Yale and Brazil ‘Supporting Future Science Research’ webinar series and mentorship program

02/24/21

A new webinar series ‘Supporting Future Science Research’ at Yale was launched in Fall 2020 and was completed in Spring 2021. It was created with the aim of promoting opportunities for Brazilian students to meet Yale researchers and learn about and be a part of activities that encourage careers in science.

The first session in the webinar series took place in December 2020. It was moderated by Professor Marcelo Dietrich and focused on the importance of mentorship in the sciences. It was followed by a February 2021 webinar moderated by Professor Michael Cappello, that highlighted institutional partnerships and collaborations in Brazil. The final session, moderated by Professor Albert Ko, was held in May 2021 and featured four leaders from biomedical and public health research institutions in Brazil and in the United States. It focused on how these disciplines have been and will be transformed in the future due to COVID-19. (See below to view the event recordings.)

Mentorship Program Launched

Building on the success of these workshops, a virtual mentorship program has also been launched to connect Brazilian undergraduate and graduate students at Yale who will focus on inspiring new young talents in STEM in Brazil. In developing the mentorship program, which will be known as the Next Initiative, Dietrich has partnered with Brazilian research scientist Mariana Nigro who had been a research fellow at the Yale School of Medicine from 2013 to 2016. Learn more about the mentorship program by visiting the Yale-Proxima Mentorship Program website.

mentorship program logo


‘Supporting Future Science Research’ webinar #3

To view the video recording of the May 2021 webinar, click on the play button, below: 

The final webinar in the series took place on May 6, 2021 and featured a discussion with four leaders from biomedical and public health research institutions in Brazil and in the United States. It focused on how these disciplines have been and will be transformed in the future due to COVID-19. The webinar featured Nísia Trindade Lima (President, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation); Paulo Buss (Director, Fiocruz Center for Global Health); Luís Carlos de Souza Ferreira, (Dean, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo); and Saad Omer (Director, Yale Institute of Global Health). The session was moderated by Albert Ko, professor and the chief of the Department of Epidemiology and Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Medicine. You can read a summary of this webinar by visiting the Fiocruz website.


‘Supporting Future Science Research’ webinar #2

To view the video recording of the February 2021 webinar, click on the play button, below: 

The latest webinar in the series took place on February 23, 2021 and featured a panel discussion on the impact of an institutional partnership between Yale and University of São Paulo Ribeirão Preto Medical School. The event featured Yale Professor Michael Cappello and Yale alumni Silvia Nunes Szente Fonseca ’90 MPH, Corporate Director of Infectious Diseases at São Francisco Hospital, and Benedito Antonio Lopes da Fonseca ’94 PhD, Associate Professor at the University of São Paulo Ribeirão Preto Medical School. Three graduates from the USP-Yale Partnership for Global Health training program also spoke about their experiences.  


‘Supporting Future Science Research’ webinar #1

To view the video recording of the December 2020 webinar, click on the play button, below: 

The first webinar of this new series took place December 16, 2020 and focused on ‘Supporting Future Science Research.’ It was moderated by Dietrich, and featured panelists Julio Croda, adjunct associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health and former Chief of Brazil’s Department of Communicable Diseases; Carolina Lucas, postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Medicine and Pew Latin American Fellow; as well as CAPES-Yale Graduate Scholars Natália Branco and Antonio Fonesca. The event also featured the launch of the Yale-Proxima Mentorship Program which is led by Mariana Nigro.

Nigro described how the mentorship project intends to both show the importance of mentorship in the development of scientists and to inspire students to follow such a career path. “The initiative allows for young people, who have already gone through this process and are currently at Yale, to tell their stories with the goal of sharing the impact that mentorship had on their career decisions,” she said.

According to Dietrich, training new professionals in the field of biomedical sciences and public health has become a matter of urgency worldwide and he notes that in his native Brazil such efforts face unique geographic challenges. He explains that in Brazil people from regions further away from the center-south area of ​​the country do not have as many opportunities to enter leading institutions, where they might receive the necessary training and would have access to a global network of scientists.

“By providing opportunities for Brazilian students to meet Yale students and researchers and to participate in professional development activities, the Next Initiative program aims to inspire and train a new generation of talent in Brazil,” said Dietrich.


 

Série de Webinários “Apoiando os Cientistas do Futuro” da Iniciativa Yale and Brazil

A universidade de Yale está lançando uma série de webinários com o objetivo de disponibilizar a alunos brasileiros oportunidades de incentivo a carreiras nas áreas de ciências e chances de conexão com pesquisadores da mesma universidade. Os webinários da série “Apoiando os Cientistas do Futuro” fazem parte de um esforço maior do professor associado na Yale School of Medicine, Marcelo Dietrich. Marcelo tem organizado já por vários anos workshops anuais sobre ciências biomédicas em Porto Alegre, no sul do Brasil.

Construindo em cima do sucesso desses workshops passados, Dietrich vai lançar um programa de mentoria virtual, durante o primeiro webinário da nova série, para conectar alunos brasileiros de graduação e pós-graduação em Yale que irão estar focados em inspirar novos jovens talentos na área de ciências no Brasil. Para o desenvolvimento desse programa de mentoria, que ficará conhecido como Iniciativa Próxima, Dietrich vem colaborando com a pesquisadora brasileira Mariana Nigro, que foi uma pesquisadora na Yale School of Medicine de 2013 até 2016.

Nigro explica que a intenção do programa de mentoria é tanto mostrar a importância da mentoria em si no processo de formação de cientistas quanto inspirar estudantes a seguir uma carreira nesse âmbito. “A iniciativa permite que jovens, que já passaram por este processo e estão atualmente em Yale, possam contar suas histórias com a intenção de compartilhar o impacto que a mentoria teve nas suas escolhas profissionais”, completa.

De acordo com Dietrich, a formação de novos profissionais no campo das ciências biomédicas e da saúde pública se tornou uma questão de urgência mundialmente e no Brasil, sua terra natal, tais esforços enfrentam desafios geográficos ainda maiores. Ele explica que no Brasil as pessoas que vivem em regiões mais distantes do centro-sul do país não têm a mesma quantidade de oportunidades para entrar em instituições de ponta, onde teriam acesso ao treinamento necessário e a uma rede global de cientistas.

“Ao promover oportunidades para que estudantes brasileiros conheçam alunos e pesquisadores de Yale e para que participem em atividades de desenvolvimento profissional, o programa Iniciativa Próxima espera inspirar e formar uma nova geração de talentos no Brasil”, diz Dietrich.

O primeiro webinário da série acontecerá no dia 16 de dezembro de 2020 e terá como foco o tema “Apoiando os Cientistas do Futuro”. O evento será moderado por Dietrich e contará com a presença de palestrantes como Julio Croda, professor associado adjunto na Yale School of Public Health e ex-chefe do Departamento Brasileiro de Doenças Transmissíveis, e Carolina Lucas, pós-doutoranda associada na Yale School of Medicine e membra do Pew Latin American Fellowship; além de acadêmicos do programa CAPES-Yale Graduate Scholars como Natália Branco e Antonio Fonesca.

Os próximos webinários da série estão planejados para acontecer em fevereiro de 2021 e em abril de 2021. O evento de fevereiro será um painel de discussão sobre novas formas de intensificar parcerias entre instituições acadêmicas moderado por Michael Cappello, professor  de Pediatria, Patogênese Microbial e Saúde Pública na Yale School of Medicine. Já o evento de abril será um webinário sobre o tema de fortalecer redes de pesquisa que será moderado por Albert Ko, professor e chefe do Departamento de Epidemiologia e Doenças Microbianas da Yale School of Medicine.