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Voices of the new generation: importance of emotional ‘match’ in mentoring relationships

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2023)Cite this article

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On the basis of his personal experience, Alexios-Fotios Mentis urges mentor-seekers to consider emotional ‘match’ and compassion in a future mentor.

Thinking about mentorship brings me back to a seminar I attended as a budding scientist years ago, in which the speaker, a well-respected scientist, captivated me and others in the audience with bold research ideas. My insecurity stopped me from approaching the scientist at the time. But a few years later, when looking for a mentor, I thought about this scientist and their continued achievements as well as their record of successfully mentoring other junior scientists. I was convinced that receiving advice from such a successful mentor could create a solid basis for a career in biomedicine. We then began a substantive correspondence on a wide range of topics, from science to societal issues, while I sought advice on how my career could progress abroad.

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  1. BGI Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Yantian District, China

    Alexios-Fotios A. Mentis

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  1. Alexios-Fotios A. Mentis
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Correspondence to Alexios-Fotios A. Mentis.

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A.-F.A.M. declares no competing financial interests. A.-F.A.M. serves as associate editor for Translational Psychiatry (Springer-Nature) and as an editorial board member for Annals of Epidemiology (Elsevier) and Systematic Reviews (Springer-Nature).

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Mentis, AF.A. Voices of the new generation: importance of emotional ‘match’ in mentoring relationships. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-023-00579-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-023-00579-x

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