Mentoring in microbiology: tips and traps for PhD supervisors

Abstract

This article focuses on postgraduate supervision as a critically important part of university teaching in microbiology. It is written for the PhD supervisor and is intended to encourage reflection on their role as a mentor for the students under their care. Much of the material comes from the documentation supplied by a large number of scientists in Australia and beyond who proposed their mentor for the 2006 Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science. As one of the judges for the Australasian awards, the author had access to this material which he, with Carina Denis and Philip Campbell, the editor in chief of Nature, used as a basis for the Nature’s guide for mentors.