syndrome/

More about imposter syndrome and how it affects women and women of colour: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200724-why-imposter-syndrome-hits-women-and-women-of-colour-harder

Read more about Daniela’s story:https://womenaheadoftheirtime.org/stories/daniela-robles-espinoza/

Read more about Seun’s story: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/women-in-stem-oluwaseun-ogundele

Guest information

Oluwaseun Ogundele is a research assistant at the Wellcome-MRC-Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of young BAME role models in research science using social media. Her motivation is personal; to share her own journey as a #blackgirlinscience who ‘made it to Cambridge’.

Connect with Seun: @seuninscience

Dr. Daniela Robles is a PI at the International Laboratory for Human Genome Research (LIIGH), National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). After studying her undergraduate degree at UNAM and her PhD at the University of Cambridge, she returned home to set up a research group focusing on investigating the genomics of cancer types important in Latin American countries.

Connect with Daniela: @daniela_oaks

Isabela Malta joined the ACSC as the Assistant Overseas Courses Manager to help coordinate scientific capacity development in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Originally from Brazil, she has a Biochemistry MPhil from the University of Cambridge (Wolfson College), and a biomedical/microbiology background.

Connect with Isabela: @belamalta10

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Isabela Malta

Producers: Isabela Malta (Producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer)

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Engaging and Empowering youth

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 03:00:01 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Building capacity and skills is an effective way to address the vulnerability of young people in Africa, it builds their confidence to thrive.
Systemic impact is achieved through policy change, advocacy and investing in the lives of young people who can invest back into their communities.
Our niche lies in the ability to take the voices of engaged millennials and address social issues. Young people understanding their place in society, understand they can trigger change.
An empowered youth is able to communicate their needs, identify their strengths and showcase their skills and talent through giving back.
Mentorship of youth should encompass understanding stakeholders, application of etiquette in the work environment and effective communication with important partners.
Remember to speak up, participate, pay it forward.

Resources

Global Citizen: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/gb/

BeyGOOD foundation: https://www.beyonce.com/beygood/

Mentee managing the relationship: https://ementorconnect.com/mentoring-topics-executive-time-management/

Guest information

Chebet Chikumbu is Global Citizen’s Regional Director for Southern and East Africa. Chebet joined the team in 2018 for the execution and delivery of Mandela 100 - the inaugural festival for Global Citizen African on the continent and is currently responsible for leading the Johannesburg-based office and setting its organisational strategy, providing oversight of staff and major activities as well as managing key partnerships within the region

Twitter: @ChebetChikumbu and @GlblCtznAfrica @GlblCtzn

Noxolo Gigaba is a Digital Marketing graduate from Soweto. I was a 2019 BeyGOOD marketing fellow at Global Citizen Africa and currently a marketing coordinator for a healthcare platform called epione.net. I am passionate about the creative industry and passionate about finding ways that I can use my skills and knowledge to positively impact the communities around me while creating good career opportunities for myself.

Twitter: @younique_noxy

Emmanuela Oppong holds a B.S in biomedical engineering from Union College. She is very passionate about global health, education, social justice & youth empowerment; she works to learn more and gets involved through different avenues, including her 2019 Watson Fellowship project on social entrepreneurship & innovation exploring some of these topics.

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Christine Boinett and Emmanuela Oppong

Producers: Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer) and Isabela Malta (Producer).

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

What is mentoring

Wed, 5 Aug 2020 03:00:06 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

A mentor is a wise and trusted counsellor or teacher who is willing to share knowledge and experiences about their life, career and also provides guidance and support.
Alternative strategies such as peer, group and virtual mentorship address skills and resource limitations while enabling scalability and access to diverse pools of mentors worldwide.
Mentorship in LMICs should be included in research integrity frameworks mandating institutions develop opportunities and supportive environments for mentoring.
In order to develop a critical mass of mentors, develop a clear vision, use existing mentoring models, implement according to local needs and resources, and establish lessons learnt.
It is impossible to build research and capacity without mentoring and LMICs need to develop structured processes for mentorship.
To deal with hierarchical and cultural barriers we need to address verticality and gender issues, appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusivity, and develop an embracive culture encompassing young professors who understand the value or mentoring.

Resources

Strengthening mentoring in LMICs: https://europepmc.org/article/med/30430982

Benefits of mentoring: https://hr.ucdavis.edu/departments/learning-dev/toolkits/mentoring/benefits

Importance of mentoring: http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2014/11/06/how-important-is-it-to-have-a-mentor-in-your-academic-career/

What makes a good mentor: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-the-best-mentors-do?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Guest information

Dr. Grace Mwaura is the Fellows and Affiliates Manager at the African Academy of Sciences where she provides thought leadership in the development, coordination, and implementation of AAS Fellows and Affiliates’ capacity strengthening initiatives. She also coordinates the AAS Mentorship Scheme that enables highly qualified and motivated professionals to mentor Africa’s early and mid-career researchers towards exceptional science leadership on the continent.

