Finding a mentor
In order to become involved in research on this campus, you will need to have a mentor. A mentor is a person, most often a faculty member with a research program or laboratory, who can discuss possible projects with you, help you get started with your research, help you get training for any techniques that you need to learn, provide resources for your project in his/her laboratory or research program, help you troubleshoot problems that arise during your project, give you feedback on the progress of your research, etc.
In some courses with a research component and in some academic programs, you will receive assistance in locating a mentor. In other courses or academic programs or for most volunteer experiences, you will need to find a mentor on your own. The following are some suggestions for locating a mentor on your own.
1. Finding out about potential mentors
In order to find a mentor you will need to decide what field of biology you are interested in. You may want to discuss this with your academic advisor or a professor or TA in your biology course. Often they can give you ideas about faculty who are working within your area of interest. However, there are several ways you can learn of potential mentors on your own. All involve identifying a faculty member on the basis of his/her area of research and reading about his/her research before approaching them.
Consult the Timetable for listings of all departments on campus. Find departments that sound interesting using the index. Under each departmental listing, an address for the departmental office is given. Go to the departmental office and ask for a list of the faculty and their research interests.
Visit the web pages of biological departments of campus. Many departmental web pages have links to web pages of individual faculty members where descriptions of their research can be found.
Use a searchable database to search for a topic in biology that you are interested in. One such database is the Community of Science .
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2. Reading about a potential mentor's area of research
Read about the research of potential mentors you have learned about in step 1. The faculty web page that you visited in step 1 probably has a brief overview of the research projects going on in that mentor's laboratory/research program. In addition, many faculty web pages list some of the publications that the faculty member has authored. You may want to locate some of these publications at a campus library and read them for a more in-depth background before approaching the potential mentor. You may find that these publications are written at a level that is hard to understand given your exposure to specific areas of biology thus far, but you will probably be able to get a basic idea of what the research involves by reading the Abstract and Introduction portions of the research article.
3. Approaching a potential mentor
Once you have an idea of the mentor's research from following step 2, you are ready to contact the mentor. You may choose to do this initially by email or to send him/her a packet of information containing a letter of interest and some data about yourself. In some cases, you may be able to contact the mentor by going in person to his/her office or lab or by calling them on the telephone.
In an initial contact with a potential mentor, you will want to convey some of the following information about yourself and your research interests:
Background information about yourself including your name, address, phone number, email address, your area of research interest, your educational background (for example, coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, computer sciences), any previous research experience. You may find that a simple one page resume is the best way to organize this information and to make a good impression on the potential mentor. Many mentors also like to see a copy of your academic transcripts.
How much time you are able to commit to a research project. You should also indicate when this time is and give an idea of what your other weekly commitments are. Often it is helpful to show a potential mentor a copy of your weekly class/work schedule.
What you read about the mentor's research that particularly intrigued you. Also, you will want to identify a general area of the mentor's research you read about that you might like to work on.
What your motivation for pursuing a research project is. For example, are you considering a career in research and looking for an opportunity to try it out? Have you learned about a topic in your course work that fascinated you and you want to investigate it in more depth?
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4. Following up on your initial contact with the potential mentor
If the potential mentor you contacted does not respond to your email, phone call or letter you will want to contact them again after about one week or so. If you initially emailed the mentor, you might want to try sending a letter this time or calling them on the phone. Getting in touch with a mentor often takes several tries. Don't be discouraged if you don't hear back from them immediately or if you cannot reach them right away. Keep trying! Although mentors are extremely busy people, they are almost always happy to talk to undergraduates about their research.
Once you are able to contact the potential mentor, you should ask if they received information that you sent them about yourself and your research interests, restate your interest in getting involved in a research project and ask if they might be interested in meeting with you to discuss the possibility of your working on a research project with them.
5. Meeting with a potential mentor
Usually when a potential mentor agrees to meet with you, they are interested in finding out more about you before they make a commitment about acting as your mentor. The potential mentor is probably interested in hearing about your interests in biology and in judging your level of motivation and enthusiasm Be prepared to explain what you hope to get out of a research experience, why you are interested in this mentor's research and what general type of project you are interested in. Be sure to ask the mentor to describe the research projects going on in his/her labs and which projects you might be able to get involved in. Be prepared to ask questions. Remember that the mentor is an expert in his/her field but that you are only starting in this area. Now is the time to ask the basic questions that you need to understand the project and the biology involved. At the some point in this conversation, if you feel this mentor/research project is right for you, you will want to ask him/her if he/she will be your mentor and allow you to work on a project you have discussed. Good luck!
Questions or comments about this web site? Please contact Janet Branchaw,Center for Biology Education at (608) 262-1182 or email: branchaw@wisc.edu