choosing a lab

Dear Diary

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

I found a program and a new city to call home.
But I was only halfway done… because it was time to find a lab.

In my department, we set up three different lab rotations over the course of our first year. Each of these rotations lasted 9-12 weeks, giving us enough time to work on a small project and get a feel for how spending several years in these labs may look. At the end of each rotation, we are asked to present our work to the department. It is understood that a few weeks is not enough time to get sufficient data, but we are expected to be able to effectively discuss the project in reasonable detail and make speculations.

From this experience, you can learn a lot about a lab:

• What kinds of projects are available and what you might be working on if you joined the lab…

  • This is likely different from the small project you are given during a rotation.

• What kind of mentoring style you will receive from the PI…

  • Are they very hands-on?

  • How independent would you be?

  • Are they interested in meeting daily, weekly, or monthly?

  • How available are they when you need guidance?

  • When you have to give a presentation or write a grant/paper, are they going to hold your hand, throw you to the wolves, or be willing to advise only when you need it?

  • Are they regularly going to quiz you on things they already know or expect that you are doing good research on your own time? What style do you prefer?

• What kind of work environment you would be working in…

  • Healthy? Stressful? Independent? Are people perceptive to stresses in life outside of work and how that may affect your day-to-day?

• How well everyone in the lab gets along…

  • Remember you would be spending a lot of time with these people. Are they happy?

• How much money the lab has…

  • It can make your life significantly easier if they already have funding for you for 5-7 years.

  • A common scenario is that you will regularly be applying for grants to fund yourself. But this is good practice because grant writing is a necessity in the academic career path.

• How long are people spending in the lab?

  • Are people graduating in 6 years or less or do most people stick around for 7+ years? What timeline works best for you?

• What is the outcome of those graduating/leaving the lab?

  • Are there many people that drop out or does pretty much everyone successfully receive their degree?

  • Are people going on to good academic/industry roles?

  • Are the graduates happy?

• Is this a new lab or an established lab?

  • See the section below.

~

New labs vs. Established Labs vs. Tenured labs

Another factor you definitely want to consider is: How far along in their career is the PI?

• Is this a new lab?

• Is this a lab that is established but the PI doesn’t have tenure, yet?

• Is the PI tenured and built a well-established lab?

All options have their benefits and concerns that should weigh into your decision.
*I will note that some of these points are stereotypes of the field that are not always true, but should still be considered*

New Lab

• Pros:

  • Start-up money – most new labs will get start-up money to help them build their lab in the first year.

  • Motivated PI – in order to get tenure, PIs need to show progress in their lab as well as involvement within the department, and therefore, are very motivated to #GetShitDone

  • Lots of one-on-one time with your PI (if that IS something you are interested in)

  • The PI will likely have several project ideas and since you will be a founding member, you will get flexibility in a project path.

  • Since the lab is just starting up, the PI will be more open to your input on what equipment to buy or the best way to approach your project. It will be a real team effort.

  • You’ll be one of the founding lab members and have a higher chance to impact what the lab environment will be like.

• Cons:

  • Lots of troubleshooting. Remember, this is a new PI starting up their lab. You’ll likely be very involved in setting up and building all the new equipment and figuring out the pipeline to collect data.

  • Lots of one-on-one time with your PI (if that is NOT something you are interested in)

  • Only a few other lab members – this can be lonely and can mean a lot of work for you

  • Your PI is likely learning how to teach and mentor too. This will be a learning process for both of you. Mistakes will be made.

Established Lab

• Pros:

  • Motivated PI – still on the track to tenure

  • They will likely have several connections within the field for networking.

  • Usually, by this point, the PI is well set on grant money and regularly applying for more.

  • They have published papers as the senior author in their lab. That means they’re likely getting asked to review more papers etc. This means you may be asked to help review papers and get that experience.

  • Lab protocols are likely established for smoother transitions into projects.

