Institutional Barriers: Implementing Effective Mentoring Practices

Students’ mentoring experiences are shaped by the mentorship skills of their mentors.  However, if academic institutions lack commitment to implementing successful mentoring practices, faculty members often struggle to support their mentees. 

Biochemist Dr. Keith Yamamoto had positive mentoring experiences during his undergraduate and graduate careers where his mentors consistently guided and helped him develop independence in the field. But when he became a professor, he initially struggled to effectively mentor his students. In this episode, Dr. Yamamoto shares key moments of how he learned what tendencies can damage mentoring experiences, the skills that contribute to positive mentorships, and how academic institutions can implement more successful mentoring practices. 

Dr. Keith Yamamoto is a professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at University of California, San Francisco. He also serves as the vice chancellor for science policy and strategy, and as the director of precision medicine at UCSF. Dr. Yamamoto has worked on several national committees that focus on public and scientific policy. In 1990, he was elected into the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2003, he was elected into the National Academy of Medicine. 

To learn more about the Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM report, and for a guide to implementing best practices at your institution, visit NAS.edu/mentoring. 

Brought to you by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. 

Transcript