Mentorship resources and citation-elite journal publication trajectories after training: Evidence from bioscience mentor-mentee networks
Abstract: Mentorship provides mentees with knowledge, collaborators, and reputation, but when do these resources support scholarship beyond training? Using 239,931 bioscience mentor-mentee pairs from the Academic Family Tree (1800-2020) linked to OpenAlex metadata, we examine this question through mentees' publication in citation-elite journals, identified by three source-level citation indicators. We distinguish training-period mentor and peer resources from post-graduation topic and coauthorship network continuity. Analyses combine trajectory comparisons, three propensity-score matching designs, PPML, two-part model and non-overlapping landmarks relating continuity in post-graduation years 1-3 to publication outcomes in years 4-10 and 6-20. Citation-elite journal publishing during mentorship is positively associated with later publishing, but correlates differ by career stage. Close mentor collaboration and larger peer group size characterize training-period publishing, whereas both are negatively associated with post-graduation publication probability and intensity. Early topic and network continuity are positively associated with later output in landmark analyses; across extended conventional windows, topic continuity becomes less favorable, consistent with later agenda broadening. Network continuity shows the most stable positive association with publication intensity. The findings suggest a stage-dependent resource-conversion process: training resources may facilitate entry into citation-elite journal publishing, whereas sustained output is associated with how intellectual and relational ties are retained or reconfigured.