{"id":146737,"date":"2026-09-17T10:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/?post_type=bu-article&p=146737"},"modified":"2026-09-17T10:47:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T14:47:03","slug":"investing-in-the-future","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/medicine\/articles\/2026\/investing-in-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Investing in the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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WHEN SHE ENROLLED AT THE CHOBANIAN & AVEDISIAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, <\/strong>third-year medical student Isabelle Joy wanted to continue working in research as she had as a BU undergrad. Her interest in molecular biology matched nicely with the Clarke Laboratory\u2019s focus on the mechanisms of DNA repair\u2014and the mentoring style of Thomas Clarke, PhD, assistant professor of pathology & laboratory medicine, sealed the deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you invest the time teaching, training, mentoring, and creating a supportive environment, people are more likely to stay in your lab, and that longevity is really important because they can learn techniques, learn the research, and really understand the projects they\u2019re working on,\u201d said Clarke.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the outside, the process of scientific research and discovery might appear to be a solitary endeavor, but while the research lab often bears a single person\u2019s name, teamwork is the engine driving the research\u2014and an important part of that support structure is the mentor\/mentee relationship.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think investing the time to mentor and train people moves the science along quicker,\u201d Clarke said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mentor
Mentor Thomas Clarke, PhD, assistant professor of pathology & laboratory medicine, in his lab with mentee Isabelle Joy, a third-year medical student.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There are many different mentoring styles, and Matthew Layne, PhD, assistant dean of research and director of the Medical Student Research program, describes the process of pairing students with labs and mentors as \u201cmatchmaking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentors need to recruit students who will pair well with them and other team members working in wet labs or in public health, translational medicine and data sciences, while students seek a relationship that is a good fit with their work style and will give them the tools they need for career success\u2014particularly critical for PhD students who spend most of their time doing hands-on research and relatively little time in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen students come in the first year, they are often undifferentiated. They don\u2019t know which lab or program they\u2019re going to go into,\u201d said Christopher Gabel, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, physiology & biophysics, and director of the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS). The average PhD student takes five and a half years to complete a degree; in the first year, they are in the PiBS, taking courses and doing three seven-week rotations in labs they select. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the second year, students choose a specialty, a lab, and take a few more courses plus a qualifying exam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the rest of their time, the focus is on research,\u201d said Gabel. \u201cIn the matching process, we emphasize that students make sure that the mentor\/mentee relationship is ideal, because how well that relationship works is where the rubber meets the road. Students do the best when that\u2019s a really good match.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI think investing the time to mentor and train people moves the science along quicker.\u201d<\/div>