Find more about Grace and AAS here: @aasciences @gracemwaura, https://www.aasciences.africa/mentorship-scheme and https://aasciences.sfgmentornet.com/

Dr. Andres Lescano leads Emerge, the Emerging Diseases and Climate Change Unit and Epidemiology Masters’ and Doctoral programs at Cayetano University in Peru. He trained at Johns Hopkins, has published >130 manuscripts, trained hundreds of epidemiologists, and has joint appointments at the Tulane, Johns Hopkins, Wake Forest and Texas/Medical Branch universities.

Connect with Andres on twitter here: @emergeupch

Soundbite: Dr. Joseph Tucker is an Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill, Director of UNC Project-China, and Chairman of SESH Global. Connect with Joe @JosephTucker

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Christine Boinett and Alice Matimba

Producers: Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer) and Isabela Malta (Producer).

Host: Christine Boinett

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Music:

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors:

Mentoring health researchers globally by Cole et al.

Establishing and Maintaining a mentoring relationship

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Dr. Palwende BOUA, Dr. Amel Ghouila) — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 03:00:04 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

It is okay to be vulnerable and share your struggles.
Always set boundaries with each other.
Don’t restrict yourself, you can find mentors for different things.
Be brave and direct and ask someone to be a mentor, the worst they can say is no.
Be sure to pay it forward

Resources

Global Health Mentoring Toolkits by Hansoti et al.

Guest information

Dr. Amel Ghouila is a bioinformatician coordinating a Data science for public health program in LMICs. She previously worked for the bioinformatics capacity building network H3ABionet. Amel is the Vice President for ASBCB and the founder of a non-profit dedicated to teaching young girls coding and entrepreneurship skills.

Contact Amel @ AmelGhouila

Dr. Palwende BOUA is a Researcher in human genetics and nutrition at the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN), IRSS-DRCO, Burkina Faso. He has been working on multi-disciplinary research projects using GWAS data in population genetics studies in nutrition-related disorders and cardiometabolic diseases in African populations.

Contact Palwende @romyboua

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Emmanuela Oppong

Producers: Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer) and Isabela Malta (Producer).

Host: Alice Matimba

Media and Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Music:

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors

Mentoring your mentor

digitalmentorpodcast@gmail.com (Your Digital Mentor) — Wed, 5 Aug 2020 03:00:04 +0000

Takeaways from today's episode:

Traditional mentoring is often ad-hoc and vague whereas a structured mentoring programme with the right tools, resources and recognition is more effective.
Mentees should be responsible for setting up research agenda and lead discussion with mentors and take ownership of careers and research projects
A mentor owes time and should be accessible to impart essential skills for research and life skills, and a mentee should show gratitude to the mentor
Mentorship should be agenda-driven with written agreements of action items between mentor and mentee, serving as a living proof of progress
Having a clear mentorship structure which maintains respect and cultural expectations, overcomes barriers of hierarchy

Resources

Mentoring the mentors article by Gandhi et al.: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6329359/

Creating More Effective Mentors by Gandhi et al.: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4995126/

What makes a good mentor:https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-the-best-mentors-do?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Guest information

Monica Gandhi MD, MPH is Professor of Medicine and Associate Division Chief (Clinical Operations/ Education) of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at UCSF/ San Francisco General Hospital. She also serves as the Director of the UCSF Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and the Medical Director of the HIV Clinic at SFGH.

Contact Monica @MonicaGandhi9

Dr. Vidya Mave is Leader and Director of Johns Hopkins University–India Clinical Research Program located in Pune, India as well as Assistant Professor of Medicine with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Mave has an extensive record of research in India on TB, HIV/AIDS, and antimicrobial resistance. Her research work funded by US and Indian government agencies as well as national and international foundations, focuses on TB comorbidities including diabetes and HIV; the use of novel tools including hair pharmacokinetics (Dr Monica Gandhi as her mentor), whole genome sequencing, and host biomarkers to study TB treatment outcomes.

Soundbite: Dr. Joseph Tucker is an Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Associate Professor of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill, Director of UNC Project-China, and Chairman of SESH Global. Connect with Joe @JosephTucker

Acknowledgements

Editing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/

Research: Alice Matimba and Isabela Malta

Producers: Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).

Host: Christine Boinett

Marketing: Catherine Holmes

Music:

Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences

Sponsors