Spread the Itch: Mentorship for Early Career Investigators in the STI Field

More often than not, whenever someone asks me what I research and I reply “STIs,” there is a long, awkward pause, followed by “Oh, interesting…what made you want to research that?” I respond with my reasons for becoming initially interested in the field, namely, my prior experiences working with survivors of human trafficking and learning more about STI health inequities both domestically and internationally. But as I advance further in my career, the question I begin to ask myself is “Why do I stay in the STI field?” Funding for STIs is sparse, and it can be difficult to build a career in this field. Yet from the moment I started learning about STI research from Barbara Van Der Pol, Beth Meyerson, Joseph Tucker, Dennis Fortenberry, Greg Zimet, and other prominent STI researchers as a doctoral student at Indiana University-Bloomington, I caught an itch. An itch that I just couldn't shake. As I moved on throughout my career, from postdoctoral fellow to Assistant Professor to Associate Professor, my ability to conduct STI research has ebbed and flowed with the funding streams. I have had several researchers outside of the STI field ask why I continue trying to research STIs and recommend just focusing on HIV research instead. Perhaps they are right. It likely would be easier to focus on research areas that have a greater funding allocation (and it probably would be better for my tenure case). But there is still that itch that just won't go away…. That persistent itch that keeps me here and, in fact, has only continued to spread. What is that itch, you ask? I am sure many of you in the STI field have also experienced it. That burning sensation that keeps you up at night. Thoughts of rising syphilis rates and drug-resistant gonorrhea and other entrenched venereal challenges. No amount of treatment has been able to suppress the itch, and I blame STI mentors. My experiences as an early career researcher in the STI field have provided me with exceptional mentorship and a sense of community and purpose. I have never met a more dedicated group of researchers who have graciously provided their time and expertise in mentoring junior scholars. Researchers who are passionate about addressing inequities and providing a voice for the underserved and vulnerable. During my STI journey, I have been fortunate to have my STI networks broadened. Much of this broadening has come through the wonderful opportunity I have had to participate in the ASTDA Early Investigator Workshop—an innovative workshop that facilitates connections between early career STI researchers in academia with public health agency and industry partners to collaboratively address STI challenges. It has been illuminating to learn about the diverse perspectives of others in the STI field and invigorating to meet other junior investigators focused on STI research. In the last workshop, many of my fellow early career investigators and I shared that we would have left the STI field long ago if not for the ASTDA workshop and the exceptional mentorship we have received from researchers in the field. To all of the amazing STI mentors (you know who you are), thank you for giving us the itch. Your mentorship and support matter. It is what makes all the difference when the funding gets tight and the going gets tough. The STI field is a unique place filled with passionate, brilliant, and supportive people. Does it have some warts? Sure, but who doesn't have warts? (Australians perhaps, with their enviable HPV vaccination program.) I am proud to call the STI field my scholarly home. As my career phase finally begins to catch up with my biological age and I have mentees of my own, I look forward to spreading the itch. Won't you join me?