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Our Lab Compact: A Guide for How to Treat Each Other and Conduct Ourselves Professionally
Why have a compact?
Þ Sets expectations for workplace behavior
Þ Creates a safe, inclusive and respectful work environment
Þ Transparency in expectations to avoid misunderstandings
Þ Defines our culture and standards for new members
Þ Provides a concrete foundation to address and prevent inappropriate behaviors
Þ Science is hard, let’s reduce potential for drama wherever we can
Questions we want to address/include in our lab compact:
1. What is our shared mission?
Contribute in a meaningful way to ensure food security for all, service to humanity; motivate others, create innovation to propel discovery in plant research, deeper understanding of the connections between theory and applications, bridging disciplines to create better outcomes
2. What are our values?
Foster collaboration, curiosity, nurture creativity/innovation, building strong mentoring relationships; be good people, improve accessibility/disseminate information
Support one another, be inclusive.
3. Goals: develop approach for problem-solving, developing effective science communication (story-telling) strategies across audiences
4. What is the protocol for when things go wrong?
Hear something, say something. Build a resource for appropriate language for dealing with conflict; dealing with microaggressions (phrases for how to stop problems before they start).
Make/share opportunities with peers
General lab culture:
Authorship: Authorship on publications is determined mainly according to the results brought to the table, rather than career position or CV needs. Many journals have outlined what kinds of contributions warrant authorship. First author is expected to organize and write the first draft of their manuscript in close coordination with the PI and in collaboration with co-authors. The PI contributes both intellectually and financially to the research questions and design and will usually be corresponding author unless there are special, previously discussed circumstances.
Conflict resolution: We believe that most conflicts arise from miscommunications between people who have good intentions but are not fully aware of the impact their actions have on others.
Therefore, we encourage conflict resolution using the following steps:
1) Approach the individual asking to talk 1:1. Ideally this conversation should happen in person rather than email. Try to remain calm and ask for clarification of why they are doing or not doing something that bothers you, listen first. Let the other person know the impact that their actions or inactions are having on you. Ideally, you can reach common ground at this point, it is best to wait after this initial conversation to see if things improve. Find an appropriate time to discuss the issue.
2) If resolving conflict 1:1 does not help, engage a mediator. In best practices, both people should agree who the mediator should be. A mediator must be someone that both you and another person see as an authority and ideally impartial to conflict at hand. A mediator should first talk to you and another person separately and help to communicate your points of view to each other. This is the stage at which most conflicts resolve.
3) If this does not help, a mediator can arrange a meeting where all three of you are present.
Leadership: Everyone in the lab can develop their own leadership skills. There are many ways to be a leader, whether in the context of achieving your own goals, or helping others to achieve theirs. All team members will work on a professional development plan to help them seek out opportunities to develop these skills over time.
How to be successful in our lab: Be self-motivated and organized. Seek and integrate constructive feedback. Plan ahead and don’t give up; don’t lose heart in the face of failure. Take care of yourself. Know how to use your potential best. Think broadly; be oriented to answer your research questions and write publications in a timely manner.
Expectations from all lab members:
· Be polite and professional.
· Always assume the BEST intentions. Communication is hard for people, and especially hard for non-native speakers.
· Never be embarrassed to ask for help or clarification.
Maintain an up-to-date electronic laboratory notebook or hard copy shared with the PI and others as necessary.
Update and upload lab protocols when changed/developed.
Maintain an inventory of all plasmid vectors, clones, primers, genomic DNA and synthetic fragments, recording accurate and detailed information using the lab standard layout. Keep your inventory record in lab Box folder (group stocks).
Maintain and treat all lab equipment with care.
Maintain an organized lab space, review and clean it regularly (bench, fridge, freezer, growth chamber, computer space).
Include Laurie on all communications regarding your own or group research. I prefer to be cc’d on emails and need to be aware of conversations outside of email. This also includes discussing conference participation in advance, and sharing your slides and poster, as well as discussing before sharing lab stocks.
Present your research at minimum as posters when attending conferences.
After having input from the PI, send your abstracts, posters and manuscripts to all co-authors for comments in advance. Always schedule a practice talk.
