Expectations and Responsibilities

We want our community to be a fun, judgement-free community where we can all help each other grow to be the best scientists we can be. To facilitate this, I’ve laid out some expectations and responsibilities that apply to everyone, followed by more specific expectations for specific roles in the lab. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the expectations of all the different lab roles to better understand how our community works.

 

Everyone

The following applies to all members of the lab. 

• Be supportive of your lab mates – it never hurts to bank some good karma.

• Share widely and often – sharing your findings often clarifies your next step.

• Ask critical questions AND offer creative solutions – peer critique is the cornerstone of improving science. When someone is sharing their work with you, you’re expected to engage and ask questions. If you identify a problem with their science – let them know your concern nicely and offer potential solutions. This applies not only to interactions on campus but also when you are representing the lab at conferences or out in the community. You’ll see many people at conferences etc. that only point out problems with someone else’s science – this is lazy and not conducive to pushing the science forward. The most disliked scientists offer only problems, the most respected scientists offer solutions.

• Ask for help – if you want to learn a technique, or how to operate particular equipment, or aren’t sure why someone did something in a paper you’re reading, or can’t figure out a transition between paragraphs in a paper you’re writing, just ask a lab mate. Teamwork makes the dream work!

• If someone asks you to train them on a technique or equipment immediately set a time/day that works for you both (do not agree to train without setting a time- it doesn't have to be immediately).

• Keep the lab clean, neat and orderly (this applies to molecular and fish labs): 

  • Equipment should be put away as soon as you finish using it. 

  • Clean up spills immediately with the appropriate method (you will be trained in acid/base clean up).

  • DO NOT leave dirty glassware in the sink.

  • Clean benches with EtOH when you are finished for the day.

• Keep the meeting room clean:

  • Wipe down microwave, fridge, coffee maker, counters, etc. when you are done.

• Respond to messages – Open and clear communication is extremely important to a functioning lab, which means we are often sending virtual messages to one another through email, Slack, or some other platform. Please be sure to monitor for, and respond to, lab communications in a timely manner. This does not have to be immediately but try for the next business day.

• Take personal time and vacation when you need it! Science has periods of intense commitments on our time and mental health (application deadlines, intense experiments, conferences, etc.). Make sure you schedule breaks to prevent burning out when things slow down. 

• If you’re going out of town – make sure your fish care shifts are covered and confirm with the sub the day before you leave.  

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Principle Investigator (PI)

You can expect me to: 

• Maintain a vision of where the lab is going.

• Secure funding necessary to keep the lab going.

• Support your career development by introducing you to other researchers in the field, writing recommendation letters for you, promoting you and your work in talks.

• Meet with you regularly to plan and troubleshoot projects, and to work with you to develop a career strategy that meets your long term goals.

• Help you develop a team of mentors to help support you.

 

Graduate Students

Expected to: 

• Meet with PI weekly to design projects and discuss progress.

• Attend lab meetings and journal clubs and present at least once per semester.

• Attend and present at least one conference per year.

• Conduct experiments and write papers.

• Follow the NBB graduate student handbook for degree requirements.

• Train lab mates on protocols and equipment when requested.

• Take shifts for fish care (feeding, tank maintenance).

• Communicate difficulties and setbacks to PI in a timely manner (don’t hit your head against the wall for weeks – we can brainstorm solutions together).

• Contribute to lab blog at least once per semester.

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