UW–Madison Study Shows Training in Culturally Aware Mentoring Creates Lasting Change for Biomedical Faculty

June 2, 2026   |   By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship Communications

A new paper co-authored by UW–Madison professor Angela Byars‑Winston demonstrates that biomedical faculty can make meaningful and lasting improvements in their mentoring practices when they participate in culturally responsive training that builds their confidence and skills to engage with students across different racial and ethnic identities.

Published in Scientific Reports, a Nature portfolio journal, the paper, “Culturally Aware Mentoring Interventions Create Enduring Changes Among Graduate Biomedical Faculty,” reports findings of a study supported by the National Institutes of Health and based in the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). The study offers strong evidence that faculty can learn to navigate racial dynamics in the research training of emerging scientists, with structured, guided learning experiences especially effective.

The research responds to a long‑recognized challenge in science: many faculty mentors feel “ill‑equipped to discuss how racial inequalities impact and intersect with science” in their labs, classrooms, and mentoring relationships, according to the paper. These gaps can undermine the success and persistence of graduate students from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, including American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander trainees, due to “cultural, social and psychological factors” arising from subpar relationships.

To address this challenge, principal investigator Byars‑Winston and her colleagues tested the Culturally Aware Mentoring intervention — a research‑based curriculum designed to build skills for more effective support by helping faculty understand how race, racism, and personal backgrounds shape mentoring relationships. The intervention was created by researchers based at WCER’s Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), where Byars-Winston is a faculty leader.

The new study testing this intervention provides a roadmap for institutions seeking to strengthen mentoring, improve graduate training environments, and advance equity in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEMM) fields.

The study is notable for its scale and rigor. The research team conducted a mixed-methods, multi-phase, randomized comparative trial over four years and across 33 research‑intensive U.S. universities. In total, 787 biomedical faculty mentors participated.

Faculty were randomly assigned to one of three versions of the online intervention:

• A self‑paced module alone
• The self-paced module plus a two‑session guided workshop
• The self-paced model plus a three‑session guided workshop

Participants completed surveys before the intervention, immediately after, and at six and twelve months. A subset also participated in qualitative interviews to describe their experiences and changes in their mentoring practices.

The study’s key findings include:

• All variations improved faculty mentoring attitudes, skills, and behaviors. Faculty showed statistically significant gains from baseline to 12 months on every study measure. This demonstrates that the intervention is effective even when delivered fully online and even when faculty complete only the self-paced module.
• Adding facilitated workshops produced the greatest gains. The two-session and three-session workshops led to larger and more sustained changes than the self-paced module alone. Faculty in workshops reported higher increases in both general and culturally aware mentoring skills.
• Adding the three-session workshop produced the strongest shifts in attitudes and confidence. Faculty showed significantly greater long-term gains in attitudes related to discussing mentees’ racial/ethnic backgrounds, addressing how race/ethnicity affects research experiences, and recognizing the relevance of their own racial/ethnic identity.
• Self-reflection and introspection were the mechanisms of change. Interviews revealed that self-reflection — especially when guided by skilled facilitators and supported by peer dialogue, as all the workshops were — was the catalyst for behavioral change. Faculty became more aware, more intentional in interactions, and more confident addressing mentees’ concerns.
• Faculty applied what they learned in real mentoring situations. Participants reported initiating conversations about identity and race, adjusting approaches to better support underrepresented trainees, and applying new skills to build trust and communication.

The study addresses a critical gap in STEMM education. A review of 109 mentoring intervention studies from 2002 to 2022 found that only 5.5% used randomized controlled trials and only 18.8% focused on mentees from underrepresented groups.

Because effective mentorship is central to the academic and career success of underrepresented emerging scientists, the authors wrote that adopting the study findings can help build a more diverse and equitable biomedical workforce. Few other interventions specifically address racial/ethnic identity in research mentoring, according to the paper.

The paper’s co-authors are Stephanie House, You-Geon Lee, and Ellyssa Eiring from UW–Madison; Remi Jones and co-investigator Richard McGee from Northwestern University; and co-investigator Sylvia Hurtado from UCLA.

About the Researcher: Angela Byars-Winston is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH). A nationally recognized mentorship expert, she also is the inaugural chair of the University of Wisconsin Institute for Diversity Science and one of the founding leaders of the UW SMPH BEAM Mentorship Program.

About the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER): CIMER was created in 2015 to sustain and expand nationwide the work of UW–Madison scholars deeply engaged in developing, testing, and disseminating grant-funded mentor and mentee interventions to improve research learning experiences and mentorships. Learn more at cimerproject.org.

About the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (WCER): WCER at UW–Madison’s #1-ranked School of Education is one of the world’s oldest and most productive education research centers. WCER has supported researchers and scholars in developing, submitting, conducting, and sharing grant-funded education research for over 60 years. Visit wcer.wisc.edu for more information.