Daphne Hernandez is a research grantee who has extensive experience mentoring first-generation college students, women, and racial/ethnic minority undergraduate and graduate students. As an assistant professor, she has not mentored post-doctoral scholars, but with her promotion to associate professor in the fall, more of those opportunities will arise. She is interested in helping mentees transition more smoothly from following her direction to developing greater research autonomy. She is also interested in seeking guidance on how to mentor researchers with different backgrounds and needs at varying stages of their education. Finally, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of cultural differences that exist among Asian Americans. The award will support her mentee, Nipa P. Kamdar, as a postdoctoral fellow. Kamdar completed a doctorate in Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center. Kamdar’s research interests center on reducing socio-economic inequalities that contribute to decreased food access among the children of military veterans enrolled in community college.
Hernandez will use this award to develop her ability to help mentees develop greater research autonomy.