Attend, participate in discussions and present your own work in lab meetings. Let your PI know if you will be missing lab meeting for any reason.
Schedule and attend weekly or bi-weekly mini-meetings with your mentor.
Be on time and respect the time of others.
Plan your work hours to overlap with other group members and generally be onsite and/or in hybrid mode on Slack for at least 8 hours within the 8am-6pm window. We support flexibility and you can discuss any special circumstances with the PI.
Be familiar with and follow the conduct, health and safety, and any other rules of the university. If unsure, have a discussion with the PI.
Check on the expenses you are planning to claim for reimbursement with PI or other senior lab members beforehand.
Discuss any anticipated absences with the PI and your immediate lab colleagues. Plan ahead to lock down or hand off your experiments while you are gone.
During the popular holidays seasons, coordinate and stack your absences with other lab members to ensure we do not have empty lab for prolonged periods of time (>1 week). This will ensure we have all of our experiments running.
Prioritize your own research and results while being able to balance collaborations within and outside of the group.
Represent the group with pride and integrity and show respect for others.
As the lab leader, Laurie is expected to:
Secure funding for salaries, supplies, and general lab research.
Let lab members know how their work is funded and what are the expectations from our funding sources.
Provide a level of intellectual freedom and support development of lab members’ own research projects, aligned with funding and directions of Leonelli lab research.
Be aware of all research and related communication that is ongoing in the group.
Ensure group’s compliance with university rules (use of biological agents, health and safety, conduct and others) and rules of funding body agencies.
Ensure integrity, quality, reproducibility and rigor of our research.
Monitor labs progress and provide regular feedback on experimental design and results.
Provide mentorship, guidance, and constructive feedback on technical training, formulating research questions and hypotheses, identifying appropriate experimental design, project management and publication strategy, time management, manuscript preparation, identifying leadership goals, job searches, poster and oral presentations, letters of recommendation, and graduate curriculum choices.
Support lab members’ career development goals, teaching and outreach; meet bi-annually to discuss professional development plan.
Develop and encourage scientific curiosity, learning, teamwork, and positive, goal- oriented attitudes.
Ensure a safe and supportive work environment free from any forms of harassment.
Be available to discuss scientific and personnel issues.
Promote diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion.
Develop and encourage collaborations with other groups; look for opportunities for team members.
Facilitate effective communication within the group and with outside collaborators.
Be aware of, provide comments on and approve all abstracts, manuscripts, or any other representation of the research in a timely manner. (To that end, be sure to provide your writing with enough notice for this to happen, e.g. 2 weeks is ideal.)
Report (and credit) on the achievements of the group to grant agencies, board members, general public and research communities.
Give credit to those who do the work and actively promote lab members.
Have fun and enjoy research.
As a research staff in the group you are expected to:
Take a deep interest in the technical aspects of the job, developing troubleshooting skills for protocols and equipment.
Develop and adopt novel wet-lab and/or bioinformatics techniques.
Maintain a high level of organisation, including maintenance of lab stocks, data and database stewardship.
Develop a research plan for each project, set milestones and deliver research outputs within the timeline of your appointment, such as code, protocols, figures for collaborative projects and your own publications.
Maintain a legible, organized, and fully-updated electronic lab notebook shared with the PI, mentors and collaborators within the lab.
Train new group members with routine protocols established in the group.
Be independent and efficient in time management. It is ok to feel overwhelmed, ask for advice on time management from your mentors.
Discuss commitments outside of the lab with PI if they fall within work hours or may affect your ability to work full time.
Provide detailed summary reports to the PI and collaborators on the conducted experiments.
Assist starting, maintaining or finishing up lab projects, providing necessary preliminary materials for the grants or figures for publications.
Present at lab meetings.
Provide support on other projects after discussion with the PI, and to keep the lab running smoothly.
Have fun and enjoy research.
As a postdoc you are expected to:
Within the first few months of arriving at the lab, independently establish a research project within the remit of the lab's research direction and funding sources, gain preliminary data to demonstrate its likely success and lay out the strategy for the first manuscript. After settling in and before the first anniversary, establish a good pace of project development (~1 publication quality figure per month - positive or negative results) and be prepared to have a full publication outline with figures and tables at the time of re-appointment.
