Lab Expectations

Things to Expect from Kendra

• Big picture thinking: Advice, enthusiasm, curiosity, and engagement with your science. I will help you find hands-on training but most of our meetings will be planning science, not doing science.

• Investment in your advancement: This includes training in the 'Hidden Curriculum' of grad school and academic science, coaching on professional development, and written feedback on your development as an Individual Development Plan annually. I will also support your transition to future career stages through my professional network and by providing letters of recommendation.

• Collaboration: Each team member leads their own projects but we all collaborate. I will provide written feedback and comments on your work within 2 weeks or during scheduled lab writing sessions provided you give me advanced warning or schedule time on my calendar. I will support your trouble-shooting and problem-solving and help you with every step of developing a project through to disseminating the results. 

• Open Communication: I protect weekly time to interact as a lab and/or in 1-on-1 meetings and I try to respond to all slack and email messages within 48 hours. I will offer fair assessment of your progress in a judgement-free space to help you move toward your goals, and will discuss any personal or professional issues or conflicts.

• Resources: Funding for projects comes from grants and resources to execute projects will be provided for all projects aligned with grant aims. These resources include lab space and infrastructure, basic supplies (e.g. chemicals, consumables), funding for Graduate Research Assistantships when it is available, support from field/lab technicians when available, and some research funds for specific assays when possible.

  • GTA and GRA: Under most circumstances students can expect 1 semester of RA support during which they will serve as the lab technician in charge of team research, lab maintenance, and ordering. The expectation is that students will spend up to 20 hrs per week on GRA responsibilities, though it is often much less than that. The second semester they will TA. Summer funding will be provided as long as progress is good. 

  • Research funds: When funds are available each student can expect appoximately $2000 towards the cost of their first experiment once it's agreed upon with Kendra. These funds would be for a one time research expense such as an assay kit, specialized small equipment, or specialized reagents. Additional funds for research that is part of a funding grant will be available with approval and after progress (i.e., data) has been demonstrated. Funds for major equipment, technicians, and other resources can only be provided by new grants with those items specified.

  • Travel funds: When students have sufficient data to present at a conference and Kendra agrees that they are prepared to make a poster or talk presentation, up to $1000 a year can be available for conference travel when funds are available to the lab. Students are expected to apply for travel funds from other sources before requesting any additional support for travel.

• Human limitations: I try to lead from my strengths but I know I have limitations. I am not detail-oriented, I do not enjoy hands-on training, I am typo-blind, and I tend to focus on big questions without adequately appreciating answers that could be provided by our existing long-term data set. I should not be your only mentor or support system and I will help you find additional support and guidance, especially when I am aware of my limitations. 

Expectations of all Lab Members

• Curiosity, grit, and a growth mindset: you show this by asking questions, tolerating the discomfort of learning and hard work,  seeking out feedback and opportunities to learn, and reminding yourself and others that EVERYTHING is a skill you can learn and improve

• Collaboration and community building: this includes attending seminars (EEB, IOB, and others relevant to your interests), attending and engaging in lab meetings, providing and accepting constructive feedback, training others, hosting speakers, presenting at VT and professional conferences, mentoring undergraduates, and choosing an area of outreach or leadership/service to develop

• Problem-solving and empowerment: this includes seeking out additional mentoring and training, thinking about thinking (finding our assumptions, learning about biases, and looking for patterns in how you and others think), taking responsibility for your project and professional development, building systems to help yourself and the team work more effectively, choosing to see challenges as opportunities -  and choosing creativity and growth over victimhood and blame

• Ambition and purpose: this means finding deeper motivation for your work, developing a vision for your career and contribution, seeking passion and excitement in your science, and choosing to believe in your own potential - be brave, try the hard thing, and do impactful work

• Self-awareness: you show this by taking responsibility for caring for yourself, recognizing your influence and impact on others, and navigating your responsibilities to the team and your ambitions in way that uplifts

• Organization and progress: this means keeping track of your projects, schedule, data, classwork, teaching responsibilities, and graduate program progress/benchmarks. Graduate school involves a lot of moving parts and we all need to develop systems to plan flexibly for complex work and the many deadlines that are part of this job. Use the resources here on project managment and stragetic plannign and the graduate program handbook to make sure you are oraganized and able to demonstrate your progress in research, your plan of study, and teaching.

Work and Communication Expectations:

• Sharing science:  As described in the Data Management Policy all work from the lab is published or presented approval from the PI and key collaborators. I will need at least 2 weeks to review abstracts and much more time to provide feedback on talks and manuscripts. 

• Schedules:  As academia is not a 9–5 job, I don’t expect you to be a 9–5 student. Hence, you should often find yourself doing empirical research, analyzing data, or writing manuscripts on weeknights and/or weekends. Fieldwork, of course, requires early mornings and long days. Your overall objective is to execute your research in a careful and precise yet expeditious manner. I prefer that all lab members work from the lab or offices roughly 9-5 M-F to facilitate collaboration and a positive lab atmosphere. If you prefer to work from home or keep a different schedule please speak with the PI about your concerns. Also, please notify me by email about any changes in your normal schedule such as travel plans or illnesses.

• Time away from the lab: All lab members (including the PI!) will discuss plans for time away from the lab with all team members at least 4 weeks ahead of any changes in routine schedule and will use the Lab Google Calendar to share their schedule (with exceptions made for family emergencies, of course!). Plans for vacation or remote work must be approved by the PI and team. All team members are expected to take 4 weeks of vacation (time completely off of work to recharge) each year, though the scheduling of vacation does need to accommodate the needs of the lab team. In general, more than 2 consecutive weeks out of time completely off and out of communication with the team must be planned well in advance; periods of remote work with regular contact with the team are much more flexible. 

  • Plans for communication with the lab team during periods of remote work and upon return after a vacation must be made at least 1 week before vacation or remote work begins. Unless prior agreements have been made emails and slack messages, etc. should be responded to within 24-48 hours. 

  • Our team meets regularly during the academic year (generally once a week or every other week) and all graduate students and postdocs are expected to attend lab meetings. 

Other Advice about Expectations in Grad School:

• A great resource written by grad students for grad students on the Hidden Curriculum of Grad School

Advice from Agrawal:

Virginia Tech Graduate School Expectations Document:

Aligning Mentor and Mentee Expectations: