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Unconditional Mentoring: In Good Times and Bad

2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 131; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/jid.2011.289

1523-1747

Jouni Uitto, Angela M. Christiano,

Science, Research, and Medicine

It’s easy to be a good mentor when things go well. Data pour in, experiments are in high gear; postdocs are motivated; grants get funded; Nature, Science, and Cell papers are on the horizon. On the other hand, it’s not easy to be a good mentor when times are tough. Postdocs lack motivation, data dry up, and the lab comes to a grinding halt. In this dark place we find the difference between good and great, as well as something I call unconditional mentoring. I first met Jouni Uitto on a hot August night in 1989, when I was crouched in the bushes behind the auditorium at Kimball Union Academy, preparing to give my first talk at the Elastin Gordon Conference. I was hyperventilating, panic stricken, clammy, and cold. Although he had never met me, Jouni sat me on the steps and patiently talked me down from the ledge, despite having no vested interest in my success. Kindness got me through that talk. Unconditional mentoring. Later—in the bar, of course—he asked about my plans. Having completed a PhD that unfortunately led to no peer-reviewed publications and mostly negative data, my sights were set on a career in cosmetics. Suffice it to say that I was down and dejected. By the end of the week, Jouni convinced me that I needed “just one year” as a postdoc to learn about elastin and skin aging. Young and naive, I agreed, and in 1991 I turned my car south toward Philadelphia. Upon arrival, I became the prototypical, lackluster postdoc, strolling in at 10 am and out at 7 pm, drinking lattes, and dreaming of lipstick. Shortly after I arrived, David Woodley and several residents “fished out” a partial clone for type VII collagen using epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) patient serum. The ‘EB’ project, at the time, held little interest to me. One day, Jouni asked me to take a trip to the Rockefeller University EB Lab to “pick up some samples.” Off I went, delighted with the opportunity to visit Bloomingdale’s. But first, at Rockefeller, Martin Carter led me to a patient’s room, and when the door opened, there before me sat a fragile, trembling little girl with recessive dystrophic EB, in a pool of blood and bandages. She turned to me with the face of an angel and said, “Are you the lady from Philadelphia who is going to figure out what’s wrong with me?” Everything turned white, and the last thing I remember was Dr. Carter’s hand under my elbow ushering me out. In the hallway, the enormity of EB began to sink in. I sprinted to the train, past Bloomingdale’s, and back to Philadelphia. The next morning, before Jouni had his coat off, I announced that I needed two technicians (one for days and one for nights and weekends) and six months. Unconditional mentoring means figuring out how to unlock the fire in a trainee with potential—even if she doesn’t see it herself. Subtle doesn’t characterize Jouni Uitto; yet, in his finest hours of mentoring, his touch was so gentle that we often did not figure it out until years later. He mentors by example, by introductions and “chance meetings” with helpful people, by networking, by enthusiasm, and by intuitively providing trainees what they need to be the best. Two years later, we had finished cloning type VII collagen and were identifying EB-causing mutations, several each week. Life was great. New EB genes were cloned, the lab had grown, new trainees worked shoulder to shoulder. And then one day it stopped. Overnight, our crisp acrylamide gels turned into abstract paintings. Smudges replaced bands, impossible to interpret. Three months, five months...no data, no mutations, no buzz. After nine months, salvation arrived, unexpectedly. In a trade journal there appeared an article proclaiming “Aloe Vera Caused Acrylamide Gel Smearing.” The soap we were using had changed its formula to include aloe vera, but this was not stated on the label. We switched soaps and were quickly back in business. Nine months without data in the Uitto lab felt more like nine years. But instead of berating, belittling, and making us feel incompetent, Jouni shared our pain, rolled up his sleeves, and stayed late, days and nights, trying to help figure it out. He never made us feel awful, although our lack of progress created many problems for him. Being treated well when times are tough inspires loyalty, admiration and lifelong bonds among mentors and mentees. Unconditional mentoring is exemplified by great mentors like Jouni Uitto.