Lab Manual and Code of Conduct - GarzaLab/Documentation GitHub Wiki

Welcome to the Neuroimaging & Psychiatry Lab (GarzaLab).

This manual was developed by me, Eduardo Garza, lab PI.

It is intended to be a beginners guide into the lab and to provide my vision of how the lab should function. It is also intended to be a reminder of how to conduct yourself in the lab and with your peers, and to provide information on how to proceed if this code of conduct is not being followed by your peers.

ALL lab members will be expected to read this lab manual. It may update with time.

This manual was inspired by other similar works for example the Grange-Lab manual. This manual is licence under a CC Attribution 4.0 Licence.

This is our website Neuroimaging & Psychiatry Lab. Make sure to send me your picture to add you as a student.

Mentoring strategy for thesis students.

This is my philosophy: "You learn something by doing it yourself, by asking questions, by thinking, and by experimenting." - Richard Feynman.

Speaking for myself (Eduardo), I will be a guide to all my students in a flexible environment with shared responsibility.

  • Guidance means I will give you the tools to LEARN and DO by yourself. I will steer your research work while giving you space for your own steering, and provide necessary bibliography, tutorials, papers, suggestions, etc. We will meet 1-on-1 at least once a month for updates, and I will be available by Telegram or email for anything. You can always ask me anything, as well as to meet with you if you think it is needed.

  • Flexible environment means, unless told otherwise, you will have a flexible schedule. You will decide how and where to work, but you will also be responsible for these decisions. I prefer you to focus on advancing on goals and meeting deadlines rather than being present on the lab. The secret for this will be just to be responsible for your actions. If in doubt, just ask me before deciding things.

  • Shared responsibility means we are both responsible for your project and thesis, however the greater responsibility is yours. You need to keep me in the loop of things happening around you in case I need to intervene (Good and bad things). I have your back, but you will do the heavy lifting for your project.

  • I will not micromanage you. This doesn't mean I won't teach you, but I won't just give you the answer. The idea is that you:

  1. Learn how to learn science,
  2. become a good problem solver,
  3. that you do not rely on me to do your research, and that
  4. in the future you can work as an independent researcher in a team.

Research is also about solving problems creatively. This means you need to become a problem solver which entails:

  1. Thinking hard about problems and solutions,
  2. searching for information,
  3. knowing who and how to ask for help,
  4. failing (very common),
  5. trying again (a must),
  6. repeating 4 and 5 again (maybe), and
  7. finding the solution with the team.

Research is seldom an individual endeavour, hence collaborations between students and other researchers is something you need to learn. You need to become a good collaborator as well.

Not all students are the same, therefore I will consider who needs more steering and flexibility, and who needs very little of both. I am also very considerate of personal situations and will always put your wellbeing ahead of work.

Guess what? I don't know everything, I'm always learning and you should too. This means you may also become my teacher during your studies, so don't be surprised. To me, all my students are future colleagues and I will treat you in that manner.

Core values

The lab holds itself to several core values:

  • Ambition: We are an ambitious lab, and I expect all members to show ambition in their work. I will help you to make sure your project is ambitiously relevant to your current stage (i.e., MSc projects will be more ambitious than BSc projects). Note that this also refers to personal ambition, and is independent of your current ability: I want you to be the best “you” that you can be.
  • Commitment: Good science requires commitment. You should be committed to your project by having clear goals which are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
  • Enthusiasm: Hard work is difficult without enthusiasm. It is therefore important that you work on a project that is both of value to the lab’s mission and of interest to you.
  • Excellence: We strive for excellence in all that we do. No half-done stuff.
  • Honesty: We value honesty in all of our work and communications, even when this is difficult.
  • Independence: It is important that we take ownership of our individual projects. We are able to work independently, but importantly feel secure to ask questions when help is required.
  • Team Work: Although we are all working on independent projects, they all map on to our lab’s mission. We are therefore a team, and as such help and support each other as much as possible. We meet regularly, and provide open, honest, and respectful feedback on each other’s work.

