Mentoring is an important developmental tool for academic scientists. The match between mentor and mentee is a critical factor than can influence outcomes for mentees. However, we know little about what factors should be considered when matching mentors and mentees. We draw on person-environment fit theory to examine how different factors related to the fit between mentors and mentees may influence outcomes for mentees in health-related scientific disciplines.

Data were collected from 76 mentor-mentee pairs who participated in a nine-month mentoring program for scientists interested in clinical and translational research. An index of supplementary fit was calculated to reflect mentor-mentee similarity in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, academic discipline, professional track, percent time allocated to research, and type of research. Complementary fit reflected the proportion of skills mentees identified as needs that their mentor felt comfortable providing. Mentee outcomes assessed included satisfaction with one’s mentor, learning and development experiences, and short-term research output.

As predicted, we found that supplementary fit was positively related to mentee satisfaction with the mentor. We found no support for the expected relationship between complementary fit and mentee learning development experiences or short-term research output. Supplementary analyses explored other non-hypothesized relationships among study variables.

This research underscores the need to consider different types of fit when matching academic mentors and mentees in clinical and translational science-related disciplines. Our results can be leveraged during the matching process in academic mentoring programs to maximize the success of mentoring relationships for scientists in health-related fields.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability and death. Both repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and Cerebrolysin (CRB) are promising therapies regulating neural plasticity. This study aimed to assess the changes in resting-state brain activity following CRB, rTMS, or combined CRB-rTMS therapy.

This secondary analysis of the CAPTAIN-rTMS trial analyzed eyes-closed segments from EEG recordings at 30 days (baseline) and 180 days (after treatment) respectively. We computed relative power spectral densities for delta, theta, alpha and beta frequency bands, for the entire scalp and different regions. We conducted neuropsychological assessments and evaluated the correlations between resting-state relative power spectral density values and neuropsychological assessment performance.

We analyzed a total of 50 patients. For the entire scalp, we found statistically significant decreases in relative alpha power (p = 0.02) and significant increases in relative delta power (p = 0.02), further subgroup analysis showing differences between visits in the CRB + sham group (paired Cliff’s δ = 0.6, p = 0.012 for Delta band, δ = 0.6, p = 0.064 for Alpha band). The differences were higher in the central (alpha p = 0.004, delta p = 0.002) and parietal (alpha p = 0.012, delta p = 0.03), and lower in the frontal (alpha p = 0.05, delta p = 0.026), temporal (alpha p = 0.065, delta p = 0.077), and occipital (alpha p = 0.064, delta p = 0.084) regions. Neuropsychological tests performance was negatively correlated with resting-state relative delta power, and positively correlated with alpha power.

We found overall slowing of brain electrical activity during recovery after TBI, which was further influenced by rTMS and CRB treatment. Resting-state relative power spectral densities correlate with neuropsychological measurements.