Exploring the Role of Mentorship in Graduate Education

What does effective mentorship look like in graduate education today? As part of the "Conversations in Graduate Education" series, The Graduate School hosted a virtual discussion on March 2 featuring Angela Byars-Winston, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a leading scholar in diversity science mentorship in STEMM.

Byars-Winston establishes mentorship as a professional alliance that supports both career development and personal growth. Drawing on research she has done with the National Academies and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research, she explains that mentorship is often acquired informally, but can be enhanced through evidence-based practices and intentional training that assist mentors in aligning expectations, communicating effectively and nurturing independence.

A key focus of the discussion was the importance of culturally responsive mentorship, recognizing and valuing the diverse experiences and identities that trainees bring to their academic work. Byars-Winston's research shows that when mentors acknowledge their mentees' personal backgrounds and lived experiences, trainees report stronger scientific identity, greater satisfaction with their mentoring relationships and an increased commitment to research careers.

Byars-Winston addressed some of the challenges facing graduate education, including job insecurity, funding pressures, and the rapidly changing social and political environment affecting universities and their trainees.

"We can't change all of the challenges. But what we can do is listen, but not just listen with our ears. We want to listen deeply from an empathic perspective," she explained. "It's about showing up with empathy and creating space for trainees to navigate uncertainty while continuing to grow."

The conversation underscored the evolving nature of mentorship in graduate education and the importance of intentional, inclusive mentoring practices and their role in helping the next generation of scholars thrive.

About Angela Byars-Winston

Angela Byars-Winston conducts diversity science research on cultural and organizational influences that shape the career development and effective mentorship of college students and early-career faculty in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). She was the principal investigator in the NIH National Research Mentoring Network, leading the Culturally Aware Mentorship initiative. She chaired the National Academies of Sciences' 2019 consensus study report, The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM, and was an appointed member of the NIH National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council from 2021 to 2024.

Her work has been recognized by the White House under President Obama's administration, and she is the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Educator for Innovation in Mentorship Research Award from the Association of Clinical and Translational Science. She is chair of the UW Institute for Diversity Science, where she hosts the Diversity Science Podcast.