Mentors and NAC Mentors
Mentors
Your mentor is an important part of the program. He or she will be invited to the Annual Meeting for the first two years you are a Scholar. If, however, some problem arises and you should need to change mentors, you should notify the NPO as soon as possible. You will need to change mentors if your mentor leaves your institution and you do not plan to follow, if your mentor retires or becomes incapacitated, if you transfer your grant to a different institution, or if the relationship between you and your mentor hinders your scientific or professional development.
After you have identified a new mentor, he or she should submit all of the information required of mentors of applicants. Please see the Letter to Proposed Mentor. You should also write a letter detailing why a change in mentors is appropriate. It may be necessary for a NAC member to make a site visit to your proposed mentor before a decision may be made on the change. In cases where a change in mentor is made, continued funding in the program is not guaranteed.
National Advisory Committee
The National Advisory Committee is composed of distinguished individuals who have an interest in fostering the careers of young researchers. Each Scholar is assigned to one NAC member, who follows the progress of the Scholar for the four years of the program and beyond.
You should keep in touch with your assigned NAC member by sending him or her copies of your annual reports and any publications that arise out of your research. Although most of your contact will probably be with your assigned NAC member, you should feel free to contact any of them with problems and questions. It is your responsibility to foster your relationship with the NAC.
Site Visits
Occasionally, members of the NAC make site visits to Scholars, to ensure the continued appropriateness of the institution and mentor. Site visits should not by any means be interpreted as a shortcoming on the part of the Scholar.