Research Mentor News, April 2019

Talk About Summer Plans with Your Year 1 Scholar Mentee

Many Year 1 Scholars are attending internships this summer. If any of your mentees are Year 1 Scholars, you are encouraged to speak with them about their summer plans. Ask them about

  • The dates of their internship;
  • When they plan to return to your lab;
  • And, if they are not attending an internship, remind them that they need to attend SURGE 2 with BUILD.

We appreciate your support of our BUILD trainees.

Forthcoming Workshops

There are still a few workshops planned for this semester. If you or your mentees would like to learn these skills, this would be a great time to sign up!

  • Saturday, April 6 - Motivational Interviewing in Health Intervention Research and Practice, Diana Aguirre, MPH. Learn more and register here.
  • Tuesday, April 16 - Multicultural Workshop II: The Structure of Effective Interactions during Mentoring Conversations with Diverse Students. Learn more and register here.
  • Friday, April 19 - Job/Salary Negotiation, Dr. Gino Galvez. Learn more and register here.
  • Friday, April 19 - Multicultural Workshop II: The Structure of Effective Interactions during Mentoring Conversations with Diverse Students. Learn more and register here.
  • Friday, April 26 - Overview and Recommendations for the Measurement of Physical Activity, Dr. Noe Crespo, San Diego State University. Learn more and register here.

Join Us at the First Faculty Mixer of the Year

baked potato

The BUILD team would like to invite you to join us for a complimentary lunch at the Spring 2019 BUILD Mentor Mixer. On Wednesday, April 10 from 11:30 am to 1 pm, you will be able to BUILD your own baked potato(es) with an assortment of delicious fixings including vegetarian chili and bacon.

This is a great opportunity to visit the brand new BUILD Center in the new Student Success Center! Come to meet and mingle with other BUILD mentors, BUILD faculty, BUILD staff, BUILD partners and reconnect with colleagues. We hope you will be able to learn more about your fellow faculty, their work, and open the doors for future collaborations.

Please consider inviting your colleagues who may be interested in research, collaboration or becoming a BUILD mentor. Please RSVP to Myriam Loeschen by April 5, 2019, at
Myriam.Loeschen@csulb.edu or (562) 985-5725. We hope to see you there!

Hold the Dates: Upcoming Events

Please hold the date for the following events that celebrate the accomplishments of BUILD trainees.

  • Annual BUILD Commencement – May 3, USU Ballroom, 5:30 pm
    If your mentee is a Year 2 Scholar or Fellow, you should receive a formal invitation to this year’s commencement event. As this will be the final BUILD event that your mentee will participate in, we would love to have you attend and share this milestone in their academic career. We’re sure that your mentee would also appreciate having you in attendance so that they can include you in their photos of the event, to keep as memories for years to come.
  • Summer Symposium – Mark your calendars for July 26. Location and time will be announced at a later date.
    Trainees participating in the SURGE program will present their research to friends, family and BUILD faculty and staff.

montage of mentor-mentee photos from 2018 Commencement

Mentor Spotlight – March 2019 – Dr. Kellie Walters

Dr. Kellie Walters spotlight

The Mentor Spotlight for March was Assistant Professor Dr. Kellie Walters from the Department of Kinesiology and the College of Health and Human Services.

Her research interests include adolescent girls' health and physical activity during pregnancy. “I love doing research in the community, with the ultimate goal of positively impacting people around me,” she says. “I get excited when I know the work my students and I do help others live a healthy, happy life. I particularly like working with young girls because I feel the work we do has much bigger impacts on them and their future families than one research project can measure.”

You can learn more about her and her research on the spotlight page on the BUILD website and her profile in the BUILD Mentor Database.

Spread the Word: BUILD Student Spring Fling

Let your BUILD mentees know about the Spring Fling event being held on Friday, April 19, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm in the Bowling Alley on the first floor of the USU. This is a great opportunity for BUILD trainees to get to know each other in a fun, relaxed environment.

GMs of the month – March

Graduate Mentors (GMs) are an important part of the CSULB BUILD program, providing near-peer support to our trainees. The GMs for March were Salena Soria and Juan Garcia-Salinas. You can learn more about them here. This month’s spotlighted GMs will be announced on April 15 and included in next month’s newsletter.

Mentor Supply and Appreciation Funds for BUILD Year 5

Please contact Marie Reed for instructions on spending your “Mentor Supply Funds” and “Mentor Appreciation Funds” for Year 5.

Please keep the following in mind:

  1. You have until May 31, 2019, to spend out ALL of your remaining supply funds.  These funds cannot be carried over.
  2. You are required to complete the ATI/E&IT checklist and have it approved by the Purchasing Department PRIOR to the purchase of electronics and software. You can download a PDF of the form here. The completed form should be sent directly to Purchasing@csulb.edu for approval.
  3. Please refer to your mentor newsletters for announcements, updates, and purchasing guidelines.

CSULB BUILD in Pictures – Annual Research Symposium

CSULB BUILD’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are filled with pictures of our Associates, Scholars, and Fellows. Each month we’ll highlight a collection here.

Dr. Malo Hutson speaking at the 2019 Symposium
  • Annual Research Symposium – On Friday, March 1, 2019, we held the Fourth Annual Research Symposium with keynote speaker Dr. Malo Hutson. CSULB speakers were Drs. Leilani Madrigal, Kinesiology; Kevin Sinchak, Biological Sciences; Daniel Whisler, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering; and Fangyuan Tan, Chemistry & Biochemistry. The event closed out with student poster presentations and a variety of research demonstrations.

Acknowledging BUILD in Your Presentations/Publications

Please remember to acknowledge the funding from National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers UL1GM118979, TL4GM118980, and RL5GM118978 on work supported by BUILD, including support from BUILD student trainees, mentor appreciation fund, BUILD research and equipment grants. When you review your mentees’ posters, also check to make sure they have included the correct grand numbers. For a sample acknowledgment statement, NIH resources and policy, please visit the “Acknowledging BUILD in Your Publications” page on our website. It can be found under Mentors > Current Mentors.

Be Prepared

If you'd like to know what is coming up in the BUILD Learning Community for your mentee, download the current syllabus. This will give you a heads up on what events your mentee is required to attend and therefore will not be available to work in your lab at that time. This page will be updated each semester with the new syllabi.

Communicating with BUILD

We invite your news about your BUILD Trainee and any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about BUILD. If you have any of these, in relation to being a BUILD Research Mentor, please contact us at BUILD.mentors@csulb.edu. If you have any concerns about your BUILD Trainee, please contact the Student Training Core Director at Jesse.Dillon@csulb.edu.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the May newsletter.