(P04-001-23) Impact of an Early Career Scientist Mentorship Program on Professional Development

Objectives: Careers in academia are challenging and there are multiple barriers for personal and career development, particularly for an early career scientist. Effective mentorship programs are a promising strategy to create supportive communities and foster long-term career success. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the impact of an interdisciplinary early career mentorship program on professional development.

Methods: Eleven early career scientists from across the United States were selected to participate in the inaugural program. The research focus of these scientists ranged across the food systems spectrum, including animal science, nutrition science, and public health. Based on a previous needs assessment, the program was designed to be a three-year engagement with a series of in-person immersions and virtual activations focused on topics of importance to early career academics, such as grant-writing, communications training, and leadership development. Before and after each in-person activation, a survey was disseminated to assess knowledge and beliefs related to the training session and to collect post-assessment qualitative feedback. Retrospective self-efficacy in relation to career goals will be collected through a survey after a full year of engagement by participants after the activation in May 2023.

Results: Two in-person activations were held in September and November 2022 focused on the funding landscape. Themes identified from the qualitative feedback were participants valued networking, program organization, and how mentorship was being prioritized. Survey responses showed a trend towards improving knowledge about research proposal development and the funding landscape.

Conclusions: Career success can be contingent on socio-cognitive factors, such as self-efficacy and expectations. Developing mentorship programs across professions that focus on building relationships with a dynamic network of professionals and its cohort members can help increase engagement in the program and provide career support. Future program evaluation among this cohort of early career scientists should explore how program participants utilize the program teachings to navigate success in academia.

Funding Sources: No funding was used for this study.