Newsletter
Donata Iandolo is starting her second mandate as a Board Member. She intends to concentrate her efforts on mentorship, which is crucial to preserve researchers’ well-being. She also wishes to develop collaborations with ‘sister organisations’.
Donata Iandolo, in her own words
I am an Italian researcher working in the field of Bioelectronics. I am currently based in France.
I was awarded an Individual Fellowship in 2016 with the project Smart-Bone. The project aimed at developing an in vitro model of bone based on bioelectronic material and devices.
Since my PhD, I have been living in different countries to carry out my research activities, in Sweden, Singapore, France and the United Kingdom. The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship gave me the opportunity to work both in France and the UK in two prestigious institutions (the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne and the University of Cambridge).
Starting her second mandate as a Board Member, Donata looks back happily on her prior adventure. “Being part of the previous Board has been an interesting experience with also some challenges. I have also got to know much more about the Association and its potential,” she explains.
Donata is now confident that she knows how the Association works and has a deeper understanding of its structure and needs.
The MCAA Academy
Her number one priority as a newly elected Board Member will be to focus on the MCAA Academy, a mentoring programme she has contributed to setting up, together with Fernanda Bajanca, the new Chair of the Association. “I would like to see this programme up and running and available to our membership,” she explains.
For her, having this objective in mind is crucial for the mental health of researchers. “I believe that our mentoring programme as well as the other mentoring and peer-to-peer initiatives to support researchers and Alumni, in general, contribute to researchers’ well-being. Giving support to such initiatives and to those organised at a local scale will be my way to contribute to this important theme,” she says.
Setting up partnerships
Donata also has other plans and wishes to work on establishing and creating partnerships. “The role of partnership is to liaise with sister organisations and find common actions of interest and fields where we can support each other,” explains Donata.
The new Board Member highlights the flexibility of the MCAA and emphasises that new ideas are always welcome. She, therefore, openly invites all the members to get in touch with the Board. “By being active and connecting to others, we can really stir changes in areas we believe are important and need transformation,” she concludes.
Aurélia Chaise
MCAA Editorial Team
