{"id":50336,"date":"2025-06-02T18:28:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T18:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/?page_id=50336"},"modified":"2025-06-02T18:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T18:28:05","slug":"lab-expectations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/people\/lab-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Lab expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the BIAPT lab, we aim to conduct\u00a0rigorous scientific research<\/strong>, driven by\u00a0clinically meaningful<\/strong>\u00a0problems<\/strong>, and to\u00a0have fun<\/strong>\u00a0doing it. \u00a0In order to create a lab culture that allows us to meet these goals, I expect my graduate students to:<\/p>\n

Behave like a professional researcher<\/u>.<\/p>\n

One of my main goals is to train you to be a good scientist, and to teach you to conduct rigorous, innovative research. \u00a0You can expect me to set you a research question\/area that is clinically or scientifically meaningful, to guide you in designing your experiments and interpreting your results, and to mentor you through the peer-review process to get your results published. \u00a0In turn, I expect you to:<\/p>\n

a)\u00a0 \u00a0 Stay focused on your research question<\/p>\n

Your research question will define the methods you use, the appropriate analysis of your data, and even the impact of your results. \u00a0Stay focused on it! \u00a0If you don’t, at best you’ll be inefficient. \u00a0At worst, you’ll end up wasting everyone’s time and money. This\u00a0is\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0how we operate in our lab:<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nIt’s easy to go off on tangents. \u00a0Sometimes the tangents lead to the next research question, sometimes they’re just shiny distractions. \u00a0Please talk to me if something unrelated to your research question piques your interest. \u00a0I’ll work with you to figure out whether or not it is worth pursuing, and support you in the next steps (e.g. filing a patent, applying for a grant, starting a new project) if it is.<\/p>\n

b)\u00a0 \u00a0 Pay attention to details<\/p>\n

I will help you keep track of the big picture aspects of your project, but I will not be able\u00a0to keep track of the details. \u00a0Those are your responsibility, and it is important that you\u00a0pay attention to them. \u00a0The code you’ll write, the nuances of the instructions that you\u00a0give your research participants, etc. all have an impact on the final research\u00a0results and\u00a0I expect you to make sure that your work is thorough and accurate at all times.<\/p>\n

c)\u00a0 \u00a0 Document your progress daily<\/p>\n

Research doesn’t happen linearly – it’s a messy, iterative, complex process. Documenting allows you to keep track of it all. \u00a0I expect you to document your progress daily, so that anyone can retroactively track the development of an algorithm over time, sift through the hundreds of graphs you generated before you created the one you published in\u00a0Nature, review old protocols, etc. \u00a0I’m not picky about the medium you use for documentation. \u00a0If you want a traditional pen-and-paper lab notebook, I will provide one for you. \u00a0If you want to keep track of your progress through software such as OneNote, that’s fine too. \u00a0The important thing is that your work is documented\u00a0thoroughly and regularly.<\/p>\n

d)\u00a0 \u00a0 Stay up to date in your field<\/p>\n

Research is only publishable if it pushes at the boundary of the scientific community’s\u00a0limits of knowledge, not if it pushes on your own personal limit of knowledge.<\/p>\n

(here’s<\/a>\u00a0a good illustrated guide to this principle)<\/p>\n

The way\u00a0to get these two limits to align is to remain up to date with the literature.\u00a0When\u00a0\u00a0you start out in the lab, you can expect me to provide you with seminal papers\u00a0that set the stage for your research question. \u00a0You can also expect me to pass on any\u00a0papers I come across that are relevant to your research. \u00a0As you progress in your\u00a0research, I expect you to take ownership of this process, actively searching out relevant\u00a0articles and regularly reading the literature. \u00a0I strongly recommend joining\u00a0google scholar<\/a>\u00a0and signing up for alerts so that relevant articles come directly to your inbox,\u00a0joining\u00a0research gate<\/a>\u00a0and following the leading researchers in your field, and staying\u00a0on top of the latest science news.<\/p>\n

Corollary\u00a0from\u00a0c & d:<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s a waste of time to read a relevant article if you can’t find it again when you need it.\u00a0Sign up for a reference software to keep track of what you’ve read. \u00a0(This\u00a0will also make\u00a0things easy when it comes time to write papers!) \u00a0I personally use\u00a0\u00a0Zotero<\/a>, which has a\u00a0nice plug-in built into Microsoft Word, but I’ve also used\u00a0Refworks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Endnote<\/a>. \u00a0The specific software you use doesn’t matter, as long as you use it, and keep it up to date!<\/p>\n

e)\u00a0 \u00a0 Behave in an ethical manner<\/p>\n

I am unwavering in my demand for the highest ethical standards in your research, your studies and your interactions with fellow students and faculty. \u00a0Unethical behaviour includes plagiarism, cheating on coursework, and fabricating experimental data. \u00a0Unethical behaviour will results in immediate dismissal from my research group.<\/p>\n

