Dr Jessica Duarte, Kate Christian and Dr Ashleigh Poh at the Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute.
For the last 52 years, Cure Cancer has been at the forefront of cancer research with over 515 grants awarded to the brightest early-career cancer researchers.
With the knowledge and insight that our researchers have obtained in their fields, the idea for a mentoring program sparked in 2017 to encourage collaboration between our new researchers and Cure Cancer alumni.
Professor Clare Scott, Chair of Cure Cancer Research Committee, says, “Mentoring enables personalized valuable feedback to reach those who can benefit the most. Early career researchers have so much more to learn than science, and mentoring is one way to gain insights at a critical time.”
Cure Cancer alumni still working in research and grant recipients, interested in being guided by a senior researcher, took part in the project. With each mentoring pair efforts were taken to match the general location, have them come from different institutions and work in a different field in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Once mentors had been chosen, the pairs were able to work together and discuss research topics.
With the continued success of the program since 2017, participants have expressed gratitude for the valuable experience:
“This is a fantastic opportunity Cure Cancer Australia provided us. My mentor is superb! He gave exactly the advice I need and we will meet often in the future.”
“She was very helpful to talk to. She understood some of the pressures I am under with my current supervisor and team. I felt I could talk freely and be completely honest with her. I would like to see her again. This year's been a bit of a whirlwind.”
“It is very useful to receive comments from a senior researcher from somewhere else in environment and scope. Therefore, the suggestions they provide offer insights from a different light.”
As Kate Christian, Cure Cancer Research Manager, states, “This experiment has shown that with minimal effort, and no cost, the goodwill of previous grant recipients can be harnessed for the significant benefit of their early career colleagues. Mentoring is usually beneficial for both sides of the relationship as it widens the network of each party and provides insight into unfamiliar environments. It doesn’t only help the mentee - it also provides learning for the continuing learning for the mentor.”
Cure Cancer is thankful to have been offered assistance for this program from alumni who are now senior researchers through to people who have just finished their grants. To learn more about our current researchers and the incredible work that they have produced, click on the button below:
