Volume 2 | May 2022
Mentorship Resources for Mentors and Mentees
*This resource was shared during our most recent URM Near Peer Mentoring Program Mentee session and it was a luminous moment for many! Dr. Perez-Rodriguez is a Mentor in the program and also serves on the ACNP Career Development Committee.
The Importance of Having a Business Plan*

Please read our new blog from Dr. Mercedes Perez-Rodriguez on the Importance of Having a Business Plan with information to help early career scientists in their success!

Resource Materials
Additional resources have been provided by CIMER to help improve research mentoring relationships. These resources focus on the following topics: Mentorship in the Time of COVID, Culturally Aware Mentoring, and Career Development.

Near Peer Mentor/Mentee Highlights
Emmeline Edwards, Ph.D. - Mentor
ACNP Member
Mentee Pair: Denisse Paredes
Brief Bio: Emmeline Edwards, Ph.D. is director of the Division of Extramural Research of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) . In that capacity, she is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of all scientific programs or areas of science that fulfill NCCIH's mission. Dr. Edwards earned her Ph.D. in Neurochemistry from Fordham University, did postdoctoral research in behavioral pharmacology and neuroscience at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland. Her research there focused on the neural mechanisms of complex behaviors and characterization of a genetic model of affective disorders. She also served as Chair of the Graduate Studies and Research Committee and Member of the Dean's Executive Council at the University of Maryland. Currently, Dr. Edwards is Co-Chair of the trans-NIH Music and Health working group and member of the Interagency Task Force on the Arts and Human Development. Dr. Edwards is also Chair of World Women in Neuroscience (WWN), an independent mentoring and networking organization, with the primary mission of identifying, promoting, and implementing mentoring and networking opportunities for women neuroscientists across the world. 

What is your favorite thing learned so far from the Near Peer Mentoring Training Sessions with CIMER? I have appreciated the focus on evidence-based approaches for improving mentoring relationships at various career stages.

What makes ACNP membership special? As a neuroscientist interested in mechanistic and clinical research on maladaptive behaviors and mental health disorders, I have attended the ACNP meeting for many years. I have always been impressed with the quality and coverage of timely research findings presented at the meeting. I am also pleased that the ACNP leadership has made great strides toward addressing the important issues of diversity and equity for the membership. 

What are 5 interesting facts about you?
 
  1. I was born on the island of Haiti but have now spent far more time in the USA than my country of origin.
  2. I grew up in a family that instilled in me a love for “History” – my grandfather wrote about Haitian history and was director of the National Museum. I am a big fan of the “History Channel” and avidly watch all of Ken Burns’ documentaries.
  3. I love music and my activities as co-chair of the NIH Music and Health working group are bringing me so much joy.
  4. Over the past four years, I have developed an appreciation for gardening – I cannot wait for savoring fresh vegetables from my backyard.
  5. I am a doting grandmother of four grandkids – lucky to have all of them in Maryland.   
Denisse Paredes, B.S. - Mentee
Mentor Pair: Emmeline Edwards

Brief Bio: I am a senior graduate student at UT Health Science Center San Antonio in Dr. David Morilak's lab. I am from San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I am focused on studying the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of fear extinction in stressed animals. My goal is to be an independent investigator researching the mechanisms associated with psychiatric illness. 

What is your favorite thing learned so far from the Near Peer Mentoring Training Sessions with CIMER?
I have learned the importance of advocating for myself and making connections. Dr. Edwards has encouraged me to trust my abilities and pursue my goals in a focused manner. 

What are 5 interesting facts about you?
  1. I have a corgi, her name is Appa.
  2. I love to run, I've ran two half marathons.
  3. I am addicted to buying house plants.
  4. I love true crime podcasts.
  5. My favorite dish is spicy miso ramen. 
Gabriel R. Fries, M.Sc., Ph.D. - Mentor
ACNP Associate Member
Mentee Pair: Sunday Francis
Brief Bio: I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). I have a Masters and a PhD in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and finished a research fellowship at the Max Plank Institute of Psychiatry, in Germany, before moving to the United States to do a postdoc in early 2015. I became a faculty in 2018 and have been doing research, teaching, and mentoring students ever since. My research focuses on the epigenetic basis of mood disorders, with a particular interest in bipolar disorder and molecular mechanisms of stress. I have published over 110 peer-reviewed articles and am currently funded as a PI by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the Milken Institute, and internal grants from the McGovern Medical School.

What is your favorite thing learned so far from the Near Peer Mentoring Training Sessions with CIMER? I have been learning a lot from my mentee and her feedback has helped me shape my interactions with my other mentees in my lab. I also enjoy learning good mentoring strategies from the other mentors.

What makes ACNP membership special? The sense of community and network opportunities that come with an ACNP membership are very special and important. There is a lot of focus on career development activities and good initiatives to promote and foster a diverse and open scientific community.  

What are 5 interesting facts about you?
  1. I love learning new languages;
  2. One of my favorite hobbies is doing puzzles while listening to fictional audiobooks;
  3. I enjoy baking on the weekends and love when people judge my bakes with a British accent;
  4. Ping-pong is probably the only sport I’m good at (sort of);
  5. My family comes from a small town in the South of Brazil where people only speak a German dialect. 
Sunday M. Francis, Ph.D. - Mentee
Mentor Pair: Gabriel Fries
Brief Bio: Dr. Sunday M. Francis completed her PhD in Computational Neuroscience from the University of Chicago exploring neuroplasticity, specifically the impact of sensorimotor learning and motor skill acquisition on motor cortex. During her post-doctoral training at the University of Minnesota (UMN), she researched autism spectrum disorder (ASD) utilizing molecular techniques, eye-tracking, imaging, and other methods to investigate brain connectivity and the underlying neural mechanisms of this disorder. Through collaborations in cerebral palsy and other childhood motor impairments, Dr. Francis developed non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques during her time at UMN. Her current research interests include utilizing NIBS to further understand neurodevelopmental disorders and the potential use of this tool in the development of treatments that target transdiagnostic symptoms of neurodevelopmental disorders. 

What is your favorite thing learned so far from the Near Peer Mentoring Training Sessions with CIMER? My favorite concept from CIMER is that the mentor↔mentee relationship is bidirectional. This has encouraged me to follow my second favorite concept that it is okay to ask your mentor for what you need. These two concepts have given me a whole new perspective on the mentor-mentee relationship and has empowered me. 

What are 5 interesting facts about you?
  1. I have recently given up learning Klingon on Duolingo
  2. My parents did not tell me what I was eating the first time I had escargot
  3. I have fried an egg on the sidewalk and thrown hot water in the air to watch it come down as snow
  4. Nature v Nurture v Name – my parents are convinced I became a sunny child because of my name
  5. I recently asked my mentor for what I needed 
Near Peer Mentorship Program
An overview of the URM Near Peer Mentorship Program was featured in the recent February Bulletin which was provided to the ACNP membership.

ACNP 2022 Annual Meeting - Save the Date!
Saturday, December 3, 2022
The URM Near Peer Mentorship Program in-person meeting will take place on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, AZ just before the 2022 ACNP Annual Meeting. All mentees will be invited to attend and experience the ACNP Annual Meeting. Please visit our website to view the preliminary Annual Meeting schedule.
Remaining 2022 Near Peer Mentorship Sessions:

June 22, 2022 - 1 Hour Session for Mentors
August 17, 2022 - 1 Hour Session for Mentors and Mentees
October 19, 2022 - 1 Hour Session for Mentors and Mentees
December 3, 2022 - In-Person Session for Mentors and Mentees at ACNP Annual Meeting