Your Digital Mentor Podcast

• Mentorship and Global Health Careers

  Discussions with seasoned researchers from the TDR global 2020 Career Impact Contest, where they share different aspects of their career trajectories, including support they received via research, education and mentoring opportunities. They also share some challenges they faced, including accessing funding, lack of skills and approaches they took to overcome them. Additionally, they talk about their mentoring relationships as both mentors and mentees, and how they have been able to maintain, build, and pay-it-forward to others, through their critical work in their respective countries and in global health.ResourcesCareer Impact Contest: TDR-supported scientists share their inspirational success stories (who.int)TDR Grants: Grants (who.int)Guest informationDr. Rashad Abdul-Ghani, an Associate Professor and researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sana'a University, and the Tropical Disease Research Center, University of Science and Technology, Yemen. His research focuses on parasitic diseases, neglected tropical diseases, vector-borne diseases, and public health. Learn more about Rashad’s work here:‪Rashad Abdul-Ghani‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬Dr. Nadira Kurunaweera is the Chair Professor of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Visiting Fellow, School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA. As a Medical Parasitologist she has extensive teaching, training and research experience in tropical diseases, especially vector-borne diseases. Her achievements have been recognized through many awards, honors and fellowships. Connect with Nadira on Twitter @medfaccmb. Learn more about her work: Professor Nadira D. Karunaweera – Faculty of Medicine (cmb.ac.lk)Dr. Avila Montes, who is an Ex-TDR grantee with public health experience in Honduras, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and Guatemala, as an effective manager in program design, management, strategic planning, and health research related to vector borne disease control (Dengue, Zika and Chagas disease), outbreak response, maternal & child health, and HIV/AIDS control. Learn more about Avila and his work here: Gustavo Adolfo Avila Montes Profile | Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases (tdr-global.net)AcknowledgmentsEditing by Carl PeckResearch: Emmanuela Oppong & Alice Matimba Producers: Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Catherine Holmes (Marketing)Host: Emmanuela OppongMedia and Marketing: Catherine HolmesMusic: https://freesound.org/s/477388/ SponsorsACSC: https://coursesandconferences.wellcomegenomecampus.orgWSI: https://www.sanger.ac.ukSESH: https://www.seshglobal.org/

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• Mentorship Part 2: Pivoting mentorship to meet community healthcare needs

  The 2019 finalists of the TDR Global Mentorship Contest for improving research mentorship in low- and middle-income countries joined us to share their experiences implementing their respective projects. We had: Dr. Ana Maria Aguilar also discussed the pivotal shift in her community-based mentoring project in Bolivia. Her project initially focused on creating a horizontal style, participatory community mentor program, but shifted to focus on meeting the needs of the community. They began working with a community that had used herbal packages as an approach to bridge the distrust between the health sector and the local community. Connect with Ana Maria on ResearchGate. Guest informationProf. Aguilar is a senior pediatrician. Currently a professor in child growth and development research at the Medical College at University Mayor de San Andres in La Paz, Bolivia. She has designed and implemented health and nutrition interventions for children under five years of age for the last thirty years. She also led the conformation of the Food and Nutrition Council in Bolivia and was the First National Coordinator of the Malnutrition Zero Program until 2012. Among many of her work and achievements, she has also authored and co-authored several articles, book chapters on nutrition and child health, description of the nutritional transition in Bolivia. About TDR GlobalTDR Global is a worldwide community of passionate scientists and experts who have been working with TDR on research on infectious diseases of poverty. TDR is the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training and Tropical Diseases, based at the World Health Organization.Resources Oppong, E., Bao, H., Tang, W., Mejia, M.I.E., Glozah, F., Asanga, N., Boinett, C.J., Aguilar, A.M., Valido, E., Lestari, T. and Tucker, J.D., 2021. A Global Crowdsourcing Open Call to Improve Research Mentorship in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Mixed Methods Analysis. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1(aop).AcknowledgmentsEditing by Cassandra SooResearch: Emmanuela Oppong & Alice MatimbaProducers: Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer).Host: Emmanuela OppongMedia and Marketing: Catherine HolmesMusic: https://freesound.org/s/477388/ SponsorsWellcome Connecting Science: https://coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/Wellcome Sanger Institute: https://www.sanger.ac.ukSESH: https://www.seshglobal.org/

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• Mentorship Part 1: A Community of Practice as a Mentorship Model

  The 2019 finalists of the TDR Global Mentorship Contest for improving research mentorship in low- and middle-income countries joined us to share their experiences implementing their respective projects. We had:Dr. Ezra Valido who shared his Getting Research To Work (G.R.O.W) for people project in the Philippines, focused on bringing local-non academic organisations, practitioners, and local experts together to collaborate as a small community of practice that can mentor, support and learn from each other. He highlighted some advantageous steps he took, including working with local societies that had the resources he needed. He also discussed some challenges he faced implementing his project during the COVID pandemic, including difficulties gaining funding to navigate the dynamics of mentoring people within different stages of their career. Connect with Ezra on LinkedinGuest informationDr. Ezra Valido is both a biologist and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of the Philippines. He also holds a Master's degree in public management and public health, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Lucerne and Swiss Paraplegic Research. He is broadly interested in infectious disease and designing, scaling, and implementing public health programs related to them, focusing on health systems and development and in public health concentrating on tropical medicine. He worked previously as a primary care physician and was employed in the medical affairs units of Sanofi and Novo Nordisk in the Philippine affiliate handling endocrine, cardiovascular, and renal therapeutic areas.About TDR GlobalTDR Global is a worldwide community of passionate scientists and experts who have been working with TDR on research on infectious diseases of poverty. TDR is the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training and Tropical Diseases, based at the World Health Organization.ResourcesOppong, E., Bao, H., Tang, W., Mejia, M.I.E., Glozah, F., Asanga, N., Boinett, C.J., Aguilar, A.M., Valido, E., Lestari, T. and Tucker, J.D., 2021. A Global Crowdsourcing Open Call to Improve Research Mentorship in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Mixed Methods Analysis. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1(aop).AcknowledgmentsEditing by Cassandra SooResearch: Emmanuela Oppong & Alice MatimbaProducers: Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer).Host: Emmanuela OppongMedia and Marketing: Catherine HolmesMusic: https://freesound.org/s/477388/SponsorsWellcome Connecting Science: https://coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/Wellcome Sanger Institute: https://www.sanger.ac.ukSESH: https://www.seshglobal.org/

