Alvin Holder
Since June 1993, I have served as an advisor and mentor for more than 155 undergraduate students, 13 graduate students, and three postdoctoral fellows. The important skill of being a mentor is complementary of being a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and as a Chartered Chemist. Now that I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, I have matured with the following skills: (1) strong communication, observational and listening skills and (2) the ability to motivate and build a rapport with people. I do make an impact in my professional role, while drawing upon my highly developed chemical skills as a Charted Chemist, where my chartered status demonstrates that I work to the highest professional standards.
Of importance, I do utilize my expertise with what I am learning in health disparities and minority education. I have extensive experience in minority education, where I am the lead principal investigator (PI) on an NIH-funded Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research Program at Old Dominion University which is aimed at increasing access to research opportunities, and facilities, for traditionally underrepresented undergraduate students in the area of biomedical sciences.
Furthermore, I am also a faculty mentor for students that are part of an NIH-funded Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE) at ODU of which I am also the Co-PI. The G-RISE program supports graduate research training of underrepresented Ph.D. students in the area of biomedical sciences.