Interview by Kristen Steiner
The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) has many key components that make up what it truly is – mentoring, teaching, and coaching. Mentees and scholars are supported with schooling, career development, grant writing training, and more. This month, we wanted to take the opportunity to recognize one of the individuals who serves as an NRMN coach and mentor for our Grant Writing Coaching Groups, Dr. Loren Wold.
Dr. Wold, PhD, FAHA, FAPS, currently works at Ohio State University in several capacities. Beyond serving as the Director for Biomedical Research in the College of Nursing, he is also an Associate Professor in the Colleges of Nursing and Medicine, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the College of Public Health, a Visiting Professor in the Department of Physiology, and more. Dr. Wold received both his masters and doctoral degrees from the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Therapeutics at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Wold’s research has been focused primarily on external triggers of cardiovascular disease, with a special emphasis on the role of cancer cachexia and air pollution. His projects are funded by the NIH, which made him a great candidate to become a grant writing group coach for many who are working toward that same goal.
“I had not interacted with anyone who had coached in the program, but I immediately felt like I belonged,” Dr. Wold said. He became involved with NRMN after responding to an email he received, looking for those who might be interested in becoming a coach for a grant writing group.
Since that initial email, Dr. Wold has participated as a coach in the STAR Grant Writing Coaching Group for a year at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles. He has also served as a coach for three of the P3 Grant Writing Coaching Groups at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis – for two of those groups, Dr. Wold served as co-director.
Coaches within the grant writing groups get the opportunity to meet and work with fellow coaches and scholars from all over the United States. They help scholars improve their writing abilities, approaches to grant work, and more. Beyond that, Dr. Wold explained that he has found ways to improve in his writing and coaching areas as well.
“I am now more aware of my strengths as a coach, which I try to fine tune in order to be the best coach I can be,” Dr. Wold said. “I am also much more aware of possible collaborative opportunities, including with those not in basic research.”
Coaches are selected from a variety of backgrounds and research areas. Dr. Wold has come to not only love the courses and the work involved in the coaching groups, but has come to enjoy the friendships that have developed from the different programs that he has participated in.
“I have of course enjoyed getting to know all of the mentees, and all of my new coach friends,” Dr. Wold said. “I have met coaches I never would have met, as their research is completely different from mine.”
The grant writing coaching groups allow for extensive personal and academic growth, and are there to help meet the needs of individuals looking to improve and progress on their grant proposals. Not only has Dr. Wold loved his experiences, but he also encourages any and all to apply to a grant writing program that meets their needs.
“Do it,” Dr. Wold said. “It is very rewarding, and you will be amazed how energized you will get for writing your own grants.”
For more information regarding the NRMN Grant Writing Coaching Groups, visit: https://nrmnet.net/grantwriting-coaching-groups/