Participate in collaborative research providing additional publication quality outputs for manuscripts led by other people based on their agreed deadlines.
Be familiar with and meet the deadlines and benchmarks of your funding sources (fellowships, lab grants you are on etc).
Be technically proficient in your area of expertise and to be prepared to develop and adapt novel wet-lab and/or bioinformatics techniques.
Maintain a legible, organized, and fully-updated electronic lab notebook shared with the PI, mentors and collaborators within the lab.
Collaborate in the grant writing, and peer-review.
Write independent postdoctoral grants.
Write the first draft of manuscripts.
Provide drafts for comments ahead of deadlines.
Be independent and efficient in time management.
Discuss commitments outside of the lab with PI if they fall within work hours or may affect your ability to work full time.
Discuss any plans to wrap up previous research, and ensure that this does not take priority over current work.
Present results regularly at lab meetings.
Present at appropriate research conferences that are discussed and approved by PI.
Be a mentor and a role model to students. Being a mentor for a graduate student does not guarantee shared authorship on publications unless it also includes a research collaboration.
Have fun and enjoy research.
As a graduate student in the group, you are expected to:
Generally maintain a positive, solution-oriented attitude.
Don’t give up and remember to ask for help, be open-minded about new paths or approaches.
Cultivate your scientific curiosity.
Develop hypotheses tables and a research plan/map for each project, set milestones and deliver research outputs within the timeline of your PhD, such as code, protocols, figures for collaborative projects and your own publications.
Be responsible for your own schedule, while being present in the lab for full working days, maximizing the overlap with PI and others.
Be effective with your time management. It is ok to feel overwhelmed, ask for advice on time management from senior group members and the PI.
Discuss commitments outside of the lab with PI if they fall within work hours or may affect your ability to work full time.
Be flexible, available, and willing to work beyond your personal schedule in emergencies or crunch times.
Maintain a legible, organized, and fully-updated electronic lab notebook shared with the PI, mentors and collaborators within the lab.
Read literature broadly and develop scientific writing skills (possible committed workshops of various skills).
Go over manuscript outline prior to writing with Laurie.
Write the first draft of manuscripts. Ask Laurie/your mentor to guide you through this process.
Publish their thesis chapters as 2-3 main research publications with first or co-first authorship.
Present at lab meetings.
Present at appropriate research conferences that are discussed and approved by PI.
Provide the presentation/reports materials for comments to your committee members ahead of time (minimum 2 weeks).
Be familiar with and meet the deadlines and benchmarks of your Graduate Studies Program.
Be a role model for your undergraduate student mentees.
Have fun and try to enjoy research.
As an undergraduate student in the group, you are expected to:
Generally maintain a positive, solution-oriented attitude.
Cultivate your scientific curiosity and develop your critical reasoning.
Report anything wrong in the lab or accidents to your mentor or other members of the lab group immediately.
Maintain a legible, organized, and fully-updated electronic lab notebook shared with the PI and your lab mentor.
Discuss commitments outside of the lab with your mentor if they fall within your work hours or may affect your ability to commit to the agreed research hours.
Present your research at a lab meeting or another formal presentation opportunity, typically at the end of the semester (in lieu of a final if you are taking research credits).
Read and try to understand literature related to your project, a.k.a. have a general understanding of what you’re doing.
Provide the presentation/reports materials for comments to your supervisors in the group ahead of time (~1 week strong preference).
Perform your research with a publication quality standard, co-authoring papers with other lab members.
Have scientific integrity.
Clarify goals and professional development plans with mentor.
Have fun and enjoy research.
From the mentees:
-A positive attitude
-Be empathetic and patience
-Communication
-Honesty, like if you don’t understand something
-Active participation
-Be reliable
From the mentors:
-Understanding/ remembering a time when lab skills and concepts were new to you (empathy and patience)
-Letting your mentee learn and practice
-Clear expectations
-Share knowledge/guide and be forthcoming with experience
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