How To Manage the LNCC

Non-exhaustive "Pro Tips" from Wasita Mahaphanit (Frank Lab Manager from June 2018 to December 2020)

Permanent email for reaching out if need be: wasita.mahaphanit@gmail.com

Lab Meetings

Scheduling lab meeting announcement and reminder emails via gmail

~1 week prior to the lab meeting, I would send an email with presentation info. I would then copy this message and schedule to send at 2 other times: 1) The beginning of the week (e.g. send Monday if meeting on Thursday) and 2) The morning of lab meeting (8:00 am). This ensures maximum attendance and less working memory load on your part, so you can do it once and not have to think about reminding people about lab meeting! (Not everyone syncs the Frank Lab calendar, so may not be aware of when/where lab meetings take place.)
- In other words, no one can say they "didn't see it" and that is why they "couldn't attend."
- More people from other labs will show up if they're informed and reminded, permitting a diverse audience

Email Announcement Templates/Examples

General-use case:

Hi all,

We will be having a Frank Lab meeting *TODAY*, during which Anne Collins (assistant professor @ UC Berkeley & former Frank Lab Postdoc) will present.

Working memory transforms goals into rewards

Humans continuously need learn to make good choices in our environment – be it using a new video-conferencing set up, figuring out what questions to ask to successfully secure a reliable babysitter, or just selecting which location in a house is least likely to be interrupted by toddlers during work calls. However, the goals we seek to attain – such as using zoom successfully – are often vaguely defined and previously unexperienced, and in that sense cannot be known by us as being rewarding. We hypothesized that learning to make good choices in such situations nevertheless leverages reinforcement learning processes, and that executive functions in general, and working memory in particular, play a crucial role in defining the reward function for arbitrary outcomes in such a way that they become reinforcing. I will show results from a novel behavioral protocol, as well as preliminary computational and imaging evidence supporting our hypothesis.

Background paper: https://psyarxiv.com/9cvw3/ (Rmus, McDougle, & Collins, in press at COBEHA)

Date: Monday, 10/26

Time: 11 am - 1:00 pm EST

Link: [Click Here]

Meeting ID: 842 418 200

Password: dopamine

[Frank Lab Meeting Recordings]

Hope to see you there!

For when there isn't a lab meeting that week (e.g., Michael cannot make it or no one is signed up to present):

*NO* Frank Lab Meeting Today (11/9)

Hi all,

We will not be holding a lab meeting today. Tune in next week for a presentation from [insert Lab Member's name here] (Frank Lab postdoc [or whichever position they are e.g., grad student])!

Hope to see you there!

MISC

Add the CLPS calendars (CLPS 230, CLPS 330, and CLPS Planning) to your gmail account to be aware of room availabilities without having to ask CLPS admin and to be aware of all department events

Simply view the 230 and 330 conference room calendars to know their availability. Makes scheduling lab meetings easier.
CLPS Planning has info on departmental talks (Colloquium, Developmental Brown Bag, LingLangLunch, Perception & Action Seminar Series, Social & Cognition Seminar Series) that may be of interest to the lab. The talk info will be filled out already via CLPS admin. Copy relevant talks to the Frank Lab calendar.

Office supplies (Expo markers, tissues, pens, etc.)