LEAD Reverse Mentoring Pair
Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia and Stephanie Bingham
Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia, PhD, Reverse Mentor
Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathology at Augusta University. His research focuses on the intersection of clinical, research, and emerging technologies in precision medicine. The Paceline grant supported Ahluwalia's work in investigating disparities in immunotherapy response among cancer patients. Additionally, he actively studies immune dynamics in healthcare workers following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination as part of the larger SPARTA study. Ahluwalia is highly engaged in extracurricular activities. These include a junior leadership role in the Association of Molecular Pathology and participation in inclusive excellence and leadership workshops. Ahluwalia also mentors undergraduate and medical students while implementing innovative training and learning approaches.
What new skills do you seek to gain as a reverse mentor?
Collaborative learning is the cornerstone of human development, and all great initiatives stem from such efforts. Throughout my experience, I have continuously learned from my colleagues and students, where open dialogues have reshaped my viewpoints and motivated me to keep refining my perspective. As a Reverse Mentor, my goal is to share my approach, experiences, and commitment to learning with others. Through this FASEB initiative, I aim to incorporate insights from my mentees to refine my mentorship framework further and foster inclusive learning environments in our workplace and community.
How is mentoring important to your career development?
Effective mentoring is challenging as it requires time, effort, and consistent improvement. Yet, I believe mentoring is a two-way process that offers profound benefits. Seeing others grow alongside us is deeply rewarding, but it also brings clarity to our ideas. For instance, in the scientific realm, fresh ideas from enthusiastic junior mentees, shared within a safe and supportive environment, can refine our hypotheses and even bring clarity to the bigger picture in our domain. Through consistent communication and adaptable approaches, combined with exposure to mentees from diverse backgrounds, we can develop a flexible mentorship style that encourages growth for both mentor and mentee, thereby enhancing our own career development.
How does diversity and inclusivity impact your leadership style?
I believe each individual has the potential for groundbreaking progress because of their unique backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches. My leadership style is centered on nurturing this uniqueness and offering a personalized approach rather than relying on a rigid template. This approach helps ideas flourish and fosters individual growth. By embracing diversity and inclusivity, we create an environment where learning and progressing together becomes a fun and exciting process for everyone involved. This enhances team spirit and leads to more innovative solutions to some of the most pressing problems in our specific domain.
Pankaj Kumar Ahluwalia is a member of Association for Molecular Pathology, a FASEB member society.
Stephanie Bingham, PhD, Reverse Mentee
Stephanie Bingham is a biology professor at Barry University, also her alma mater. She earned her doctorate in biological sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She completed post-doctoral training at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Bingham joined the full-time faculty at Barry University in 2008 and has since dedicated herself to inspiring her students inside and outside the classroom. She encourages them to stay the course and achieve their goals while serving as mentors and role models for future generations. In addition to teaching from freshman to graduate levels, Bingham has mentored over 100 undergraduate research students in her developmental neuroscience lab, leads several initiatives for student success and retention, and established a K-12 science education outreach program that provides hands-on science laboratories for fourth and fifth graders on Saturday mornings and weekdays at neighboring Title I elementary schools. Bingham has been recognized for her teaching, mentoring, and community engagement contributions with numerous awards.
What new skills do you seek to gain as a reverse mentee?
As a reverse mentee, I hope to learn the tools to expand the scope of long-held perceptions of what mentor/mentee relationships should be. I look forward to the free exchange of ideas and perspectives regarding unique mentoring needs and challenges and how best to approach addressing them by providing appropriate support.
How is mentoring important to your career development?
Mentoring is essential to community building. It is a critical aspect of personal and professional growth as it provides opportunities to ensure talent is acknowledged, nurtured, and fully realized.
How does diversity and inclusivity impact your leadership style?
Diversity provides richness to our lived experiences. For example, my leadership style has benefitted from diverse points of view in that I appreciate the value of the professional opinions of others, and this has made me more open to dialogue and collaboration. Respect for others means ensuring everyone has a voice and is an active participant in decision-making. This provides an opportunity to think outside the box and create more creative solutions.