Early Career Committee Mentoring Initiative 2021- 2022

Extension for Applications: February 19, 2021 - February 26, 2021 CLOSED

Application Period: January 22 - February 15, 2021

Note:  Do not email the senior mentors.  The Early Career Committee will be reviewing applications and making decisions.

The INSAR Early Career Committee is now accepting applications for the 2021 Mentoring Initiative. The goal of the Mentoring Initiative is to use the network of expertise within INSAR to build the next generation of autism researchers through mentorship. The Mentoring Initiative is designed as a tiered mentorship program, where a senior researcher is paired with an early career researcher, and the early career researcher is paired as a mentor to a student/trainee INSAR member.

INSAR Senior Mentors: We have recruited 16 senior autism researchers to serve as mentors to INSAR Early Career members.  If matched, each senior mentor will:

• Mentor one early career member for one year.
  
• Meet with early career mentee at least once per quarter (a minimum of 4 times in the year). - can be via Zoom/phone, etc.
  
• Support early career members develop a permanent product (e.g., manuscript, grant).
  
• Allow early career members to visit their lab/site/institution once during the year (at the mentee’s expense, if possible). This is not a requirement for the mentees but an option and opportunity to learn from their mentors in person if their budgets allow. 

INSAR Early Career Mentees: In order to receive an INSAR Senior Mentor, Early Career members will be asked to register as INSAR Early Career Mentors. INSAR Early Career Mentors will be asked to:

• Mentor one Student/Trainee member for one year.
  
• Meet with Student/Trainee member as needed and as approved by Student/Trainee member’s primary advisor.
• Work with Student/Trainee member on an ongoing project or permanent products (e.g., manuscript, training grant) as approved by Student/Trainee member’s primary advisor. This should not conflict or interrupt the student’s training program but rather support their development. 

INSAR Student/Trainee Mentees: In order to receive an INSAR Early Career Mentor, Student/Trainee members will be asked to:

• Obtain approval by Student/Trainee member’s primary advisor.
• Work with Early Career Mentor on an ongoing project or permanent product (e.g., manuscript, training grant) as approved by Student/Trainee member’s primary advisor. This should not conflict or interrupt the student’s training program, but rather support.

In addition, all mentees will be required to attend a mentorship webinar provided by the organizers of the Mentoring Initiative and fill out an Individual Development Plan with their mentors

Application Process: Interested current INSAR Members should apply following the link below. Early Career applicants will identify three potential senior mentors. We will have a rubric based on overall fit for the program, need, research potential and INSAR membership for all applicants. The Early Career Committee will form a small committee to review applications. We will work with the Student Training Committee to review Student/Trainee applications.

• After serving as an Early Career and student mentee, those applicants will serve as reviewers for the following year.

Benchmarks for Success for both Early Career and Student/Trainee Mentees:

• Mentees will send a progress report at the end of the year (with the mentor’s signature) for the Early Career Committee to document outcome. Outcome will be based on overall benefit from the program (either qualitative or quantitative). 
  
• Mentees will submit an evaluation of the Mentoring Initiative at the end of the year for feedback to the Early Career Committee to make iterative adaptations and revisions to the Mentoring Initiative.
• Mentors and Mentees will be expected to develop a measurable goal with their respective mentors and submit a description of their goal and project within the first three months of being paired.

Priority will be given to Early Career members who do not have a primary mentor at their home institution, or Early Career and Student/Trainee members who need a mentor in a different content area that is not available at their home institution. Priority also will be given to non-US Early Career and Student/Trainee members. To be considered, please complete the following application no later than February 15, 2021 by 5 pm PT.

If you have any questions please email: earlycareercommittee@autism-insar.org