The MICCAI Mentorship Program began 2018 with the goal of connecting early-career researchers in medical image computing and computer assisted interventions with peers and experts in their field of work. Mentors will share their experience in academia, industry or entrepreneurship to help develop the next generation of MICCAI leaders and innovators. Mentorship and networking nurture a supportive scientific community and give mentees the opportunity for career growth.

If you are a student/early career researcher, this program is for you! It can help you grow professionally with the guidance of expert mentors from the MICCAI community. A special focus of the program is on supporting underrepresented collectives in MICCAI to advance their scientific career and recognize and address career challenges.

Requirements

The MICCAI Society Mentorship program will provide support to identify and match mentors and mentees within the MICCAI Society. Requirements for participation include:

• Minimum commitment of six months and up to two years
  There is no limit to the number of meeting as the program encourages regular communication between the mentors and mentees (see program structure below).
• Membership in the MICCAI Society at the time of application
  Exceptions may be permitted for applicants from low- and middle-income countries. Candidates applying for exception must submit a letter of motivation highlighting the candidate's compatibility with the mentorship program and the career goals that the mentee requests help.

Program Structure

Registration. MICCAI members interested in participating in the Mentorship program as mentors or mentees must register through the MICCAI Society website. (see links below).

Matching. The Mentorship Program will match mentors and mentees with the help of our MICCAI working group based on their area of expertise and the mentorship preferences indicated during registration.

Mentorship structure. 

• In the first month after matching, the mentor-mentee team will coordinate via teleconference or in-person meeting to discuss the goals that they wish to achieve through the Mentorship Program, the duration of their relationship, and the frequency of their meetings.
• During the duration of the relationship, the mentor-mentee team will meet by teleconference or in-person and will allocate at least one hour for each meeting to work towards their goals.
• At the end of the mentorship period, the mentor-mentee team will determine if they are interested in further extending it. When the relationship ends, the team will notify the Mentorship Program.

There is no maximum cap for the number of meetings and the continued mentorship program encourages regular communication between the mentors and mentees.

Terms of the mentorship relationship

A mentorship relationship is established between a person seeking career development advice - i.e., the mentee - and a person who can provide valuable guidance- i.e., the mentor. Unlike a coach, the role of a mentor is not to establish action plans for a mentee. Instead, it is the mentee who is responsible for establishing a set of goals for this relationship. The role of the mentor is to actively listen, provide information, suggestions and help to the mentee.

It is recommended for mentees to create a list of goals that they wish to achieve through this program, which they will discuss in the first meeting with their mentor. Examples of goals include career growth in academia or industry, writing a grant or fellowship application, raising funds for research and development, setting up a successful company or addressing specific career challenges. Mentors will provide honest and constructive feedback and advice to support mentees achieving their goals.

Note that the MICCAI Society Mentorship Program is a continuous program, and it is no longer linked to the annual MICCAI Conference.

How to Apply

To apply, please review the mentee responsibilities and commitments above and complete the application form. 

Application deadline: August 20, 2023

By applying and agreeing to be a mentor or mentee, you are agreeing to adhere to the MICCAI Code of Conduct which can be found here. All conversations must remain confidential between mentors and mentees unless agreed otherwise by both parties. The MICCAI Society is not responsible for the information that is exchanged between mentors and mentees within the context of their mentorship relationship. 

Selection Criteria

We hope to accept as many applicants as possible. However, the number of accepted mentees will be limited by the number of available mentors and program resources.

Priority will be given to students, postdoctoral fellows and early career applicants. Other selection criteria for mentees are diversity in the following areas:
• Areas of interest of mentees
• Availability of required expertise by mentors
• Gender and minority representation

For further inquiries, please write to mentorship@miccai.org

Current Mentors

We recognize and thank the following individuals who have committed to providing mentorship and support to a MICCAI Society mentee.

• Stephen Aylward, Senior Director of Strategic Initiative, Kitware
• Mariano Cabezas, Research Fellow, University of Sydney
• Niharika DSouza, Research Scientist, IBM Research, Almaden
• Caroline Essert, Professor, ICube/University of Strasbourg
• Ruogu Fang, Associate Professor, University of Florida
• Zhifan Gao, Associate Professor, Sun Yat-sen University
• Hans Lamecker, Managing Director, 1000shapes GmbH
• Karim Lekadir, Research Professor, Universitat de Barcelona
• Xiaoxiao Li, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
• Rui Liao, Director, Janssen Pharmaceutical
• Marius George Linguraru, Professor/Chair, Children's National Hospital/George Washington University
• Tommaso Mansi, VP AI/ML and Digital Health, Janssen R&D, LLC
• Antonio Reyes Porras Perez, Assistant Professor/Director of Research, University of Colorado/Children's Hospital Colorado
• Bella Specktor-Fadida, PhD Candidate, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Stefanie Speidel, Faculty, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden, TU Dresden
• Tanveer Syeda-Mahmood, IBM Fellow, IBM Research
• Mattias Unberath, Assistant Professor, John Hopkins University
• Linwei Wang, Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Pingkun Yan, PlK. Lashmet Career Development Chair, Associate Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rongchang Zhao, Associate Professor, Central South University
• S. Kevin Zhou, Professor, University of Science and Technology China