Welcome to the lab, we're glad to have you here!
As always if you have any questions let someone know, but this will be a a great walk through of the process. Think of it like a checklist.
1. Complete the required trainings
The full set of trainings required are listed here: Required Trainings
2. Protocol
The protocol is our lab's bible. It is our written contract with the lab, the University, and the federal tax payers. It is a legal document and your name has to be on it before you can participate in most lab activities.
You also need read the protocol as YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING WHAT IT SAYS! We aren't supposed to do anything that is not included in it (remember the whole legal document thing), so keep up to date on this, especially your project.
Alternatively, on Slack, type "protocol?" Slackbot will reply with the link! (NOTE: Take the time to verify you are reading the most up to date version of the protocol it changes often.)
For more information on the protocol https://research.iu.edu/compliance/animal-care/new-study/index.html visit the tabs on the left of the page.
3. Keys/Card access
Ask Dr. Newman or one of the graduate students to go with you to jesse in the psychology building building or to email him saying you are joining the lab and it is okay to get access to the fourth floor, to sign the fourth floor agreement this will get passed to the department IT and they will give you access to fourth floor through your crimson card.
The main lab should be unlocked. If it becomes locked, Dylan & Ehren have keys and can re-unlock the door.
4. LAR
Once you are on the protocol, work with your mentor to set up a tour of LAR. This is done by emailing LAR@iu.edu and introducing yourself and asking politely if you can schedule a tour of the facility to get card access. DO NOT ENTER THE LAR space until after you have been given the tour and card access by LAR.
5. Slack
We use slack.com, a communication platform for communication in the lab. We have different channels for different projects or topics (e.g. sharing important papers) which you can join
as well as individual one-on-one messaging.
To join slack ask Professor Newman to send you an invite.
Be sure to frequently check slack as there are often important announcements or updates posted there. As well as Ehren and the graduate students use the one on one messaging to contact undergrads.
Importantly Slack does not archive messages, so use it freely for communication but do not rely on it to save those messages to refer back to at a later date. So if for example you have an important conversation about changes to an experiment you decide on you should copy those messages down and save them to dropbox.
6. Google Drive
We use Google drive as our collective lab notebook. This is where you can find logs of just about everything from trainings completed to data collection to rat weight logs. Undoubtedly whatever project you are on, it has a substantial footprint on our google drive. Please ask a lab member with assistance finding and accessing it!
7. Website Blurb
Lastly, you are not officially a part of the lab until you have a profile on our website! Send a gorgeous head shot to us via slack along with a short bio about yourself and what you're interested in. If you need inspiration, take a look at some of the other members profiles on the page! Also send your email address as well!
If you're finished with all of these and have downtime, head over to papers you should read wiki to start brushing up on the science behind our lab!
Project/Task Specific Trainings
Once you've done all the others, ask if you need project specific training below:
Aseptic Training
If you think you'll be involved with surgeries, complete the fourth point on this page:
https://research.iu.edu/training/required/animal-care.html
Then complete the LS-2 form (attached at the bottom of this page)
Additional Laser safety information can be found on specific wiki page:
https://protect.iu.edu/environmental-health/laboratory-safety/laser-safety.html
https://sites.google.com/a/iu.edu/memlab-iu-group/wiki/general/important-information/laser-safety