Author(s):
Mikey Creane, BSc, MSc, PhD
ISCT ESP Committee Member
ISCT Ethics of Cell and Gene Therapy Committee
Ireland
Monica Klein, MD
ISCT ESP Committee Member
ISCT Lab Practices Committee Member
United States
It’s that time again! The ISCT is getting ready to kick off a brand-new round of the ISCT Mentoring Program! If you’re new to ISCT, the ISCT Mentoring Program is an amazing initiative led by the ISCT Early Stage Professionals (ESP) Committee. The program focuses on helping ESPs in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) field to grow, learn, and shape their careers with the guidance of ISCT’s global network of experts.
What makes this program truly unique? Mentees get the opportunity to connect with mentors across the entire CGT landscape whether it’s research, clinical practice, regulatory, lab and operations, or industry and commercialization.
The ISCT Mentoring Program has quickly become one of the fastest-growing initiatives of the ESP Committee. Last year marked one of our largest mentoring rounds to date, with greater engagement from around the world (e.g. USA, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, France, Italy, Portugal, United Kingdom, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Thailand, Singapore, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Australia, New Zealand and more) and expanded representation across all areas of expertise. Not only does the mentoring program provide invaluable mentorship experiences, it also delivers a dynamic range of programming including interactive webinars, workshops, and our flagship annual Mentoring Summit, which has now secured its place in the full program of the ISCT Annual Meeting.
This year, we celebrated record-breaking participation in two standout online webinars: “How to Develop Competitive Proposals for Securing Independent Research Funding” and the “Clinical Impact Forum: CAR-T Cells for Autoimmune Disease.” Building on last year’s success, the ESP Mentoring Group has been hard at work over the summer months (because we’re a passionate and dedicated bunch!) to deliver an even more exciting and impactful program for the year ahead!
As a new mentoring season begins, we are excited to share this Telegraft article filled with tips to help our ESP colleagues maximize their mentoring experience. We also highlight a standout mentorship partnership between two ISCT colleagues showing firsthand why joining the program this year is an opportunity you won’t want to miss!
Expectations from the Mentoring Process
Expectations from the mentoring process can often feel tricky. That’s why it’s important to work with your mentor to set clear boundaries and define together what a successful mentoring partnership looks like. By choosing to enter this mentorship program, you are already taking the first empowering step toward owning your career. You’ve shown initiative and confidence which are the very first signs of taking charge of your journey.
I once had a professor tell me something in the context of career growth that struck me as unusually blunt at the time: “Nobody owes you anything…” At first, those words felt too direct, but I came to realize the professor was absolutely right. Nobody does owe you anything! That’s exactly why taking ownership of your career is essential.
Taking ownership begins with decision-making: deciding what you want to do, and how you want to do it. These decisions require both assertiveness and self-confidence. Assertiveness is about having the courage to choose; self-confidence is about believing that you are capable of making the right choice. Together, they form the foundation of career growth.
Of course, this is often the hardest part for someone at the early stages of their journey. That’s where a mentor can play an invaluable role. A mentor doesn’t decide for you, but they can help you gather the best information, provide perspective, and guide you toward greater clarity.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, and that’s what makes it powerful. At the end of the day, nobody else can decide what’s best for you. That responsibility and that opportunity belongs to you alone.
Getting the Most Out of Mentorship
Every mentee-mentor relationship is unique. Some mentors prefer structured meetings with topics shared in advance, while others favor a natural, conversational flow. Regardless of style, the key to making these sessions truly valuable is simple: be proactive. Preparation is more than just showing up, it’s about taking ownership of your growth.
Think ahead about your availability, reflect on your career goals, and come ready with questions that will move you closer to where you want to go. Even setting aside 30 minutes before a meeting or over the weekend to organize your thoughts can make a significant difference.
Self-reflection is essential. Know where you are in your career, clarify where you want to be, and use your mentor’s insights to bridge that gap. The questions you prepare should help you gain clarity and provide actionable steps that move you forward. As you learn your mentor’s style, tailor your questions to make the most of each session.
Your mentor is a valuable resource with a wealth of knowledge and experience but it’s your responsibility to tap into it. Preparation, reflection, and proactive engagement are the tools that will turn mentorship into meaningful progress. Own your growth and make every session count.
To wrap up, let’s look at a real-life mentorship partnership that shows how proactive engagement, preparation, and thoughtful reflection can lead to meaningful career growth. Observing these principles in action helps put everything we’ve discussed into perspective and underscores the importance of taking full ownership of your mentorship journey.
