Research Scholars Mentorship Program (RSMP)

The Academy provides a 12-month mentoring opportunity to a competitive pool of junior-level, health behavior researchers. The purpose of the RSMP is to provide structured mentorship to early career investigators in the production of high-quality, scholarly, research-based products that address any area of health behavior-related research. The research-based products and/or processes resulting from the RSMP are determined by each mentee-mentor pair collaboratively. Senior investigators from AAHB (mentors) are partnered with selected junior investigators (mentees) and matches are made based on content or methods expertise.

Details about the RSMP and its founding principles are described in Smith et al (2019).

• PDF Article

Collective Impact from each cohort can be found on the RSMP Collective Impact page.

Mentee Eligibility Criteria

• Be a current, paid member of AAHB in good standing at the time of application
• Have completed a doctoral level degree in a health behavior discipline
• Be able to articulate a health behavior research agenda

Application Process

The mentee applicant should identify three preferred AAHB mentors. It is recommended, but not required, that the mentee contact proposed mentors prior to submitting an application to determine their interest in the program and solicit agreement to participate in the RSMP. The program leadership will also attempt to recruit preferred mentors but a match is not guaranteed. For a directory of AAHB members, log in with your account and navigate to the "Members Only" menu for the Membership Directory. Applicants that are not yet members may email Joanne Sommers to request a full list of AAHB members.

Interested applicants should email the following to the RSMP Director, Matthew Lee Smith, PhD, MPH on or before January 31.

• Mentee application form 
• Current CV
• Personal statement of interest (maximum of 500 words)

Program elements

Mentee-mentor pairs will commit 12 months to the program and agree to participate in the following:

• Developing a mentor/mentee work plan
• Identify and develop research-based products (e.g., grant proposal, manuscript) and engage in research-based processes (e.g., interviewing, navigating tenure and promotion)
• A teleconference kick-off meeting
• Four hours of face-to-face dedicated mentoring time at the next annual AAHB meeting
• Produce a mid-year progress report
• Produce a final report
• Keep AAHB informed about professional accomplishments via survey participation