Expectations

Everyone

We expect each other to:

  • Push the envelope of scientific discovery & personal excellence.
  • Do work we are proud of individually and as a group.
  • Do work that others will care about.
  • Double-check our work. Being a little obsessive is essential to good science.
  • Be supportive of our lab-mates. We are a team.
  • Work independently when we can, but ask for help when we need it.
  • Communicate honestly, especially when it is difficult (e.g., share our mistakes).
  • Share our knowledge. Mentorship takes many forms.
  • Respect each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and differences. Diversity is to be celebrated.
  • Respect all types of people and beliefs.

Principal Investigator

As well as the above, you can expect me to:

  • Have a vision for where the lab is going.
  • Obtain the funding to support the science, and the people (where appropriate), in the lab.
  • Meet with you regularly to discuss your research projects. The definition of “regularly” may change over time or over the course of a project, but unless we agree otherwise the expectation is that this will be once per week.
  • Support you in your career development, regardless of your current stage. This includes discussing professional development, writing letters of recommendation, and promoting your work in conference presentations I attend.
  • Care about you as a person and not just as a scientist.
  • Obsess over many things related to your project & its eventual dissemination, from font choice, punctuation / grammar, and data visualisation. It will drive you nuts.
  • Hold high expectations of you: These expectations are there because I believe you can reach them.

Bachelor Students

  • Develop a project that fits with the mission of the lab. If you are unsure on what project you should work on, I can provide a project for you. This will not affect your final grade.
  • Communicate frequently with me. One of the skills we wish to develop in you is project management, so keep me up to date regularly with your progress.
  • Be punctual with our meetings.
  • Care about data quality. Conduct your empirical work under strict lab conditions: minimize distractions; ensure the participant is engaged with the experiment (humans); be consistent with your protocols.
  • When conducting experiments, be professional at all times with your participants. Be on time. Be polite. Provide a good debrief. If your subject is a non-human animal, be kind and ethical.
  • When you are stuck on a problem, try to solve it yourself first. If you then need help, please ask me. But when you ask, I expect that you tell me what you have tried yourself to solve the problem.
  • Keep notes of our meetings. It is up to you to maintain thorough notes to ensure an accurate record of what we discussed and what was agreed.
  • Stay up-to-date (and keep me informed) on any deadlines that you need to meet.

Master Students

As well as the above, I expect Master students to:

  • Be more independent in all aspects of the project.
  • Develop a line of research that could lead to a publishable piece of work. Although this is not a requirement for the Master degree itself, remember that the lab has high expectations.
  • Pre-register your study at the Open Science Framework or similar framework.
  • Develop & communicate clear instructions to help me program your experimental with you. Take an active interest in how the experiment is done.
  • Learn to program:
  1. Learn the statistical programming language R using R Studio.
  2. Learn how to use RMarkdown, and eventually writing your reports this way.
  3. Understand that there is a steep learning curve associated with all of the above, but that you will be better off for having learned them.
  • Take the lead on data preparation and analysis.
  • Share your data & analysis publicly. I'll tell you how as this changes everyday.
  • Develop a healthy work–life balance.
  1. Take time off regularly, guilt-free. I will do the same.
  2. Practice self-care
  3. Realize there are times for pulling all-nighters, and times for not coming into work and having some fun.

PhD Students

As well as the above, I expect PhD students to:

  • Strive to know the literature related to your topic like the back of your hand.
  • Develop a line of dissertation research leading to publishable output (conferences and journal papers).
  • Seek out and apply for fellowship and awards (including travel awards for conference attendance etc.).
  • Develop as an independent scientist:
  1. In Year 1, be guided by my instructions
  2. In Year 2, challenge some of my instructions & start to tell me what you’re doing
  3. In Year 3+, take full ownership
  • Consider contributing to teaching where possible, but especially if you wish to pursue an academic career post-PhD. Some options could be:
  1. Lead seminars
  2. Teach in my courses
  3. Co-supervise Bachelor and Master student projects.