Finding Mentors and Forging Connections in the Brain Cancer Field

Yoshie Umemura, MD, spoke with CancerNetwork^® about advice she would offer to aspiring neuro-oncologists who aim to progress in the brain cancer field. Specifically, she focused on what to look out for in terms of mentorship.

Above all else, Umemura, the chief medical officer of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, division chief of Neuro-Oncology, and the William and Joan Shapiro chair of Neuro-Oncology at Barrow Neurological Institute, emphasized having the confidence to ask others outside of one’s institution to form new connections and mentorships. Additionally, she described how those in the field can pay it forward by being open to mentoring other aspiring neuro-oncologists.

Transcript:

I have spoken with some people who felt they lacked a mentor. The common things I hear are, “Oh, there wasn’t anyone like that at my institution.” The best advice I can give them is to just ask. When you are at a conference and you meet someone, you think you might click with, you’re intrigued about, or you’re impressed with, you can shoot an email and ask them if they would be open to chatting with you about a question or mentoring you. I have multiple mentors outside of my institution, and I have been very fortunate to have them. At the same time, I’ve asked [them]. The worst thing that’s going to happen is they [may be] too busy, right? No one is going to make you feel terrible about yourself just because you showed an initiative to get a mentor. [You should also] pay it forward. Always be open to mentoring others; that’s the only way to move forward. Don’t limit yourself to just what’s around you. It [speaks] to the collaborative aspect and how to operate as an outsider. You’re not an outsider as long as you make the connection; you can just wedge yourself in. Just ask.