Optimizing Your Mentor-Trainee Relationship

Lique Coolen, PhD, MBA, is a neuroscientist in the Brain Health Research Institute and professor in the department of biological sciences at Kent State. She previously held faculty positions at the University of Cincinnati, University of Western Ontario, University of Michigan, and University of Mississippi Medical Center. She has received numerous awards for her research and teaching on spinal cord injury, neuroendocrine function, and drug addiction. Coolen has served in numerous leadership roles and currently serves as assistant for special projects to the provost and senior vice president at Kent State University in the Division of Academic Affairs. Coolen also serves as chair of the Neuroscience Training Committee for the Society of Neuroscience.

Jennifer Swann is director for student success in Lehigh University’s College of Arts and Sciences. During her more than 30 years as a principle investigator, she has worked with more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, and faculty researchers. She has served on professional development committees for SfN and the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and advisory boards for the Capstone Institute at Howard University, the neuroscience program at Delaware State, the Ascend Program at Morgan State, and the Penn State Eberly School of Science. Additionally, she is one of the tri-chairs for the Council for Equity and Community at Lehigh University. Her scientific work defined multiple circadian oscillators, identified the sex-specific effects of gonadal hormones, and uncovered a novel role for growth factors in the expression of sexual behavior.

Stephen Korn is the director of the Office of Training, Career Development, and Workforce Diversity at NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. He previously was a full professor at the University of Connecticut. Korn’s main research interests lie in the molecular basis of ion channel permeation and gating. He received his PhD in pharmacology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He completed his postdoctoral training at NIH and the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology.