Mentorship | ARC-BH

Autism and Implementation Science Mentorship Program

This program is designed to strengthen mentorship, collaboration, networking opportunities, and career development in autism and implementation science research. The program aims to create a tiered mentorship model that connects senior researchers, early career investigators, community partners, and student/trainee members to foster sustained, community-based support and professional growth within the autism and implementation science fields.

Program Structure:

Senior Mentors: Established autism and implementation science researchers will mentor one early career member for one year. Mentors will meet quarterly (virtually or in person), support professional development (e.g., manuscripts, grants), and may host a mentee visit to their institution (optional).

Early Career Mentors: Early career members selected to receive mentorship from senior researchers also will serve as mentors to one student or trainee member for one year. Early career mentors will meet regularly with their mentee, provide research and career guidance, and collaborate on scholarly activities

Student/Trainee Mentees: Student and trainee members will be paired with early career mentors for guidance, professional development, and support in navigating research and career pathways.

Expectations and Deliverables:

Mentors and mentees will jointly identify measurable goals (e.g., manuscript, grant submission, conference presentation) within the first three months of pairing.

Mentees will submit a progress report and evaluation at the end of the year.

Mentorship meetings should occur at least quarterly for senior-early career pairs and as needed for early career-student pairs.

All participants will contribute feedback to inform iterative improvements to the ARC-BH Mentorship Program. All participants will attend an annual ARC-BH expo to showcase their project and learn about other ARC projects. All participants will be invited to attend a quarterly collaborative fishbowl discussion, a structured conversation where each mentee will have the opportunity to workshop their project and engage in active dialogue while other participants listen, observe, take notes, and provide constructive feedback.

Eligibility criteria include:

Early Career Applicants: Early career researchers within 10 years of completing their terminal degree (PhD, MD, etc.), including postdoctoral fellows, research associates, and assistant professors. Priority will be given to individuals who do not have access to senior mentorship at their home institution in one of these areas.