Values and Philosophy

Lab Values

The following is a collection of shared values that we hold as members of the group. We live by these values as standards that we believe support our efforts to be a team of the best researchers and colleagues we can be.  

We strive to foster an inclusive environment. Everyone in our lab, department, and university belongs here. We all have different backgrounds and perspectives to offer, both scientifically and in life. The more we learn from each other, the better we become ourselves. We do not tolerate and actively discourage discrimination or harassment of any kind.

We support each other. We cheer each other on, celebrate successes together, offer support in hard times. We offer and ask for help, in the lab and otherwise, recognizing that science is a team sport and we do better work when we share our expertise. We also give credit where credit is due, actively acknowledging our collaborators and those who help us make our science the best it can be.

We work on problems that excite and challenge us. The best research we do is research we are personally passionate and excited about. This doesn’t mean it will be easy – in fact, if it is easy, we probably aren’t solving interesting enough problems. We follow the data and question our results. We think carefully about our experiments, asking how our current studies will lead to new questions and the next experiments. We also have fun while doing so – we chose this career path because we think science is fun!

We value honesty. Everyone makes mistakes – we admit when we do and work to correct and learn from them. We give honest feedback, while keeping the other values listed here in mind.

We embrace the unknown. We recognize that science is about finding limits and pushing past them – whether these limits are your own personal understanding or a research topic never before pursued. Conducting research as a career means we learn to identify these limits and work hard to move past them. We are here not only to become technical experts in our field, but to become confident in our skills as researchers that enable us to tackle new problems and solve them in a way we are proud of.

We conduct our research with pride and integrity. No form of scientific misconduct is tolerated in our lab. We pride ourselves on the results that we produce, ensuring that all data that leaves the lab has been produced ethically and validated for reproducibility and accuracy. We let the data tell the story, and collect enough of it to prove to ourselves that our findings are true. We also recognize that negative results are as important as positive results, and use this information to inform our next experiments.

We know that we are more than our research. Our mental and physical health are prioritized over any form of research output. We actively engage in the things we are passionate about outside of the lab, take care of ourselves physically, and spend time with the people we care about.

Prof. Hebner's Training Philosophy

A PhD (and similarly, a postdoc) is training for the rest of your career (see figure below). Use this valuable time accordingly – the time you spend as a trainee in graduate school is just a small fraction of the time you will spend learning throughout your career, but is the only time you will be surrounded by mentors who have defined their career goals around helping you achieve yours. As such, this valuable time is meant for you to absorb information. You will gain technical expertise in a very specific topic and, arguably more importantly, you will become an independent researcher with the skills and confidence to ask meaningful scientific questions, design the right experiments, assemble appropriate collaborative teams, build a network in the scientific community, and become proficient in scientific communication. Once you defend your Ph.D., this is a sign that you have proven that you have the skills of an independent researcher, and beyond that it is up to you to use these tools to have an impact on the world. Think often about what you want this impact to be and use this time accordingly.

My role: It is my number one priority to help each and every trainee achieve their career goals and leave the lab as a more confident and skillful scientists than when they arrived. It is my job to provide you with opportunities to practice the skills you will need to succeed once you leave the lab. Know that this will look different for everyone, and the things I ask of you are with your best interest and development in mind. I will never ask you to do something that I do not believe you can succeed at.  

Your role: Work hard, have fun, ask questions, be persistent, be kind, help others and ask for help, ask why, be eager to learn, challenge yourself and others (including me!).