Sarah Walker is an assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and biomedical sciences at the University of New Hampshire. Below is a correspondence with Dr. Walker about her own research and her mentoring experiences with undergraduate students.
Inquiry: What is your research focus? Did your undergraduate studies point you toward it? What interests you most about it?
My research focuses on understanding women’s diseases such as breast and ovarian cancer and endometriosis and identifying drugs to treat these diseases. While these are different diseases, they all contain a protein, STAT3, that is inappropriately active that promotes many aspects of the disease. Therefore, my laboratory focuses on identifying drugs that inhibit STAT3. Currently, we are repurposing FDA approved drugs for other ailments to treat these diseases by targeting STAT3 in a variety of different ways. In fact, a number of undergraduates from my lab have generated data on a drug that we are in talks with clinical collaborators to develop a clinical trial based, in part, on my undergraduate students’ data.
As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to work in a laboratory for two years where I developed a method to study cell movement, and I was able to become an author on a highly cited paper. Since then, I have been interested in cell movement and continue to study this today. In one of our projects, we are analyzing the interaction of STAT3 with proteins associated with cell movement. Additionally, a major focus in the lab is to analyze how cancer cells can move, not only themselves, but also how they are able to push other cells out of their way so that the cancer cells can breach a protective layer of cells and move to other tissues in the body. This is an early step in ovarian cancer metastasis. Since metastasis is a key problem for patients with advanced disease, we are focused on understanding how it occurs and developing drugs to try to prevent or treat metastasis. Being able to potentially help women in the future with debilitating and deadly diseases drives my passion for this research.
Inquiry: What is the purpose of a mentoring relationship? What should the student and you gain from it?
One of my favorite parts of my job as a faculty member is mentoring undergraduate students in my lab. For this reason, I often have many undergraduate students in my lab. My goal with mentoring is to provide guidance to the undergraduate. This may be on a specific project, on a specific experiment, or on a bigger scale such as on applying to jobs or graduate or medical schools.
Often when a student joins my lab, they do not have a lot of research experience. Initially, another student or I will train the new student and they may work on a project with another student to learn the basics. However, soon after, I give the student their own project to work on. As both an undergraduate and graduate student, I was given the independence to work on my own project. This was of such value to me that I continue to do this when I mentor students. A major reason that I mentor this way is that it promotes ownership of the project, and it promotes the student to develop confidence in themselves and their abilities in the laboratory.
My goal as a mentor is that the mentee learns something new, gains confidence in themselves, and feels comfortable to ask me for advice now and in the future. While I am the one often offering advice, I learn a lot from my mentees, and sometimes a simple question asked by a mentee may move our research into a completely new direction. However, the most satisfying part of being a mentor is seeing a mentee succeed.
Inquiry: Please describe one or two memorable mentoring experiences or mentees.
I have had the pleasure of mentoring many exceptional undergraduate students here at UNH which makes it hard to just limit my answer to two experiences. One of my first undergraduate mentees at UNH was David Walker (no relation). He had little research experience coming into my lab but was very eager to learn. He wanted to apply for an undergraduate research award (URA) from the Hamel Center for January term after being in the lab for only around a month. I had mentioned in passing that I wanted to have our lab adapt a protocol from one of my collaborators to be able to use at UNH to measure early metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. David asked if he could propose that for his URA. David not only received the URA for this project, he also was able to get this protocol up and running during January term. And he did it with minimal hands-on help from me. I was there to guide him along the way and answer any questions he had, but he took the initiative to learn how to do many parts on his own. I mentioned earlier how a major focus of our lab was to understand how cells move and push other cells away during early metastasis. The protocol that David set up is the one that we use to measure this, and it has become invaluable to the research lab. This experience was hugely beneficial for me, but also brought an increase in confidence for David, who went on to work in a lab in Boston after graduation and is now in medical school.
One of my current students started out as one of my first advisees at UNH, Emily Pratt. She expressed her interest in joining the lab during her sophomore year when COVID restrictions limited the capacity in the lab. While I was unable to take her on during the school year, I mentioned she could apply for a summer undergraduate research fellowship (SURF) from the Hamel Center and start in the lab during the summer. We met over Zoom a number of times to discuss a potential project for the SURF. Emily wrote for and received the SURF to identify new drugs to target STAT3 in breast cancer. During the summer, Emily diligently carried out her proposed experiments and met with me often to discuss her data. During the summer, she identified two drugs that potentially target STAT3 in different ways that reduce breast cancer cells’ ability to move. Emily’s data has provided the lab with a new avenue to pursue in targeting STAT3 and treating breast cancer. Importantly, this experience proved to Emily that research was the direction she wanted to pursue for her future and provided her with the confidence to not only carry out her research but mentor other undergraduate students in the lab.
Inquiry: Please describe any difficulties or problems you have had in mentoring undergraduates.
I have found that the mentoring relationship with undergraduates can be more challenging when doing this remotely, particularly if you do not know the student beforehand. While I enjoy having scheduled meetings to discuss data or projects, I greatly enjoy the spontaneous interactions that may occur in the hallway or the lab or someone stopping by my office. These are missing when mentoring remotely.
Inquiry: What advice or tips would you give a faculty member new to undergraduate mentoring and for undergraduates seeking a faculty mentor?
My advice to new faculty members would be to tailor your mentoring to each student as everyone is coming from a different place or background. Don’t take on too many students too quickly. Find the number of students that works best for you, so that everyone benefits. Lastly, your words can have a huge impact on students and their future goals. For example, I asked a student in my lab course if she was planning to do a Ph.D. She tells me now as a Ph.D. student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), that before I had asked that question, she had not thought that she could pursue a Ph.D. Simply by asking that question, I became one of her mentors.
For students seeking faculty mentors, find out about the faculty member’s mentoring style to see if it works for you. If you are looking to have a faculty member mentor you in a research lab, make sure to read about their research to see if it is of interest, and mention that in your email that you initially send about your interest in their lab.
