This section will be updated frequently with input from Niederer lab members!
Mentoring philosophy
My goal is to train creative, independent and kind scientists. And while the exact nature of my mentoring will vary a bit from person to person these are the core competencies that I hope to instill in each of you.
On my very first day in a lab as an undergraduate my mentor told me that as soon as I picked up a pipette we would become colleagues. I still remember what a revolutionary concept that was to me at the time and I try to constantly remind myself that even though we may be at different stages, with different levels of experience we are all colleagues and we are all on the same team. As such, my objective with any mentee is for them to feel understood, respected and supported. In my experience this is critical for achieving a vibrant and collaborative lab environment where everyone can thrive.
My most important and immediate role is to understand your goals, both short and long term because that is the first step in helping you achieve them. The earlier I am aware of your long-term goals, the more helpful I can be in helping you reach them. We will work together to ensure your project and work are building expertise that will be useful to you in the future, be that in experimental techniques, scientific communication, personnel management, or otherwise. I expect this to be an ongoing conversation that we will revisit regularly, I do not expect you to have it all figured out on day one (or even by your defense in many cases!) but I have found that having regular conversations to reflect on goals and values is incredibly helpful for finding a career path that suits you and staying happy and motivated throughout your scientific training.
At this point it is probably clear that I really value and emphasize communication in lab. That being said, I expect that your need to meet with me will vary over time depending on the state of your project and your own growth during graduate school. Consequently, I’ve found a flexible approach to communication often works best. I have an open-door policy and am always happy to discuss results, papers, career goals, or whatever else is on your mind. I also have weekly “office hours” where lab members can sign up for time if they feel they’d like more in depth discussion.
Lab philosophy
Science is meant to be shared!
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”
“Giants” or not, credited or uncredited, we are all part of the collective project of science and together we can all see farther. For that reason, it is very important that our work not only be rigorous and high quality, but also shared freely. Make it a goal to publish all of your findings, regardless of how groundbreaking or exciting you find them. You never know what could end up being the missing piece in someone else’s puzzle. Likewise, science can move more quickly and efficiently when we share resources. Aspire to publish all of your code, deposit any useful constructs you make to addgene, publish preprints, when in doubt – share!
Science is long!
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint”
We are tackling big questions, they won’t be solved in a day. Don’t dwell on short term setbacks, that is a great way to burnout. Keep thinking about the big picture and ask for help (ideas, feedback, troubleshooting, moral support, etc!) whenever you need it.
Science is big!
It is very easy to get caught up in the sometimes competitive atmosphere of science, but I think it’s important to remember that any advance in our understanding of complex problems helps all of us. I try to remind myself whenever I worry about being scooped or feel that another group is working on similar problems, that science has plenty of unsolved problems just waiting to be answered. This isn’t to say we should just switch topics frequently or avoid competitive areas, just that even within crowded spaces there is often still room for important contributions.
Science is a team sport!
While you are primarily in charge of driving your project forward all of our work takes place in the context of a larger scientific community, both locally and globally. In the Niederer lab we celebrate each others successes and support each other both practically and emotionally when things get challenging (they will!) This support can take the form of relatively mundane help ie taking care of a lab mates cells when they are out of town to more abstract/intellectual support when a lab mate needs feedback on directions for their project, when experiments fail, etc. I don’t expect everyone in the lab to be friends, but I do expect everyone to promote a supportive environment for everyone in the lab.
Science moves fast and slow
One of the best (and worst) things about research is that you are really the one driving forward your own project. This is great, because it means you are largely in control of your progress. This can be bad because it also frequently leads to burnout because people believe they must be pushing forward at all times. I would strongly discourage buying into any thinking that suggests you must be working all of the time. Rest and breaks are very important! Not only for your own mental health and well being (which are the most important) but also for creative problem solving and just overall sustainability.
One of the most important things to learn during your PhD (or at any point in your career) is how to manage your time and energy. This might look like scheduling some less demanding experiments in the week(s) leading up to a big, labor intensive experiment. Or it might mean you only do certain experiments in the morning/afternoon when you feel like you’re at your best. This is a lifelong process! We’ve all gotten it wrong at some point and been absolutely miserable at 11pm because we didn’t quite schedule/plan something right. And that’s ok! Take note and try to think about how to improve that experiment next time. But just know you shouldn’t always feel like you’re working right up to your limit and be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.
Lab structure/expectations
Lab safety
The safety of you and your colleagues is by far the most important consideration in the lab! This includes your mental health and well being. Stay home when you feel unwell! It is also generally a good guideline (especially when you are new in the lab or undertaking a new technique) to try to overlap with at least one other lab member. That way in the event something goes awry you won’t be alone.
Working hours
It is not my expectation or desire for you to be in lab all the time. I do expect that you will answer lab mates questions in a timely fashion either in person or by Slack/email if you are unable to come to lab (obviously this does not apply when you are on vacation or otherwise indisposed)
Vacation
Please take time off as needed! There is a Niederer lab calendar for entering time when you will be out of lab. My goal here isn’t to micromanage or keep track of the amount of time you’re taking, rather it’s to avoid you feeling like you have to ask my permission to take time away from lab. It also makes it easy for everyone to avoid bothering you with questions while you are away. If this becomes cumbersome or unpleasant we will revisit this system.
Lab meetings
We have weekly lab meetings that come in one of six varieties:
Research progress update – this is an opportunity for you to give a broad overview of your project, progress and future directions. This is slightly more formal than other lab meeting varieties and is a good opportunity to workshop any adjustments in how you introduce/setup your project as well as get broad feedback on your future directions.
Data club – Bring your lab notebook and any technical problems you have been having with experiments. Typically, more than one person will speak at this meeting (potentially everyone in the lab) depending on who wants some advice/feedback from the lab on getting experiments to work (or just getting them to work more smoothly)
Stand up meeting – Each lab member gives quick verbal updates on what they are working on. Everyone will speak but for no longer than 5 minutes. No data or presentation required, these are mostly organizational to keep everyone up to date and aware of any impending conflicts for equipment use or upcoming deadlines. It’s called a standup meeting because it should be so short no one needs to sit down. These are more frequent in the summer months.
Research journal club – A formal journal club to discuss a relevant research article. Typically, the person presenting the next research progress update will choose a paper for us to discuss at the previous meeting that they think will be helpful either to contextualize their work or help plan future experiments. To begin everyone will be expected to describe one thing they liked about the paper and one thing they disliked. Then each person will explain one of the figures (volunteer as you see fit). This was the format for journal clubs in Wendy Gilbert’s lab and I found it to be the most helpful structure. Please be mindful of selecting papers from a wide variety of labs from diverse researchers. The last thing we want is to be throwing ourselves into an echo chamber/bubble.
DEI journal club – Once every quarter we will discuss scholarship relating to DEI in STEM. The format is otherwise similar to the research journal club, except the expectation will be to provide more context/introduction for the paper and the problem being discussed during the introduction.
State of the lab – Once per year Rachel will present updates on the overall state of the lab. Including summaries of progress and important discoveries by members of the group along with plans for future work and grants. Feedback is welcome and encouraged! This meeting will generally take place in the spring, after any new rotation students have joined.
Lab retreats
Once a year the lab will travel to take part in a joint retreat with Nicole Martinez’s lab at Stanford. Lab members will be expected to prepare short (~20 minute) presentations on their work. This is an excellent opportunity to network and meet trainees from another RNA lab!
Conferences
Lab members will be provided with support to attend at least one conference per year. The conference will be chosen by mutual agreement with Rachel.