Lab Policies

Lab and Institutional Language

The primary language of the lab is English. All oral and written conversations during work activities must be conducted in English. This includes presentations, discussions at lab meetings, scientific writing, and email communications.

AI/LLM policy: We encourage an environment of critical thinking and learning. Language models can be used to proofread and refine written text, and think critically about the changes suggested. However, fully AI-generated text is not acceptable.

Lab Roles & Responsibilities

    • Commitment to scientific rigor and reproducibility

    • Behave professionally and with respect to everyone in the department

    • Attend and participate in group meetings

    • Ask questions, be collaborative, and promote an inclusive environment

    • Mentor, guide, and support lab members in their research

    • Provide timely feedback

    • Be open to communication and feedback from lab members

    • Apply for grant funding and financial support

    • Publish research and review papers with lab members

    • Support lab members’ professional and career development

    • Advocate for lab members and promote their involvement in the research community

    • Prioritize work according to your role’s expectations (e.g. first colony management and genotyping, then research projects)

    • Train new lab members to do experiments using our standard protocols

    • Help onboard new lab members

    • Read the literature to understand where your project fits in the lab

    • Present your work at the end of your rotation

    • With the input of lab members and Nicole, plan an experiment to generate and analyze data for a figure that could go into a publication at the end of your rotation

    • Mentor and train new lab members

    • Take leadership of your thesis project – design experiments, generate and analyze data, and write the first draft of your manuscript with input and feedback from Nicole

    • Meet with your thesis committee as required by the graduate program

    • Publish one first author paper as required by the graduate program

    • Bring new expertise and experience to the lab

    • Mentor and train new lab members

    • Provide leadership to other lab members

    • Apply for grants and fellowships to support your career development

    • Independently design experiments, direct data generation, analysis, and write the first draft of manuscripts with input and feedback from Nicole

    • Work under the supervision of a lab mentor

    • Be engaged with the lab’s work and ask questions

    • Attend group lab meetings

    • Present your work at lab meetings

Code of Conduct

All lab members are expected to maintain a professional attitude of integrity, accountability, and mutual respect in all interactions while upholding high standards of scientific rigor and collaboration. Examples include respecting each other’s points of views and contributions to discussions, arriving on time for meetings, and engaging in each other’s presentations. Everyone commits to maintaining an inclusive environment marked by compassionate behaviour and free from offensive conduct, particularly regarding gender, race, sexuality, or disability. Lab members are free to voice their ideas, wishes, or concerns without risking negative consequences ensuring a psychologically safe environment.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment.

Authorship Policy

Our lab adheres to University of Michigan institutional guidelines for authorship. Authorship on a publication from our lab is based on the following four criteria:

1) Significant contribution to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work

2) Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content

3) Final approval of the version to be published

4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated

Primary authorship is assigned to the individual who has the greatest understanding of the project, did most of the work, and takes responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole.

Our lab implements commitments from the SAFE Labs handbook.