Lab Mission Statement

Why: 

To cultivate curiosity about ourselves and the world, challenge what is known, design definitive experiments, and transform exploration into clear communication in order to defy the odds and lead us towards self discovery, technical breakthroughs, and scientific discovery.

How: 

  • To have "patience in the struggle" —Denis Baylor. "(1) Embrace the problem, (2) make progress incrementally and regularly, and (3) stay on the bus" (summarized from Four thousand weeks by Oliver Burkeman).
  • Acknowledge what we know and don't know.
  • Ask questions. Remain receptive and positive to all questions.
  • Plan for experiments thoughtfully and with foresight about interpretations.
  • Practice the technical skills to gain mastery.
  • Ask for feedback to improve our talks, grants, manuscripts.
  • Provide constructive feedback to each other.
  • Listen openly and consider thoughtfully.
  • Bring your best self: (1) everyone has gifts to share, (2) begin with the best intentions, (3) science is a team effort and your team is here for you.
  • Celebrate each others' successes.

What: 

  • Read literature
  • Write grants
  • Plan for and run experiments
  • Analyze results and write about them 
  • Publish papers to report our findings
  • Grow our skillsets
  • Plan for what comes next in our career path

Useful Resources:

  • Our mission statement was a result of group brainstorming based on "Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team" by Simon Sinek, David Mead, Peter Docker.
  • Advice from Dr. Stephen Stearns about being a graduate student
  • Revised advice from Dr. Raymond Huey
  • How to pick a graduate advisor from Dr. Ben Barres
  • How to be a graduate advisee from Dr. Indira Raman
  • Making the Right Moves, an excellent resource by HHMI
  • Essay about scientific thinking from Dr. John R. Platt
  • Essay about You and Your Research from Dr. Richard Hamming
  • Advice about getting published from Dr. Philip E. Bourne
  • Advice about giving a good talk from Dr. Uri Alon
  • Advice about nurturing science from Dr. Uri Alon
  • Advice about faculty life from Dr. Radhika Nagpal
  • Mentorship training from the UCSF Office of Career and Professional Development