NAPLES, FL. SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 2, 2016
The Association for Academic Minority Physicians (AAMP) held its 30th annual meeting this fall. AAMP has a national reputation as an organization dedicated to working on behalf of underrepresented minorities to increase the diversity of academic medicine and the nation’s biomedical workforce, and is a recipient of an NIH supplemental award through the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). This award funds the 20-20 Pioneers Circle, whose goal is to actively promote mentoring best practices in cross institutional resource sharing and collaborations among diverse teams, and the Academic Leadership Forum, to share best practices in mentoring programs and institutional reforms that value and incentivize mentorship.
Highlights of the weekend included:
- participants heard and commented on seven scientific research presentations, including training for health equity investigators,
- a Keynote Address from Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges,
- A Special Lecture by Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of Connecticut,
- State of the Art Lectures by Charles Howell, M.D. (Howard University) and Jackson T. Wright, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. (Case Western Reserve University)
At a luncheon meeting on Saturday, the AAMP Board joined the 20-20 Pioneers and the Academic Leadership Forum and several guests for a two-hour discussion on the state of mentoring and many ideas and suggestions as to how to advance mentoring in the academic community.
During Saturday’s session, the Academic Leadership Forum presented the first AAMP- NRMN Excellence in Mentoring Award to Dr. Meredith Bond of Cleveland State University. The Forum is made up of deans, provosts and directors primarily from Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMIs) and BUILD awardee institutions. The goal of the Forum is to share best practices in mentoring programs and institutional reforms that value and incentivize mentorship. The Forum’s AAMP- NRMN Excellence in Mentoring Award recognizes an outstanding ALF member, based on participation in forum initiatives, and by supporting mentoring of URM scholars, in the biomedical sciences career pipeline.
Meredith Bond has long had a passion for expanding opportunities for minorities and underrepresented groups in the sciences and health care professions. As dean of the College of Sciences and Health Professions at Cleveland State University, Dr. Bond has placed a significant focus on encouraging the success of innovative mentoring programs and peer networks that can assist in increasing the number of minority and underrepresented populations in science and health care fields. The success of these efforts has led to Dr. Bond’s selection as the 2016 winner of the Excellence in Mentoring Award, presented by the Association for Academic Minority Physicians and the National Research Mentoring Network.
Above: Dr. Wilson, President of the AAMP, presenting Dr. Bond with the award at the AAMP 30th Annual Meeting
“I am extremely honored to receive this award from the AAMP on behalf of the College of Sciences and Health Professions and am pleased that this award highlights the fact that support and mentorship are necessary to assist all students in being successful.”
During her tenure at CSU, Dr. Bond has enthusiastically supported numerous programs designed to enhance mentoring and outreach for minorities, underserved populations and first generation college students. These include: the TRIO McNair program, which supports first generation college students entering scientific professions; Operation STEM, an NSF-funded initiative designed to assist at-risk students in completing introductory mathematics courses; and the NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health, which recruits and trains a more diverse health care workforce to provide primary care in medically-underserved urban communities.
“I am very pleased with the success we have had at CSU in building nationally recognized mentoring initiatives, but without a doubt, it requires a team effort.” Dr. Bond adds, “I would like to thank the College’s faculty, staff, and most importantly our students, for the dedication, enthusiasm and support they have brought to these programs. These individuals are truly the reasons the programs have worked so well.”
Dr. Bond has served as dean of the College of Sciences and Health Professions since 2011 and was previously professor and chair of the Department of Physiology at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine. Prior to that, she spent 16 years as a heart researcher with the Cleveland Clinic, conducting groundbreaking work on the molecular basis of the regulation of contractility in the heart.
On Sunday there was a two-hour symposium on the “Institutionalization of Mentoring”. The symposium was moderated by NRMN Principal Investigator Elizabeth Ofili, M.D., and panelists included Meredith Bond, Ph.D. (Cleveland State University), Gene D’Amour, Ph.D. (Xavier University), and Sandra Harris-Hooker, Ph.D. (Morehouse School of Medicine). After their presentations the panelists participated in a Q & A with the audience. This symposium was presented in response to a question from the Research Resources and Outreach Core as to how the AAMP could assist in leadership training by the RROC.
Next year’s meeting will be October 6-8 at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA.