We hope you enjoy the read. The Mentoring Program team are excited to welcome you all to the 2025/2026 kickoff call!
Mentorship in Action: Q&As from Dr. Sven Kili and Dr. Thane Kubik
Dr. Sven Kili brings a unique blend of clinical, commercial and entrepreneurial expertise to the cell and gene therapy industry with 10 years’ experience as a Trauma and Orthopedic surgeon, followed by 21 years in CGT where he currently serves as Chief Development Officer at CCRM and Partner at Saisei Ventures. He also serves in numerous industry and academic leadership roles. Dr. Kili has been mentoring students at University College London in the MSc for Manufacture and Commercialization of stem cell and gene therapies for the past 5 years.
Dr. Thane Kubik recently completed fellowships in Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapy which serve him well in his current roles as the Cellular Therapy Laboratory Lead, North Sector and Transfusion Medicine physician at Alberta Precision Laboratories. He is an active member of the ISCT Early Stage Professionals and recently participated in the Mentoring Program.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: How do you tailor your mentorship approach to meet the unique needs of each mentee?
Sven: I aim to understand where they are on their journey, what their interests are and what they are seeking to achieve from the mentorship program. Everyone is different, with different needs, experiences and viewpoints. My job is to assist them to clarify some of the questions and issues they may have and either provide the answers if able or point them in the direction of someone else.
Q: What made your mentorship with Thane particularly effective?
Sven: We had a strong personality fit and shared a common medical background so I had a good idea of how he would have been trained to assess certain situations. We would agree on a topic or area of interest, and we’d explore it broadly before narrowing the scope. This format allowed Thane to guide the discussion based on what was most relevant to his goals.
Q: What did you learn from Thane?
Sven: I learned about the challenges faced by and opportunities available at academic manufacturing centers and early-stage clinical sites.
Q: What advice would you give to others building a mentor–mentee relationship?
Sven: Be honest with yourself and with each other. As a mentee, prepare for each session and know what you want to get out of it. As a mentor, remember the relationship isn’t about you—it’s about the immense privilege of being able to share something (hopefully) useful with the mentee.
Q: What is one piece of career advice you often share?
Sven: Take the time to figure out what you truly want from the CGT field. Don’t let the field define your path for you, define it for yourself.
Q: What qualities do you value most in a mentor?
Thane: I really value the honesty and clarity Sven brought to our conversation. He shared his perspectives on the CGT field including industry. I also appreciated his commitment to focusing on my growth trajectory without trying to steer me into where he thought I should go, even when my interests didn’t line up with his own experience.
Q: What were your expectations at the beginning of the mentorship and how have they evolved?
Thane: I was looking for a mentor who could help me build an elementary understanding of the CGT industry landscape, someone who could help me start speaking that language. What I ended up gaining far exceeded my expectations. For example, my mentor gave me a great crash course on the different departments within a large biotech company, not only in terms of the nature of their work but also the kinds of people who tend to gravitate toward each area.
Q: What did a typical mentor-mentee meeting look like?
Thane: The discussions were free-form, often beginning with questions like, “What would you like to discuss today?” or “What challenges have you been facing?” It was helpful to think about what I wanted to discuss beforehand so I could make the most of our limited time together. From those starting points, it was easy to stay engaged, ask follow-up questions, and explore tangents as they came up. He often connected me with relevant resources or articles related to our discussion which were both thoughtful and impactful.
Q: What made this mentorship successful?
Thane: My mentor had experience and knowledge in an area I was eager to learn more about. He kept my needs at the forefront of our discussions and was prescriptive in his advice when I pinned him down on a particular subject. It certainly helped that he had a level of emotional intelligence, humor, and energy that closely matched my own.
Q: What advice would you give to others pursuing mentorship in CGT?
Thane: Being open and curious are essential to both sides of a mentoring partnership. A great mentor won’t always have the answer to every question or know exactly how to tackle each unique challenge, but it is their willingness to listen closely and to connect you with people or resources that is invaluable.
Q: What’s one key takeaway you’ve gained from Sven?
Thane: The CGT field is full of distinct "phenotypes" of people, both in professional focus and temperament (e.g. regulatory, medical affairs, or start-ups). It’s important to recognize where your own preferences lie, but also to appreciate that you can thrive as part of a team that complements your weaker areas or fills in experiences you haven’t had yet. Understanding where I fit within that spectrum has been incredibly helpful in thinking about my future career path. Regardless, the support I received through my discussions with Sven reassured me that I have the knowledge and background to tackle new challenges.
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