Eight months into her postdoc in molecular biology at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, Sook Wah Yee's principal investigator notified the lab that he would be leaving for a new position in Georgia. Yee found herself in a predicament: should she find a new postdoc position in the same area of research, find a new job in industry, or follow her PI to Georgia?
As the only woman in her lab, Yee felt isolated and lost. Fortunately, she had signed up for an online mentor through MentorNet (www.mentornet.net), a 10-year-old e-mentoring service. She told her online mentor, Marion Thurnauer, about the situation, and immediately Thurnauer responded, helping Yee through the choices she had to make. Thurnauer aided Yee in deciding which postdoc positions to apply for and how they might fit into her long-term career goals, while also considering the size of the group, the PI, and ...
