This Program has been archived as a result of NRMN Phase II. To read more about mentor training initiatives and opportunities, click HERE.
The Mentor Training Core (MTC) serves as a national hub to prepare mentors and mentees in biomedical research through training, both in-person and online. The MTC delivers evidence-based training programs designed to help mentors and mentees engage in productive, culturally responsive mentoring relationships.
Related Programs: Research Mentor Training, Research Mentee Training, Building Capacity for Research Mentor & Mentee Training,

Our Leadership Team
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Director; PI
Christine Pfund, Ph.D. is a scientist with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). Dr. Pfund earned her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology, followed by post-doctoral research in Plant Pathology, both at University of Wisconsin-Madison. For almost a decade, Dr. Pfund served as the Associate Director of the Delta Program in Research, Teaching, and Learning and the co-Director of the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching helping to train future faculty to become better more effective teachers. Chris is now conducting research with several programs across the UW campus including the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and the Center for Women’s Health Research. Her work focuses on developing, implementing, documenting, and studying interventions to optimize research mentoring relationships across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). Dr. Pfund co-authored the original Entering Mentoring curriculum and co-authored several papers documenting the effectiveness of this approach. Currently, Dr. Pfund is co-leading two studies focused on the impact of training on both mentors and mentees and understanding specific factors in mentoring relationships that account for positive student outcomes. Dr. Pfund is one of the principal investigators of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and directs both the NRMN Mentor Training and Administrative Cores. She is also director of the newly established Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experience in Research at UW-Madison (CIMER).
Meet the Team
Janet Branchaw, PhD
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Associate Director; Co‐I
Stephen Thomas, PhD
University of Maryland, College Park
Associate Director; Co‐I
Amanda Butz, PhD
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Team Leader, Mentee Training
Angela Byars‐Winston, PhD
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Co‐I
Stephanie House, MA
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Co-Director, Master Facilitator Initiative
Melissa McDaniels, PhD
Michigan State University
Co-Director, Master Facilitator Initiative
Richard McGee, PhD
Northwestern University
Co‐I
Sandra Quinn, PhD
University of Maryland, College Park
Co‐I
Jenna Rogers, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research and Evaluation
Christine Sorkness, PharmD
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Co‐I
Emily Utzerath, MA
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Assistant Director
Kim Spencer, MS
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Research Program Manager
Anne Marie Weber‐Main, PhD
University of Minnesota
Co‐I
Lisette Serrano
University of Wisconsin‐Madison
Program Manager
Veronica Womack, PhD
Northwestern University
Research Associate