Cook lab life

We meet weekly as a group to discuss one member’s project, a recent paper in the field, or essays/papers about the practice of science ("people science"). When someone attends a major conference, they share the science news with the rest of the group at a lab meeting. Once each month during the academic year we meet with other cell cycle labs at UNC, and we participate in the montly UNC-Duke genome stability research meetings .

Every research member of the lab meets individually with Dr. Cook (Jean) to chat about the project, priorities, troubleshooting, professional development, etc. These meetings are scheduled with plenty of flexibility and are designed to ensure every project has undivided one-on-one attention regularly.  

Each full-time lab member typically has two major projects of their own (either simultaneously or sequentially), and everyone participates in intra-lab and inter-lab collaborations. Lab members are generous with their time and expertise.

Everyone in lab should expect to attend at least one major conference once they have enough data for a solid poster or short talk. Most lab members attend several conferences.

Lab members write the first draft of every paper or fellowship proposal, and iterative revisions progress from comments to wordsmithing; senior students and postdocs are invited to take the lead on review articles and book chapters.

Public research presentations are preceded by at least one supportive practice talk so lab members are well-prepared and confident.

We celebrate milestones: the acceptance of a paper for publication, passing qualifying exams, funded grants, last day in lab, nice weather, etc.

Senior lab members mentor novices (rotation students, undergrads, etc.), and the lab has a strong commitment to science training, outreach, and effective mentoring.

Lab members are encouraged to regularly update their career goals, to take full advantage of career development resources at UNC (e.g. TIBBS), and Cook lab alumni proudly hold a variety of science-related positions. Letters of reference and career support are provided for alumni in perpetuity.