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• How to Choose a Research Supervisor

  If you are looking to start a PhD, you may consider choosing a supervisor based on the type of research that you find most interesting. While this should certainly be a component of your decision, it is also important to look beyond the research. In fact, your supervisor and the culture of their research group will have significantly more impact on your happiness and success in graduate school than the research itself. Here, Jen Heemstra talks us through what should be considered when choosing the right supervisor, and how to spot red flags.ResourcesMore than a signature: How advisor choice and advisor behaviour affect doctoral student satisfactionhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03098770701424983Choosing a Graduate Advisor https://cen.acs.org/careers/graduate-school/Choosing-graduate-adviser/99/i33Guest informationJen Heemstra is a Professor of Chemistry at Emory University, where her research group is focused on using biomolecules for applications in biosensing and bioimaging. Jen is actively engaged in science communication and advocacy via her Twitter presence (@jenheemstra), column in Chemical & Engineering News, and professional development seminars. AcknowledgementsEditing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/Research: Jen Heemstra, Isabela MaltaProducers: Isabela Malta (Producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer) and Emmanuela Oppong (Producer).Social media: Catherine HolmesHost: Isabela MaltaCreated by: Christine BoinettMusic: https://freesound.org/s/477388/ Contact usEmail: [email protected]: @mentor_podcast Check out another podcast from our friends Decoding Life at the Wellcome Sanger InstituteSupportWCS: https://www.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/WSI: https://www.sanger.ac.uk

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• Inside stories of publishing

  Publishing is a complex world of skewed macro-level challenges including access to high-impact journals, lack of equity within journal publication processes, and monopolization by reputable journals; as well as micro-level barriers such as navigating manuscript production, language, journal selection, and fees. Two editors-in-chief, Seye and Orli, shed some light on these processes, and offer unique perspectives, and advice including pursuing publications with a “healthy dose of disrespect” and endeavoring to reach out to editors with your questions and concerns.Guest informationProf. Seye Abimbola is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, where he studies health system governance and epistemic justice in global health. He is also the current Prince Claus Chair in Equity and Development at Utrecht University and the editor in chief of BMJ Global Health. Connect with Seye on Twitter @seyeabimbola, and to learn more about his work, visit: https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/seye-abimbola.htmlDr. Orli G. Bahcall, Editor-in-Chief of Cell Genomics, has over 17 years of editorial experience, previously serving as genetics and genomics editor at Nature and Nature Genetics and Chief Editor of Nature Reviews Genetics. Orli brings with her to Cell Genomics a love of science, a passion for collaborative research, and a commitment to openness and transparency in research, as well as in the editorial and review processes. Orli received her Ph.D. in epidemiology and mathematical modeling from Imperial College, London, her MS from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, and her BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Connect with Orli on Twitter @obahcall. To learn more about her work, visit:https://www.cell.com/cell-genomics/home or her LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/in/orli-bahcall-6b81b11a3ResourcesScholary Kitchen blog (https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2021/01/28/open-access-and-global-south-it-is-more-than-a-matter-of-inclusion/ )Support open access in global south (https://www.research4life.org/news/open-access-inclusive-as-it-wants-to-be/)Challenges in open access (https://www.enago.com/academy/challenges-in-growth-of-open-access-publishing/)BMJ benefits of open access(https://www.bmj.com/company/openaccess/open-access-faq/)Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science? (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/27/profitable-business-scientific-publishing-bad-for-science)Big publishers, bigger profits (https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/304667847.pdf)Barriers to publishing (https://bmcmedresmethodol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12874-017-0371-z)Language barriers (https://pubrica.com/academy/journal-selection/english-language-as-a-barrier-to-publish-in-high-impact-factor-journals-quick-tips-to-overcome/)Global inclusivity report 2020 (https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/global-2020-inclusivity-report)AcknowledgmentsEditing by Mariana Vaz, https://www.marianacpvaz.com/Research: Nagehan Ramazanoglu; Alice MatimbaProducers: Christine Boinett (Creator and Executive producer), Alice Matimba (Senior Producer), Isabela Malta (Producer and Research Lead), Emmanuela Oppong (Producer), Nagehan Ramazanoglu (Producer), Catherine Holmes (Marketing Lead).Host: Alice Matimba & Emmanuela OppongMedia and Marketing: Catherine HolmesMusic: https://freesound.org/s/477388/Contact usEmail: [email protected]: @mentor_podcastSupportWCS: https://www.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/WSI: https://www.sanger.ac.ukSESH: https://www.seshglobal.org/

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