The FLORIDA-FIRST BRIGADE leadership team as well as our internal and external mentors have significant and successful experience mentoring diverse faculty. We have developed a large cadre of potential mentors to ensure the best matching process. We also leverage the CTSA KL2 program for mentor matching. Each member of the FIRST Cohort will have individual mentoring planning meetings with Dr. Naar (Faculty Development Core lead) to determine short-term and long-term goals per the faculty development plan and identify the best options for mentor matching. Dr. Keel will coordinate with prospective mentors to provide a current bio of research activities and mentoring approach for FIRST Cohort faculty to review, before interviewing to determine the best match both professionally and interpersonally. Note that peer mentoring occurs in the Communities of Practice model and will also be included in the development plan.

A mentoring contract will be established between the diverse faculty and their respective internal and external mentors, including specific details on how to opt out of the arrangement or relationship, a schedule for individual and group meetings, and clearly defined roles and expectations for the mentee/mentor match. Minimum standards for frequency and content of mentor meetings will be enforced (weekly for internal and monthly for external). Evaluation data will be fed back to mentors for ongoing continuous quality improvement.

The FIRST Cohort and their internal mentors will attend FSU's Research Mentor Academy, developed as part of the CTSA initiative. The mission of the FSU Research Mentor Academy, conducted by the FSU Office of Research Development and co-sponsored by the FSU CTSA Program, is to promote a culture of support for research mentoring and to provide training in optimizing mentoring relationships for mentors and mentees at all levels of their research careers. Our training is based on the research mentoring curricula from our research partners at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Florida and an evidence-based curriculum from the NIH NRMN and CIMER. The program uses an interactive approach that allows participants to explore an intellectual framework for research mentoring within a community of their peers. This approach provides mentors with opportunities for reflection and a forum to solve mentoring dilemmas and share successful mentorship strategies. The FSU Research Mentor Academy is structured around a series of interactive learning sessions on topics relevant to successful mentor-mentee interactions and will be facilitated by Dr. Rachel Goff-Albritton, Assistant Director of the Office of Research Development using the NRMN and CIMER curriculum. The training covers topics related to research mentoring relationships, such as: