Science can provide empirically-informed strategies and resources to inform and improve policy and practice, though all too often science, policy, and practice operate independently from one another. Research mediators play a critical role by attempting to connect these different worlds. This practice paper presents lessons learned and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of research mediators in bridging the science-practice gap based on the experiences of a Visiting Fellow in a United States federal research agency. To support evidence-informed policy and practice, research mediators must engage in inward-looking processes--they must attend to their own internal science-practice gaps, commit to interdisciplinarity, and institutionalise such work.