Lighting pathways to success in STEM with an Interdisciplinary Lab Meeting Program (LaMP)
Funded by the Northeastern Inclusive Impact Innovation (I3) Fund
Developing robust professional networks can help shape the trajectories of early career scientists. Yet, historical inequities in STEM fields makes access to these networks highly variable across academic programs, and senior academics often have little time for mentoring. In particular, first-generation college students and students from marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by limited interactions with peers and mentors such as graduate students, postdoctoral scientists, and/or faculty. Knowledge of the “hidden curriculum” – unwritten standards across academic hierarchies – often depends on access to such professional networks.
In this program, we will match students (“Mentees”) with a research faculty (“Mentors”) in STEM fields. The Mentees will attend the Mentors’ lab meetings (“Host Labs”) during the academic year with two lab meetings specifically dedicated to the Mentee’s professional development during the 2024-2025 academic year. The designated “Mentor” from the research group will dedicate portions of two lab meetings to the mentee’s professional development. The format for lab meetings dedicated to the mentee’s professional development is flexible, but could take the form of review of graduate school or grant application statements at lab meeting, research presentation at lab meeting, lead paper discussion at lab meeting, etc.
Data from running this program on a national level (Publication, Press) show that even though Mentees joined virtually to lab meetings, they expanded their knowledge of the “hidden curriculum” as well as their professional network. In addition, host labs benefitted from Mentees sharing new perspectives and knowledge in lab meetings.
Requirements for program completion for Mentees
- Attendance by the Mentee to 10 Host Lab Meetings, with portions of 2 lab meetings dedicated to mentee’s professional development before April 30 2025
- Attendance at a CV workshop in the fall and a Grant Writing Workshop in the spring
Mentee Stipend
Approved applicants will receive a $500 stipend (see information on eligibility below).
Katie Lotterhos
Associate Professor, Marine and Environmental Sciences, College of Science
Nahant Marine Science Center
[email protected]
617.373.2059
Sanjeev Mukerjee
Associate Dean for the Global University, College of Science
College Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Professor, Chemical Engineering
Faculty Director, NU Center for Renewable Energy Technology
[email protected]
617.373.2382
Rachelle Reisberg
Assistant Dean – Undergraduate Curriculum & Students, College of Science
[email protected]
(617) 838-1885
Sarah Swope
Associate Professor, Biology
Mills College, Oakland
[email protected]
510.430.2158
Jennifer Love
Associate Teaching Professor, College of Engineering
Associate Director, Michael B. Silevitch and Claire J. Duggan Center for STEM Education
[email protected]
617-373-3551
Information for Undergraduate Students
Eligibility to apply
We welcome and encourage applications from all STEM students at the undergraduate level, regardless of institution or nationality, age, culture, race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, politics, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or subculture.
Applicants do not have to be in person on the Boston campus during the 2024-2025 academic year. Applicants are welcome to apply from any campus.
Stipends can only be paid to persons with a SSN or Tax ID Number in the USA. For international students in the US, please consult with the international office of your university to check if you are allowed to receive a stipend as a condition of your visa.
Mentees should understand that if matched with a mentor, they are expected to attend at least 10 lab meetings and lead a portion of 2 lab meetings before April 30, 2025. Mentees will be asked to provide documentation of their attendance upon completion of the program. Attendance will be expected of Mentees regardless of whether they are in a co-op, and they are expected to discuss their participation with their co-op employer.
To apply:
Decide which mentors you’d like to be matched with. To view a list of mentors who have signed up for the program and their research interests, check out this table of interested mentors. We encourage applicants to reach out to mentors who are not on the list and encourage them to sign up with the mentor sign-up form.
Prepare your application materials. The applicant will need to submit a resume as a pdf.
Fill out the LaMP program Mentee application form.
If you have trouble submitting the application, email [email protected].
See the email announcements for the application deadline. Lab meetings will take place between October 2024 and April 30, 2025.
In the application, mentees will choose their top 3-4 choices for a mentor. We will attempt to match applicants with their preferred mentor.
Information for Mentor Applicants
How to sign up
- Mentor applications are due August 31
- Mentors may be Faculty (research or teaching faculty) or Postdoctoral Fellows who hold weekly lab meetings with their lab groups
- Read our Expectations for Mentors document
- Please use the Mentor sign-up form to sign up to be a mentor for this program before Sept 15.
- Mentors agree to invite the matched applicant to join 10 lab meetings and at least parts of 2 lab meetings will be devoted to professional development of the applicant by April 30, 2025.
FAQ
Data from running this program on a national level show that participating labs benefit from the perspectives and knowledge of mentees, and for the potential to integrate mentees into your lab for future research projects.
Data from running this program on a national level show that the time commitment from mentors not including the time regularly spent in lab meetings, is typically 1-3 hours over the course of an 8-month academic year.
Two goals of this program at Northeastern are to improve cross-campus connections, and to provide opportunities for NU-IN students who are on a global campus their first semester. Therefore, it is likely that your lab could be paired with a mentee who will attend lab meetings virtually at least one semester. Please review our Expectations for Mentors for recommendations on how to hold inclusive hybrid meetings, considering potential time zone differences.