Call for Manuscripts

Themed Issue on Advancing the Science and Practice of Effective Mentorship

Mentorship is a professional, working alliance in which individuals work together over time to support the personal and professional growth, development, and success of relational partners through the provision of career and psychosocial support. Effective mentoring relationships have an overall positive effect on academic achievement, retention and degree attainment, as well as career success, satisfaction, and pursuit of graduate and professional training. Mentorship has increased access, equity, and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) and has focused our attention to the need to advance inclusive excellence.

The science of effective mentorship in STEMM was highlighted in the 2019 National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report. The report called for academic institutions to take a more intentional, inclusive, and evidence-based approach to mentorship including structured feedback systems to improve mentorship at all levels; recognition and response to identities across the mentorship ecosystem; support of multiple mentorship structures; rewards of effective mentorship; and mitigation of negative mentorship experiences. In addition, funding agencies were encouraged to require evidence-based mentorship education for mentors and mentees as part of training grant activities and to fund more scholarship on mentorship. Many funding agencies, including NIH, NSF, and non-profit institutions have changed mentor training requirements and have funded innovative intervention approaches and studies in mentorship and career development across learner stages.

In parallel, the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program hubs, a national, collaborative consortium for advancing clinical and translational science, supports translational science (TS) training. Effective mentoring relationships are a critical aspect of preparing TS scientists across learner stages and are important for all members of a research team.

This thematic issue of JCTS will cover the state of knowledge of effective mentorship and how it is being translated into the practices and ecosystems of academic institutions. Through this open call, we are soliciting manuscripts that contribute to our understanding of effective mentorship and interventions aimed at improving mentoring relationships across diverse contexts. We are seeking manuscripts including, but not limited to:

• Results from multicenter intervention trials of innovative mentorship training models and/or career development programs in biomedical research for mentors and mentees applicable to translational science.
• Studies documenting the short and long-term impacts of mentorship initiatives with a particular focus on early-stage investigators and/or mid-career scientists.
• Investigation of the types of mentorship and mentorship interventions that are effective across diverse populations and contexts.
• Validation of new metrics and tools to evaluate mentoring relationships, mentorship interventions, as well as mentorship models and structures across the translational science ecosystem.
• Validation of mentoring model adaptations employed in different working environments.
• Results of interventions aimed at institutional culture change to improve mentorship practices that are incorporated throughout activities and groups to create a culture of accountability.
• Assessment of the diverse landscape of mentorship efforts across academic institutions using quantitative and qualitative methods.

If not tested in the translational science context, it is required that authors discuss the applicability of the study and results to translational science.

As part of the thematic issue, an editorial summarizing the key themes and topics will be developed by the guest editors. At the time of publishing the editorial, the thematic issue is collected online at https://www/cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-clinical-and-translational-science/thematic-issues

Submissions should be made online via the Journal’s ScholarOne submission site by November 11, 2024. Authors are asked to select, “Advancing the Science and Practice of Effective Mentorship” for the Themed Issue submission question when submitting to this issue.

Manuscripts may be submitted for peer review in any of the Journal’s article types except Editorial. For a full description of each manuscript category, as well as information on the submission of manuscripts, journal policy, and journal style, please visit the JCTS Instructions for Contributors on Cambridge Core.

JCTS is a fully Gold Open Access journal. Information about the Journal’s Open Access policies, including the current Article Processing Charge (APC), can be found here. Standard APCs will apply for themed issue submissions unless other arrangements have been made in advance with the publisher.

Questions regarding this themed issue should be directed to the Guest Co-Editors listed below via the JCTS Editorial Office at jcts@cambridge.org.

Guest Editors;

Lead Co-editors: Christine Pfund, PhD, Distinguished Scientist, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Christine A. Sorkness, PharmD, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy and Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Joel Tsevat, Professor, Department of Population Health, University of Texas at Austin

David Asai, Former Senior Director for Science Education, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Case, Maryland

Aubrey J. Murrell, Professor of Business Administration, Psychology, Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh School of Business

W. Marcus Lambert, Associate Vice President for Research, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Emma Meagher, Senior Vice Dean, Clinical & Translational Research, Perelman School of Medicine; Vice President, University of Pennsylvania Health System

Nancy Schwartz, Professor of Pediatrics and Biochemistry; Dean of Basic Science, Postdoctoral Affairs, University of Chicago