The Eastern Society for Pediatric Research (ESPR) recognizes that science is heightened by the involvement of a diverse range of individuals who can bring their unique perspectives and life experiences in the pursuit of scientific knowledge in all areas of pediatrics research. Unfortunately, the United States physician scientist workforce does not equally reflect the national population with Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, certain Pacific Islander groups, and women underrepresented.1 Similar inequities have been documented around the world through countless studies that examined salaries, staff rank, publication in journals, grants, and recognitions like awards and speaking engagements. The longstanding lack of diversity, including but not limited to background, age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, geography, disability, socioeconomic status, area of expertise, level of experience, thinking style, and skill set informs a national conversation regarding how to best increase the presence of underrepresented minorities in the biomedical research fields. Lack of minorities in leadership positions resulting in limited role models and mentorship coupled with gender and implicit biases are cited obstacles for pursuit of an academic pediatric career.2,3,4

In recognition of the increased awareness of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in pediatric scientist career development and within academic pediatrics, the ESPR, one of the four regional pediatric research societies, virtually hosted a workshop entitled, “MENTORING: Investing in young underrepresented researchers, investing in the future of pediatrics research” as part of its 2021 annual national meeting. By creating program aimed at fostering academic growth and advancement among those who identify as Underrepresented in Medicine Minorities (URiM), the goal of the session was to educate attendees on how racial bias, implicit bias, and microaggressions can impede academic success in pediatric research. We present an abbreviated version of the session to provide a potential model for other smaller research/academic organizations considered on how to address these timely issues within their programming. Specific strategies outlined to improve academic advancement of URiM in pediatric research include:

  1. 1.

    Establishing mentorship teams for an individual that include career, research, and peer mentors who jointly meet regularly with the mentee to establish goals, deadlines, and provide assistance with barriers.

  2. 2.

    Establishing a cross-institutional structured mentoring program, which reduces the financial and administrative burden of each single institution to provide these resources and can provide mentorship absent of the influence of the local politics, which pervade all large academic medical centers. This is also helpful to URiM trainees who hail from pediatric training programs based in community hospital settings, who may not have access to research-specific resources or expertise.

  3. 3.

    As with ESPR’s annual meeting, providing a platform for showcasing research and enabling networking with mentors across universities and hospitals and providing awards focused on URiM to increase academic visibility.

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