Mentorship Programs and Trainings
A top priority at Harvard Catalyst is mentorship — a critical boundary-crossing skill which is integrated into all of our offerings. In addition to this guide, we offer programs and training opportunities that structure and support mentoring relationships across career stages.
Mentorship Resources
Boundary-Crossing Skills for Research Careers
Audience: All audiences
The Boundary-Crossing Skills for Research Careers webinar series has addressed navigating mentoring relationships and transitioning from a mentee to a mentor. Check back for future offerings.
Eligibility Requirements: Webinars are designed for translational researchers and research staff at any career stage. There are no eligibility requirements to participate.
Important Dates: Webinar dates vary. Check back for future offerings.
Career Catalyst
Audience: Early-stage Investigators (Postdoctoral Fellows, Recently-appointed Faculty)
Career Catalyst is a strategic, longitudinal program that matches early-career researchers with senior faculty who serve as developmental mentors. Through a comprehensive monthly curriculum and regular small-group meetings with a mentor and peers, participants learn a structured approach to growing their mentoring networks. Career Catalyst was the recipient of the 2022 Harvard Medical School DICP Program Award for Culture of Excellence in Mentoring.
Eligibility Requirements: Early-career researchers, mainly postdoctoral fellows and instructors.
Important Dates: Applications open in spring. New cohorts launch each September and run through June. See the Career Catalyst web section for additional details.
Clinical and Translational Research Academy First Grant Bootcamp
Audience: Early-stage Investigators (Postdoctoral Fellows, Recently-appointed Faculty)
The Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Research Academy First Grant Bootcamp is a 15-week program designed for early-stage investigators who are ready to write their first grant application, which is often an F32, foundation, or professional society grant. Participants prepare a competitive grant application via self-paced grant-writing instruction, live webinars, and faculty-led small groups focused on feedback and editing. Small groups are led by senior faculty members, known as academy mentors, who serve as grant-writing advisors. Endorsement for committed support from a primary scientific mentor is required for participation.
Eligibility Requirements: Early-stage C/T (not basic) research investigator, typically in the later stages of fellowship (e.g., beyond the clinical portion of training) or with a recent faculty appointment (within the first three years of appointment). See the Clinical and Translational (C/T) Research Academy First Grant Bootcamp web section for additional eligibility requirements.
Dates: The program takes place over 15 weeks. Application dates vary. See Clinical and Translational (C/T) Research Academy First Grant Bootcamp for upcoming deadlines.
Faculty Fellowship
Audience: Junior Faculty (Instructors and Assistant Professors)
This two-year, non-degree faculty fellowship program for Harvard Medical School junior faculty is designed to address the need for additional support to conduct clinical and/or translational research and to free junior faculty from clinical and teaching demands at a key point in their career development. Faculty fellows meet regularly with their mentors.
Eligibility Requirements: Harvard faculty instructors or assistant professors. See the Faculty Fellowship web page for additional eligibility requirements.
Dates: Applications are due in winter. See the Faculty Fellowship web page for deadlines.
Grant Review and Support Program (GRASP)
Audience: Junior Faculty (Instructors and Assistant Professors)
The Grant Review and Support Program (GRASP) is a longitudinal program that provides Career Development Award recipients grant-related guidance and support throughout the duration of their award so that they can successfully apply for R01 or equivalent funding. The curriculum is focused on providing participants with grant-writing skills and project management tools/strategies. Mentorship is provided by both near-peers and senior faculty who support GRASP participants by offering feedback and keeping them on track throughout their grant application process.
Eligibility Requirements: Harvard-affiliated junior faculty clinician/translational-investigators who are in the first year of a four- or five-year NIH K grant or equivalent Career Development Award. See the GRASP web section for additional eligibility requirements.
Dates: Registration opens in spring. See the GRASP web section for registration deadlines and additional information.
K12 Training Award
Audience: Early-stage Investigators (Postdoctoral Fellows, Recently-appointed Faculty)
The K12 Training Award provides advanced training in clinical and translational research to senior fellows and junior faculty across all health professions, including medicine, dentistry, and nursing. Awardees pursue a mentored research project in their area of expertise.
Eligibility Requirements: Harvard-affiliated junior faculty within the first three years of appointment or senior fellowship appointment at a Harvard-affiliated institution. See the K12 Training Award web section for additional eligibility requirements.
Dates: This two-year program begins in the fall. See the RFA and Application Components for application deadlines and additional information.
Visiting Research Internship Program (VRIP)
Audience: Medical Students
This eight-week mentored, summer research program is designed to support visiting medical students in developing their interests in research and health-related careers, particularly in clinical and translational research.
Eligibility Requirements: First and second year medical students, with a focus on those who are from groups underrepresented in medicine and/or disadvantaged individuals. See the VRIP web page for additional eligibility requirements.
Important Dates: Applications are due in winter and the program runs over the summer. See the VRIP web page for specific deadlines.
Writing and Communication Center
Audience: All audiences
Harvard Catalyst’s Writing and Communication Center is a comprehensive collection of tools, trainings, and resources that empower clinical/translational research team members in any stage of their careers to better articulate their science. Explore the Writing and Communication Center website for access to videos by experts, worksheets, checklists, templates, rubrics, and more on a variety of communication topics. Use these resources to structure and guide your mentorship meetings on important career development topics such as interviewing and networking strategies, elevator pitches, oral and poster presentations, publications, and grant writing.
Mentor Training
Many of the resources presented in this guide support mentors, but if you are looking for a formal mentor training, we recommend visiting the Harvard Medical School Core for Mentorship Excellence website.
Harvard Medical School (HMS) Core for Mentorship Excellence
The HMS Core for Mentorship Excellence offers training and resources that build off the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s “Center for the Improvement in the Mentored Experience in Research” (CIMER). Harvard faculty, trained through CIMER, offer Entering Mentoring, a day-long training, monthly to mentors in the Harvard community.
Questions
For questions or more information about these programs and resources, contact us.