  • PI has graduated some students already. This means they probably have a better sense of what works and what doesn’t. And you’ll have access to documents (fellowships, grants, etc.) to use as a good reference.

  • You’ll be able to get advice from senior graduate students in the lab.

• Cons:

  • stereotype - since the PI is still working hard towards tenure, they might work you like a pack mule to push out data.

  • Potentially less flexibility in project choices.

Tenured Lab

• Pros:

  • Veteran PI who is used to working PhD students through a project, getting published, and getting their degree

  • Lots of connections within the field for networking

  • Usually well set on grant money and regularly applying for more funds

• Cons:

  • stereotype - Less motivated PI (this is not always the case but is normal) - now that they have job security, there is less of a need to impress their department.

  • May be too busy or have too many lab members.

  • You may have to be more independent to make sure you’re on track. Often, such labs pair graduate students with post-docs. This may be something you like or not!

~

My Lab Choosing Experience:
I had an interest in some labs but didn’t join this program for any one lab in particular. So, I did some taste testing with rotations.

For my first rotation, I picked a lab doing similar techniques to those I did in my Master’s. I was excited to learn more and improve on what I already knew. The PI and I had a decent relationship throughout the rotation. I enjoyed the company of the lab but I did not feel that I had learned much in my 12 weeks. Probably because I had done most of this in my last degree. I did not feel challenged and therefore lost interest quickly. I was worried about what 5-7 years would look like in this lab. The people were kind and friendly, but most of the members were close to finishing, meaning I would be only one of two members in the lab. For me, that was not enough.

In my second rotation, I chose a wild card lab. Basically, this was a lab in an unfamiliar field but one I had always found interesting, Neuroscience. These types of rotations were encouraged in our department. They teach you about techniques in fields you know nothing about. Even if you don’t plan to join the lab, it expands your understanding of the larger scientific research community.

During my Neuroscience rotation, I was reinspired and felt the same sense of awe as when first fell in love with science. I knew I was home. I went from working with protein interactions in yeast to studying neurodegenerative diseases in mice.

On top of the challenging science, I enjoyed working with every single person in the lab. This lab was packed with grad students, postdocs, technicians, and a few undergrads. Not everyone wants to work in a big lab, but I was very comfortable here. The mentoring style of the PI works well for me… most of the time. If it was perfect all the time, then it wouldn’t be grad school. Even more so, the people I work with are BRILLIANT. I wanted to surround myself with people that I knew would challenge me to be a better scientist. A respectable scientist.

Feeling comfortable in the lab, I canceled my third rotation. It is not customary, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be happier anywhere else. Even after 5 years, I am still glad I chose this program and this lab. I may joke about quitting but I am happy to be where I am today. Not a single regret.

I don’t want it to sound like you need to constantly be challenging yourself to enjoy graduate school. I personally get bored easily and know that if I studied the same field again, I wouldn’t make it. To some, that comfort may make you stronger and you may complete the degree with confidence. We are all different. I went from biology to organic chemistry, to biochemistry, and finally to neuroscience. Everyone has their own path. And, if your path is biology, to biology, to biology, to more biology… then do it and do it well! Do whatever makes you happiest. It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else.

~

In my opinion, the most important decision in choosing a lab is not the exact project you are working on, BUT how well you get along with the people in the lab and enjoy the mentorship of the PI. Your project will change. Don’t get attached.

Grad school is stressful. There is no ignoring that. It’s how you choose to deal with the stress that determines your overall experience.

I find it easier to deal with stress if you can talk about it with your peers. They are going through it too. Leaning on them for support is crucial. I will never understand why some programs create a hostile environment among the students.

Your friends will understand graduate school can be stressful. The people in your departmental cohort will have a better grasp of the experience you are going through. But no one is going to understand your experience better than those in your lab, standing next to you.

Enjoying the company of these individuals is vital to your overall grad school experience. At the end of the day, would you want to go to happy hour with them?

03.03.22
MDC