Join Us!

We welcome undergraduates interested in learning plant molecular and developmental genetics to join our group and gain lab experience.  Please email Vivian about opportunities for undergraduate research and how Yale undergraduates can receive course credit for their research.

Lab Expectations and Lab Climate

Once you join the lab–what can you expect? Here I’ve listed some of the things I tend to expect of people in my lab and also things that they can expect from me.  Having an understanding of our mutual expectations is key to the success of a mentoring relationship, and I expect this document to evolve over time in response to your input. Many thanks to Elena Kramer and Stacey Smith for inspiring the contents of this document.

My expectations of you:

1. I expect that you will seek my advice on your professional and academic development (like classes, teaching, research directions, funding opportunities, conferences, job applications).  While I expect you to consider my advice, you also need to use your own judgement. It’s your career.

2.  I expect that you will pursue research that has some overlap with my expertise and interests. Otherwise, I will not be in a good position to mentor you. If your interests shift away from the themes of the lab, I expect that you will inform me and we can discuss options, which could include switching to another lab or position.  I recognize that plans will evolve and change as the science develops. I am always happy to discuss ideas for new directions, but we are also constrained by the expectations of our funding sources to complete certain projects.

3. I expect honesty from you. I will not judge you for not knowing something, making a mistake, or for breaking something in the lab. You’re here to learn and ask questions, and everyone makes mistakes or breaks something from time to time. It is unlikely that you will make a mistake that I haven’t made myself.

4. I expect you to be resourceful. I don’t know all the answers and you may learn more effectively if you figure things out for yourself. By all means, ask questions, sometimes I’ll have an answer, sometimes I won’t, and sometimes I will point you to useful paths for answering those questions.

5. I expect that you will respect my time as I respect yours. If we have a meeting scheduled, I expect you to be on time or to let me know if you will be late.  I expect that you will usually respond in a timely fashion (24-48 hrs if during the work week) when I email you. I also expect that you will tell me when you will be out of town or are sick.

6. I expect you to be a full participant in this lab community. That includes being at lab meetings, participating in those meetings (by presenting, asking questions), taking part in at least some of our outreach events, helping to host visiting speakers, etc. I also expect that you will be supportive of each other – say hello to your labmates, help when they ask (if you can), be welcoming to newcomers, etc.

7. I expect you to tell me when you can’t do one of these things. You are typically juggling just as many things as I am and sometimes have to say no. This is fine and I don’t expect you to do everything.

8. I expect that, normally, you will be working full time (eg 40 hours/week) on your project. I’m not going to keep track of when you come in and when you leave, but I do expect to see consistent progress in line with working on your project, taking into consideration other commitments like teaching and coursework. You should not work by yourself with no one else on the floor.  There are two reasons—one is for safety concerns, and the other is to take advantage of learning from other people as part of a scientific community.

9. I expect you to alert lab members and/or appropriate staff if you see something wrong in the lab, whether it be a growth chamber running too hot, a water bath not working, or a computer on the fritz.

10. I expect you to complete your assigned lab jobs in a timely manner. The lab only works if everyone pulls their weight. I will know and I will appreciate your efforts. That also includes basic lab cleanliness and common consideration in regard to using shared equipment. If you don’t have time to clean up after yourself, you don’t have time to do the experiment. If you do notice that certain things aren’t getting done, please let me know about it. I don’t expect you to monitor or admonish your colleagues. Let me be the enforcer!

11. I expect that you will discuss issues of authorship of publications, presentations and talks with me before presenting/submitting. Typically, PIs contribute intellectually and monetarily to projects and are listed as senior authors.

Your expectations of Vivian:

1.  You can expect to meet with me regularly for minimeetings scheduled for 30 minutes. You can expect me to be on time and let you know if I’m running late. Drop-ins and brief questions are fine too - as long as my door is open, you should feel free to stick your head in and ask a question.

2.  You can expect me to ask for your honest feedback about the lab, your graduate/postdoctoral experience, and your perception of me as a mentor. I can’t improve something if you don’t tell me about it (and I really do want to improve things).

3.  You can expect me to give you my honest feedback about your progress. You can expect me to help you set reasonable deadlines for making progress and set clear expectations regarding what that progress should be - what do we want and when do we want it. I am here to support you in every way possible and giving you feedback is one of the most important ways to promote your success.

4.  You can expect me to provide timely feedback on your papers. 1-2 weeks turn-around time is fair unless it is particularly complicated.  I expect to work with you closely on papers and will invest the time needed to get it to publication.

5. I will try to respond to emails within 24-48 hours. If you don’t hear from me by then, feel free to send a reminder.

6.  You can expect me to listen to your concerns and help you solve problems. I will gladly step in and advocate for you whenever necessary, whether with the department, the graduate school, collaborators or others.

7.  You can expect me to write letters of recommendation for you, given advance notice. If it’s a sort of letter I’ve never written before or the very first time I’ve written a letter for you, please give me ample lead time, along with an up to date CV, and any pertinent info about the position.

8.  You can expect me to help you network. This ranges from reaching out to others in the department to interfacing with people in the field, and I will help you to frame expectations of those interactions. These things are more important than you think in getting a position after your degree.

9.  You can expect me to work with you on your posters and talks. These are your face to the research community and if the audience is giving you their time, you want to make the most of it so I will give you my time to make your talk or poster effective and engaging.

10.  You can expect me to ensure that you have a safe and supportive environment in which to work. If you have any concerns about the climate in the lab, I want to know as soon as possible. In this context, it’s important to know that, as a faculty member, I am a mandatory reporter, which means I must report any instances of harassment or abuse. However, all information remains confidential unless you choose to release it.

11.  You can look to me for guidance on issues related to conflicts of interest, equity and fairness, ethical research, and mentoring.

12.  You can expect me to work as hard toward your success as you do. The harder you push, the harder I will push to help.