The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is an NIH-funded initiative aimed at recognizing and strengthening pathways for underrepresented groups in biomedical research careers. At institutions across the country, the network connects highly knowledgeable and skilled mentors with motivated and diverse mentees ranging from undergraduate students to early-career faculty, and facilitates long-term, culturally responsive interactions.

The NRMN offers an online tool called the MyNRMN platform, which serves as a network to connect mentors and mentees across the country who are seeking advice, mentorship or want to grow their careers. In recent years, many updates have been made to the platform to make it more user-friendly and resources have been added to help navigate the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medical (STEMM) and biomedical fields.

New updates in MyNRMN include Video Screen Sharing, MyProjects, Document Folders, Twitter login and more.

One significant addition to MyNRMN is a set of new courses that have recently launched and will continue to launch into 2023. The “Unconscious Bias” courses and the “Launching Research Part 1: Laboratory Readiness” are among the currently available offerings.

The “Unconscious Bias” course is designed to help address personal bias, teach about microaggressions and develop self-awareness.

The “Launching Research” courses are intended for the mentee to become more acclimated to the laboratory setting and to experience research in a new way. Three more courses will be added in the coming months.

“Through our programming and tools, the NRMN is committed to establishing a culture in which historically underrepresented mentees successfully progress in their careers and contribute to the biomedical research enterprise,” said Reagan Miller, NRMN Virtual Community Coordinator.

In addition to the platform, monthly e-newsletters are sent out to keep the community up-to-date on what the NRMN is doing and to provide relevant content to STEMM professionals. Subscribe to the newsletter by clicking this link.

The NRMN also continues to host career development webinars every month as well as a recurring video series called “How To Leverage the NRMN Network.” In the series, viewers can dive deep into MyNRMN’s new features and receive community updates. To view the video series, register here.

In the coming months, the NRMN team is excited to be back at in-person conferences such as SACNAS and ABRCMS.

“The team has high hopes that the new STEMM professionals jumping into the biomedical and research fields will utilize available resources and career development opportunities,” Miller said.

Learn more about the NRMN, available courses, upcoming events and more at nrmnet.net.