Mentor Award

The Organization for Human Brain Mapping is pleased to announce the Call for Nominations for the OHBM Mentor Award.  The Mentor Award recognizes an OHBM member for their leadership in developing early career researchers including undergraduates, graduates and post-doctoral trainees. The OHBM Mentor Award is based on the training experiences and success of the nominee’s mentees, not the mentor’s personal career achievements.  For the purpose of award, mentoring is defined as the process of providing guidance and support to promote mentees’ career development.  The key roles of the mentor include, but are not limited to, providing:

• Intellectual growth and development
• Career development
• Collegiality and building community through the generosity of acknowledgement and recognition

Award Criteria:

1. Must be an OHBM member in good standing.
2. Must provide proof of consistent and meaningful mentoring.
3. Nominators must be mentees of the nominee or colleagues who have personal knowledge of the nominee’s mentoring efforts.
4. Must promote diversity and inclusivity in their mentoring efforts.

Those serving in elected positions within the OHBM governance are not eligible for this award during their tenure.

Nomination Process

A Call for Nominations will be distributed to the OHBM membership outlining submission instructions and deadlines.  Nominations may be made by any OHBM members, based on either having been mentored by the nominee or having personally observed the mentoring provided to others by the nominee.  It is suggested that the nominee consents to be nominated and participates in the process of assembling the nomination package since their mentoring achievements may have spanned many years, beyond the experience of the individual mentee.

The following documents are required in order to submit a nomination package:

• A copy of the nominee's current CV or Biosketch
• Four letters of recommendation (no longer than 1,000 words) as follows:
  • One letter, written by the nominator, summarizing the impact of the nominee on the training/careers of his/her mentees.
  • Three letters written by a primary and a secondary mentee (can be former or current mentees) who can each provide a first-hand account of how the nominee influenced his/her career. Academic, clinical, and educational achievements on the part of the mentee will be considered important.

NOTE:  Nominations that are not formatted correctly, contain incorrect documents, or are missing required documents will not be considered.

Below are examples of questions that should be answered within the nomination packet to provide the level of detail the Awards Committee expects in reviewing submissions for the Mentor Award. Please note that this list is not complete and simply includes examples for you to use in preparing your nomination:

• Most of the nominations received are for outstanding candidates. Therefore, please provide details on what distinguishes your mentor from the others.
• Are there specific examples where the mentor remained involved in your professional development, or that of other mentees, on an on-going basis, after your career was started? Was there a difference in support for those that stayed at the mentor’s institution compared with those that went elsewhere?
• How does your mentor handle stress, disappointment, or setbacks involving his/her mentees? Describe the environment/atmosphere your mentor provides.
• How has your mentor intervened to help you make specific decisions regarding the path of your career? How helpful is your mentor in negotiating job offers, both at the home institution as well as others?
• How does your mentor promote a balance in the lives of their mentees?

Review Process
All nomination packages are forwarded to the OHBM Awards Committee for review. Nomination packages are reviewed and evaluated by each member of the Committee.  The following elements will be considered when reviewing the nomination package to determine the overall strength of the nominee:

• intellectual growth and development
• career development
• professional guidance
• advocacy
• positive role modeling
• building community through recognition and acknowledgement

Final selections are based on a consensus of the entire Awards Committee and are sent to the OHBM Council for final approval. 

The Committee will encourage nominators of highly ranked, but unsuccessful, nominees to resubmit their application in subsequent years.

Award
The recipient will receive a cash award of $2,500 USD along with an engraved plaque. Both are presented to the recipient at the Annual Meeting. Awardee will be given the opportunity to give a brief remark during the Annual Meeting.

Questions? Please direct them to the OHBM Executive Office at info@humanbrainmapping.org.

Past Mentor Award recipients include:

2021: OHBM Virtual II
Mirella Dapretto, United States

2020: OHBM Virtual I
F. Xavier Castellanos, United States