The Presidential M1 Mentorship Award Program

ANNOUNCING THE PRESIDENTIAL M1 MENTORSHIP AWARD PROGRAM

OVERVIEW

The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering and the Office of the Provost are pleased to announce a Call for Applications for the Presidential M1 Mentorship Award Program. The program has as its intent to create a national model for best practices in mentorship and formalize mentorship as an academic discipline. The Presidential M1 Mentorship Award Program aims to establish a cadre of accomplished UConn faculty who will deliver mentorship to racial and ethnic underrepresented individuals along the biomedical science pipeline.

Award recipients will utilize program funds in support of efforts encompassing recruitment and mentorship of racial and ethnic underrepresented trainees at all stages of the pipeline from middle, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to junior faculty. Awardees will also publish outcome results and experiences in scholarly journals and electronic media, attend national mentorship conferences, and convene in a bi-annual symposium.

FUNDING

Presidential M1 Mentorship Award Program funding will cover up to 25% of protected time for mentoring activities, including mentorship of individual students as well as participation in the development and execution of various mentorship initiatives. In addition, up to $5,000 will be allocated to the development of new and innovative initiatives focused on student-related activities that promote their academic growth and increase the number of students in the pipeline.

Award recipients are required to attend at least one national mentorship conference per year and to participate in further training in the mentoring racial and ethnic underrepresented students. Renewal of the award is subject to an annual program performance review and availability of funding.

ELIGIBILITY

  • Full-time UConn faculty, including UConn Health, UConn Storrs, and Regional campuses;
  • Documented history of successful research funding (National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other sources); and
  • Evidence of extensive mentoring experience.

SELECTION CRITERIA

  • Previous success in securing research funding;
  • Caliber of previous mentoring experience;
  • Merit and alignment of proposed mentoring activities and initiatives; and
  • Quality and innovation of proposed recruitment efforts to engage, increase, and retain underrepresented students and faculty in the biomedical sciences.

APPLICATION & IMPORTANT DATES

To apply, complete the online application providing the following:

  • NIH Biographical Sketch
  • Letter of Support from Department Chair
  • M1 Mentorship Proposal

Deadline to submit application is Friday May 26, 2023

Notice of Awards – June 2023

For further information, please contact Jolene Monahan Wilding, Program Manager, at monahanwilding@uchc.edu.


The Office of the Provost and the The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering has announced the selection of its 2020 Presidential M1 Mentorship Program Awardees. The four new M1 Mentors comprise a cadre of accomplished faculty members that aims to create a national model for best practices in mentorship of underrepresented racial and ethnic students and faculty in the biomedical sciences. Each M1 Mentor possesses high caliber mentoring experience, a commitment to engage and retain racial and ethnic underrepresented individuals along the biomedical science pipeline, and a record of success in securing research funding.

“I am pleased to welcome the 2020 cohort of M1 Mentors, comprised of yet another talented group of faculty representing UConn and UConn Health. Mentorship is a fundamental component of student success, and I look forward to the positive impact these mentors will have on the UConn community.” said Dr. Laurencin, University Professor and Chief Executive Officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering.

2020 PRESIDENTIAL M1 MENTORS

Kristen Govoni

Kristen Govoni, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Animal Science, UConn

Ofer Harel

Ofer Harel, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Statistics, UConn

Sun Luyi

Luyi Sun, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UConn

Gualberto Ruano, M.D., Ph.D.

 Assistant Professor, Connecticut Convergence Institute & Department of Psychiatry, UConn Health

Former M1 Mentors