As one of the first RI-INBRE supported teaching postdoctoral associates, my experiences as a mentee, peer, and mentor, support the mentoring objectives of the IDeA network of RI-INBRE. In my post doc experience, August 2014-August 2015, I worked with Dr. JD Swanson at Salve Regina University on the nutraceutical properties of blackberries on gastric cancer. During this postdoc experience I received exemplary mentoring, growing as a researcher through project design and experimentation, grant writing, manuscript preparation, and presentations. I was also able to develop as a mentor, working with undergraduate students in the laboratory and they worked through the scientific process. My experience as a postdoctoral associate under RI-INBRE allowed me to grow as a scientist, receive valuable mentoring and training, and to share my love of science. This experience was invaluable in preparing me to enter into an assistant professor position by exposing me to the requirements and demands associated with faulty, while maintaining the time required to continue a research agenda. This experience is incredibly valuable in developing competitive postdocs prepared to take on the role of an academic professor.