The Biomedical Excellence Achieved through Coaching Networks (BEACON) is moving into its second year, and the research team has been busy building momentum across Rutgers. While results from the study are still ahead, the project is well underway and continuing to expand as researchers explore how professional coaching might support biomedical PhD students.
By Anna Lasek, Communications Assistant at Rutgers CESP
The Biomedical Excellence Achieved through Coaching Networks (BEACON) is moving into its second year, and the research team has been busy building momentum across Rutgers. While results from the study are still ahead, the project is well underway and continuing to expand as researchers explore how professional coaching might support biomedical PhD students.
Funded through an NIH R01 grant, BEACON is dedicated to studying whether individualized professional coaching can make a meaningful difference in the doctoral experience. Biomedical PhD programs are rewarding, but they also come with intense academic pressure, demanding research expectations, and long timelines. The BEACON study was designed to better understand what support helps students navigate challenges and thrive in their programs.
A Different Kind of Support
Unlike traditional academic advising, coaching focuses on helping individuals reflect, set goals, and develop strategies for managing both personal and professional challenges. Students in the BEACON study who receive the intervention meet with a professional coach every other week during the academic year. These one-on-one sessions give students space to talk through their experience in the program, from research progress and career planning to motivation, time management, and work-life balance.
By providing consistent, individualized support outside of traditional faculty advising relationships, coaching may help students develop tools that strengthen both their academic performance and overall wellbeing.
Studying the Impact
To understand whether coaching truly makes a difference, the research team is collecting a range of data throughout the project. Participating students complete surveys over time and take part in interviews before and after the coaching period, allowing researchers to capture both measurable outcomes and students’ personal experiences.
The study also includes a comparison group of students who do not receive coaching during the same period. By examining differences between these groups, researchers can evaluate whether coaching leads to improvements in areas such as academic progress, mental health, and overall wellness. BEACON is designed to look at whether coaching influences longer-term milestones like degree completion, research productivity, time to degree, and career trajectories after graduation.
Year One: Laying the Groundwork
The first year of the study focused on launching the program and working with the initial cohort of biomedical PhD students at Rutgers–New Brunswick. In total, 60 students participated, with half receiving coaching throughout the academic year and the other half serving as a control group. This first phase allowed the research team to build the study infrastructure, begin collecting baseline data, and see how coaching fits within the realities of doctoral life.
Year Two: Following Up and Expanding
Now in Year Two, the project is moving in two exciting directions. The team is conducting follow-up research with the original Rutgers–New Brunswick cohort. Because coaching for these students has ended, researchers are now exploring whether the benefits continue after the intervention concludes. This follow-up phase will help determine whether the skills students developed during coaching continue to support them as they move forward in their doctoral programs. The project is also expanding to Rutgers–Newark. A new group of biomedical PhD students is currently participating in the coaching program as part of a replication study designed to test whether the intervention produces similar outcomes in a different campus context. Studying the program across multiple campuses helps ensure that any findings are not limited to a single setting and strengthens the broader relevance of the research.
A Collaborative Effort
The BEACON project brings together researchers from across Rutgers. The study is led by Principal Investigator Dr. James Millonig with multiple principal investigators including Dr. Loren Runnels and Dr. Cynthia Blitz. The Center for Effective School Practices (CESP) is contributing to key qualitative components of the study, helping capture student perspectives through interviews and other research activities. Together, the team is working not only to determine whether coaching works, but also to better understand how and why it may benefit doctoral students.
Looking Ahead
BEACON launched in 2023 and will continue through 2028, allowing the research team to follow students over several years and build a deeper understanding of how coaching may influence the doctoral experience.
As the project continues, the team looks forward to sharing insights from the data as they emerge. For now, the study is active, growing, and generating important research that aims to improve how universities support PhD students. Stay tuned for more updates as BEACON continues to move forward.