The mentors’ mentor, Fiona Goodchild (center), with graduate
students Claudia Moya and Kevin Wingerd—who between them
have guided 14 undergraduate researchers |
Meet Some Mentors!
What is a mentor? For undergraduate researchers, mentor refers
to faculty and graduate students who guide them as they contribute
to faculty research or do directed independent study. But oversight
is only part of what a mentor provides, say Kevin Wingerd, a postdoctoral
fellow with a PhD in molecular biology, and Claudia Moya, a PHD
candidate in the pharmacology of marine natural products.
They
should know: So far, Kevin has mentored nine undergraduate researchers
on campus, and Claudia has worked with five. Both are known for
patience, understanding, and love of their work; their students
have thrived.
Dedicated mentors are the norm at UCSB—and thanks to Fiona
Goodchild, education director of the California NanoSystems Institute,
outstanding graduate-student mentors in science, mathematics, and
engineering now receive annual awards. Kevin and Claudia were the
first two winners.
Claudia Moya: “It makes such a difference when
someone believes in you”
Long before she began to study the medical promise of marine
life, Claudia Moya found her first mentor—her grandfather. “He
was a physician in Mexico, and I often watched him meeting with
his patients. I constantly asked what he was prescribing, and
he would patiently explain. From the beginning, I knew I wanted
to work in pharmacology.”
Pursuing her goal, Claudia transferred to UCSB from the University
of Chihuahua as a junior, and earned her bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in pharmacology. Now her PhD work, conducted
with the guidance of pharmacology professor Robert Jacobs, is
nearly complete.
“I tell my students: ‘Find out who you are’”
“
The way I’ve been mentored has been very uplifting—and
I try to provide that for my students,” Claudia says. “It
makes such a difference when someone takes time out of his or
her life, believes in you, and gives you opportunities.”
When Claudia began working in the Jacobs Lab and needed research
assistance, she called UCSB’s CAMP program (California
Alliance for Minority Participation), which funds many undergraduate
researchers. “The students are smart and eager,” she
says. “You have to be ready for them! Together we ask ourselves, ‘Where
do we go from here?’”
Her students often ask for advice. “I tell them: ‘Find out who
you are.’” To work with undergraduates, she demands the best of
herself: “I mentor by example,” she says.
Kevin Wingerd: “A Good Mentor
Has Many Roles”
Kevin works with someone he says is “a wonderful mentor” to
him—molecular biologist Dennis Clegg. Kevin is researching
the role of the nervous system in heart disease.
In addition to teaching undergraduates lab procedures and how
to use the equipment, Kevin pays close attention to what they
say. “I listen to their accounts of their lab experience
and to all their comments. We also run ideas past one another,
and I advise them about what to do next.”
Speaking of Careers
When talk turns to careers, Kevin tells students, “Just
be sure you do what you want to do!” (As for his own plans,
Kevin says he may decide to work in industry for a time and then
become a professor.) Two of his protégés have entered
PhD programs; three will go on to medical school.
Kevin wasn’t surprised. “I encourage undergraduates
to talk a lot about the research they do—that opens up
a dialogue about science that wouldn’t be available in
any other setting. And formulating answers containing essential
information gives them an extra edge when they’re interviewing
for professional and graduate school or for jobs after graduation.”
|