f)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Work hard, play hard<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the outcome of your graduate studies will depend on what you put\u00a0into them. Graduate school isn’t a 9-5 job – the demands of research often require working evenings and weekends. \u00a0I expect you to work hard, throughout the year. \u00a0(You can take time for vacation in accordance with\u00a0McGill policy<\/a>\u00a0– if you need to take more time away, please talk to me and we can work something out). \u00a0I also expect you to play hard – take care of yourself, be active, join teams, meet your friends. \u00a0Graduate school is a marathon, not a sprint, and you need to make sure that you don’t burn out.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0\u00a0Be a good lab citizen<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Working in the lab should be a fun and stimulating experience. \u00a0You can’t create this\u00a0experience all on your own – it’s dependent on the professional relationships you build with your fellow grad students and other researchers. \u00a0I expect you to help create an environment\u00a0where this is possible for everyone by:<\/p>\n

    a)\u00a0 \u00a0 Being present in the lab<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em>Our lab is located at the Montreal General Hospital. \u00a0I recognize that getting there requires a commute, but I expect you to be present on a regular basis. \u00a0The best ideas and thoughts come out of spontaneous, informal interactions that can only happen when people are present in the same space. \u00a0While your fellow grad students aren’t necessarily working on the same problem, many techniques are similar across projects, and you can help each other when you’re in the lab.<\/p>\n

    b)\u00a0 \u00a0 Attending all lab meetings<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em>Lab meetings are formal times where we can discuss the progress of everyone’s projects and learn from everyone’s experience. \u00a0I will set a time each semester that works for everyone, and I expect all students to attend and fully participate.<\/p>\n

    c)\u00a0 \u00a0 Learning to give and receive critical feedback<\/p>\n

    The “lab family” is the place where new ideas should be aired, new presentations should be tried, and experiments should be critiqued. \u00a0We want to think very critically about each other’s work so that the hardest questions and criticisms come from within the lab, and interfacing with others (e.g. thesis committee members, conference audiences, peer reviewers) is easy. \u00a0If there’s a fatal flaw in your work, it’s\u00a0infinitely\u00a0better to have it discovered by your lab mates than by the general scientific\u00a0community! \u00a0However, “critical” does not mean negative. \u00a0I expect you to develop and practice the skills of presenting your perspectives clearly, without sugar coating, and to work with your lab mates to find ways of improving their work. \u00a0I also expect you to learn to receive critical feedback well, and to use it as an opportunity to improve your projects and skills.<\/p>\n

    d)\u00a0 \u00a0 Being willing to help around the lab<\/p>\n

    I will protect you from too many non-research demands on your time, but I expect you to pitch in to help out with the day-to-day needs of the lab. \u00a0Visitors may want a tour, students from other labs may want to learn a technique, equipment and software may need to be set up. \u00a0All of this needs to happen so that the rest of the lab work can go smoothly. \u00a0I also hope that you’ll be willing to help your fellow students succeed in their projects by, for example, filling in if they have an emergency that prevents them from meeting a scheduled participant. \u00a0A lab where we can rely on each other and where research is a team effort produces much better results than a lab where everyone is focused solely on their own work!<\/p>\n

    In return, you can expect me to:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Support you financially for 4 years for your Ph.D. and 2 years for your Masters. \u00a0I will work with you to apply for scholarships and fellowship, and will top up the award if you’re successful in your application.<\/p>\n

    Provide you with timely feedback. \u00a0I will turn around documents that you send me as quickly as possible. \u00a0You can expect feedback on documents such as study protocols and REB proposals within 1-2 days, and documents such as draft manuscripts within a week.<\/p>\n

    Provide guidance on your research studies. \u00a0I will help you set study protocols, decide on research questions, interpret your results and set your research priorities.<\/p>\n

    Give you opportunities for professional development. \u00a0I will support you to present your work at appropriate conferences, provide you with opportunities to speak to scientific and lay audiences as they come up, review papers, etc.<\/p>\n

    Support you in publishing your work. \u00a0I aim to have my Ph.D. students publish at least 3 papers by the time they graduate, and for my Masters students to publish at least 1 paper. \u00a0I will work with you to make sure this work is published in venues with the greatest potential impact, and will guide you through the peer-review process.<\/p>\n

    These expectations are not rules, and the way that you execute them will (of course) vary according to your needs and circumstances. \u00a0If you find yourself struggling to meet them, please talk to me so I can help you do so and ensure that both of us get the most of your graduate experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the BIAPT lab, we aim to conduct\u00a0rigorous scientific research, driven by\u00a0clinically meaningful\u00a0problems, and to\u00a0have fun\u00a0doing it. \u00a0In order to create a lab culture that allows us to meet these goals, I expect my graduate students to: Behave like a professional researcher. One of my main goals is to train you to be a good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":49717,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-50336","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50336"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50344,"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50336\/revisions\/50344"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moraeslab.com\/biapt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}