Networking can be challenging, but it is beneficial. Meeting others in our profession can help us quickly learn the ropes, improve our careers, and contribute to the statistical profession. Finding a mentor has its challenges and, keeping that in mind, the Biopharmaceutical Section has created a mentoring program based on the mentoring blueprint created by the Committee on Applied Statisticians. In 2014, 34 people participated.

Mentor Allison Florance said the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section “did a great job in matching me to a mentee. It has been a win-win for both of us!”

Mentee Nobuhle Mpofu said “The biopharmaceutical mentoring program has proved to be invaluable to me. Through my countless conversations with my mentor, I chose to focus on a thesis topic that is of high interest to me, and yet highly relevant to the pharmaceutical industry and other settings.”

The goal of this program is to help members further enhance their professional experience through achieving personal and professional goals. This may occur through sharing of knowledge and experience between a professional practitioner and someone entering the profession.

A constructive mentorship relationship can take many forms and may occur at any stage of one’s career with benefits for both the mentor and the mentee. We will provide hands-on resources for mentors and mentees to facilitate their interactions.

Currently, the section is looking for mentors and mentees for the 2015–2016 mentoring program. Are you interested in becoming a mentor to a statistician and helping fellow biopharmaceutical statisticians? Are you a potential mentee, or can you nominate a statistician who may be looking for a mentorship program? If so, email your contact information to biopharmmentoring@gmail.com with the subject “Biopharmaceutical Section Mentoring Program.” It would be helpful if you also send a résumé to help us match mentors and mentees.

For additional information, contact Amarjot Kaur at amarjot_kaur@merck.com or Jennifer Gauvin at jennifer.gauvin@novartis.com.

The section will provide hands-on resources for mentors and mentees to facilitate their interactions. Information related to the mentoring activities and additional resources for mentors and mentees is available on the ASA community.