# Online Courses for Navigating Research Mentoring Relationships

> **NIH NIH R25** · SCIENCE COMMUNICATION LAB, INC. · 2024 · $483,232

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Research mentoring relationships are one of the most important means by which students acquire core
research competencies, develop a strong sense of self-identity as a scientist, and prepare for careers.
However, practical training for students in how to initiate and navigate these critical relationships is absent from
most biomedical research training programs. In order to address this discrepancy in training, iBiology will
partner with the authors of ​Entering Research​ at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to build, test, and
evaluate a program of online instruction called “Navigating Research Mentoring Relationships.” This program
will focus on students at the critical undergraduate to graduate transition, i.e., advanced research
undergraduates and first year graduate students. “Navigating Research Mentoring Relationships” will provide
instruction that can be integrated into the curriculum of an existing research training program or engaged with
independently by students in programs that choose not to integrate it, as providing courses online allows the
training material to be accessible regardless of personal or institutional resources. This program will address
challenges that ​students ​from diverse backgrounds face as they transition from undergraduate to graduate
school by (1) teaching them to cultivate mentoring relationships with intentionality and to leverage those
relationships to benefit their education, research, and careers, (2) building a national community of students
from diverse institutions and backgrounds to support their collective learning/training, (3) providing access to
free evidence-based, in depth, just-in-time instruction in their research training, and (4) highlighting important
cultural aspects of responsible conduct of research, reproducibility, and equity and inclusion. The program has
four main aims. First, to develop the “Navigating Research Mentoring Relationships” online course content.
Second, to develop evidence-based strategies to promote student engagement and learning through online
communities. Third, to pilot test “Navigating Research Mentoring Relationships” with undergraduate and
graduate students from diverse backgrounds. And fourth, to revise and disseminate the online courses to the
public. The program will be evaluated using feedback from educational experts, as well as student testing of
the courses and online learning communities at various stages. Evaluation data will include online surveys of
students, course platform analytics, and pilot test site institutional data. The evaluation plan will allow for the
assessment of program outcomes and whether the desired objectives have been met. The evaluation data will
also allow for evidence-based revision and updating of the courses prior to release to the public, where the
courses will be available to biomedical research trainees of all levels. The intended outcomes of this project
are to build the critical interpersonal...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10890745
- **Project number:** 5R25GM139147-05
- **Recipient organization:** SCIENCE COMMUNICATION LAB, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Janet L Branchaw
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $483,232
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-03 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10890745

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10890745, Online Courses for Navigating Research Mentoring Relationships (5R25GM139147-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10890745. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*