Choosing a Research Project and a Research Mentor

A large number of pathways to research are possible in the cardiovascular sciences, and the specifics of what and how to choose depend on numerous factors, as a function of both the individual and the broad environment. Completion of a research project is almost always beneficial to early-career individuals, whether or not research plays a major role in their subsequent careers. Success in choosing a project depends on many factors and individuals. It is almost universally accepted that having 1 or more mentors is a major help in furthering professional goals at all career stages, particularly early on in the cardiovascular sciences. To be successful in research and as a mentee, you must establish clear goals and expectations for yourself, determine what actually interests you, be open to learning, correction, and even failures, and carefully choose both research projects and mentors. Although you will establish, with the help of mentors, supervisors, role models, colleagues, and family, a career over time, you will have changing needs for mentoring. To be successful, a mentoring relationship requires commitment from both parties, as well as the recognition of the needs of both and understanding that these needs change with time.The aim of this article is to provide some guidance to early career individuals who are considering pursuing research in the cardiovascular sciences. This topic covers a very wide area, because a number of distinct research pathways exist: clinical research, focused either on formal trials or on observational studies, basic science (bench top, in vivo, or combined), population science, and translational sciences (and each pathway will be discussed in a subsequent article in this series). Opportunities in each area are almost limitless, and the ways of approaching each opportunity are equally varied. For example, in cardiovascular basic research one can find successful PhDs, MDs, …