Sound mentorship can contribute significantly to the intellectual and professional development of mentees, but mentors also stand to gain strong leadership skills in this process, and the ability to draw the best from a team can only aid in the overall success of one’s research agenda, according to February’s Editorial in Nature Cell Biology (12, 101; 2010). While picking the appropriate problem and the right approaches is fundamental to a running a successful research programme, capable mentoring of laboratory members and new faculty members is also crucial.

What are some of the objectives of good mentoring? The goal is to be able to recognize the individual potential of mentees and to encourage them in research projects that match their interests, skills and personalities. Successful mentors foster creativity and independence and ensure that trainees have opportunities to develop essential skills beyond bench work for their future success in research, for example, in critical analysis and communication. Instilling high ethical standards is also important. A mentor who can provide an experienced perspective on the challenges of balancing work and family is invaluable.

New PIs face multiple challenges — setting up a laboratory from scratch, recruiting and managing a team, completing administrative tasks, managing a budget, setting research priorities, writing and reviewing grants and papers, and designing and teaching classes — and often these responsibilities have to be juggled with family commitments. Time management is therefore an essential skill for the new PI. Experienced faculty members can help guide new colleagues through this thicket, as well as advise on developing a viable research agenda, navigating an increasingly competitive funding environment, negotiating with administrators and managing people.

Although a strong track record in mentorship is unlikely to be a decisive factor in tenure or funding decisions unless bolstered by a strong publication record, its importance in research is becoming better appreciated by awards and recognition by scientific societies, journals, and other organizations.

Alas, researchers with enviable publication records are not always committed to good mentoring. Graduate students and postdoctoral trainees would be well advised to consider the importance of thoughtful mentoring when choosing an advisor. Mentees exposed to good mentoring are better positioned to absorb these attributes and become successful mentors themselves. Universities, research organizations and funding bodies must promote a culture of mentorship through all levels of academia, as a supportive training environment will define and develop the next generation of scientists.

This is a shortened version of the Editorial at Nature Cell Biology (12, 101; 2010).

Nature Cell Biology journal homepage.

Nature awards for mentoring in science.

The research community needs to increase the number of minority students who choose scientific research careers, according to the September Editorial in Nature Immunology (10, 927; 2009). Black and Hispanic Americans compose roughly one third of the US population, yet the percentage of graduate degrees earned by members of these minorities is much less than 30%. Only 168 people of a minority background were listed as faculty members in biological science departments of the top 50 research institutions in the United States as of 2007. How can the research community encourage more minority students to pursue a research career?

The Editorial describes varous programmes and initiatives, for example the NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is increasing student diversity in its Maximizing Student Development initiative; the American Association of Immunologists has established a Minority Affairs Committee; the AAAS and other organizations are sponsoring the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, to be held this year in Phoenix, Arizona (4–7 November); and the Keystone symposia have initiated a Diversity in Life Science programme. The Editorial notes that such ‘critical mass’ networking interactions help to inspire confidence and can continue long after the attendees have returned home.

The Editorial concludes: “As the US population becomes less ‘white dominated’, more minority workers will enter the workforce. This scenario is no less true for scientific research, especially as a substantial number of white male faculty members prepare to retire in the next decade. Thus, the training of tomorrow’s scientists and faculty must begin today. To achieve this, faculty chairs and administrators must identify those hurdles that might now preclude the career development of under-represented minorities on their campuses and take steps to ensure their education programs are sufficiently rigorous to train competitive minority scientists. There is no time to waste.”