This Compact is a written agreement to foster a healthy, collaborative environment where every lab member can succeed. 12/12/2025
We are a team of protein biochemists and structural biologists who share a passion for understanding protein complexes critical for regulating the actin cytoskeleton and intracellular trafficking. Our research integrates biochemical, biophysical, structural, computational, and proteomic approaches, relying on techniques including bacterial and insect cell culture, protein engineering and purification, protein interaction assays, enzymatic assays, electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and structural modeling. In parallel, we collaborate extensively with biologists and clinicians to translate our in vitro findings into cellular and in vivo systems. Through these interdisciplinary efforts, we aim to uncover how the molecular machines we study drive fundamental cellular functions and how their dysfunction contributes to human diseases.
Our lab strongly believes that science is a collective effort. While each member leads their own project, we rely on shared resources, open communication, and mutual respect to make impactful scientific discoveries. When you join us, you become part of a community that values both scientific rigor and emotional support, where people feel safe to be themselves while striving for excellence.
- Respect, Inclusivity, and Kindness
Differences in backgrounds, ideas, and personalities make our team stronger. We respect every individual, regardless of educational background, career stage, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, political belief, sexual orientation, or disability. We treat everyone, including lab mates, collaborators, students, staff, facility personnel, and custodial workers, with kindness and dignity. We promote an inclusive and supportive lab environment that values fairness, respect, and professional growth. Discrimination, bullying, harassment, or exclusion of any kind is not tolerated.
- Integrity, Honesty, and Responsibility
Integrity and responsibility are the foundations of science. Therefore:- Data: data must NEVER be fabricated, manipulated, or selectively reported.
- Note: keep accurate, timely, and complete records of experiments, data, and analyses.
- Mistake: admit mistakes openly, correct them promptly, learn from them, and build a system to prevent the same mistakes. We all make mistakes, and they are a natural part of science. Hiding mistakes or leaving them uncorrected is unacceptable.
- Care: treat lab equipment, reagents, lab funds, and shared spaces with care as they support everyone’s work.
- Response: report any issues with equipment immediately. It is better to be safe than be sorry, as using damaged equipment can lead to catastrophic failure.
- Scientific Mindset & Work Ethic
Each lab member should strive to develop a high standard of the following qualities:- Self-motivation: show up and work hard to push projects forward.
- Rigor & Critical Thinking: ask “why”; demand controls, replicates, and statistics.
- Perseverance: failures are a normal part of science. Resilience is what supports us.
- Independence: take ownership of your research and seek solutions actively.
- Organization: Keep lab, reagents, and experiment notes highly organized.
- Curiosity and Passion: ask questions, think deeply, and explore broadly.
- Collaboration and Community
Science is not a solo endeavor. Your progress depends on a highly supportive ecosystem. We should be generous in sharing protocols, tips, and honest feedback, not only within our lab but also with others. Ask for help when you need it: respectfully, gratefully, and without fear, while respecting other people’s time and availability. In return, offer help when others struggle and celebrate for them when they succeed. See “Communications 5.5” for more considerations when communicating with people outside the lab.
- Mental Health and Well-being
Your physical and mental well-being is more important than any experiment. When you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or sick, it is a sign that you need support or rest. You are encouraged to talk to Stone, trusted colleagues, or professional counselors. Taking breaks, vacations, or mental health days is acceptable and encouraged (with clear communication with me). Ultimately, taking care of yourself allows you to take care of your science.
- Safety and Responsibility
Safety is everyone’s responsibility, and our lab should be a safe place, both physically and emotionally.- UTSW Policy: all members must follow UTSW safety policies and required trainings.
- PPE & Training: wear proper PPE, follow chemical, biological, and equipment safety procedures, and never operate new equipment you are not trained for.
- Awareness: stay aware of your surroundings and other people’s experiments/equipment. If something seems unusual or unsafe, speak up.
- Report: report accidents, near-misses, or unsafe conditions immediately. Reporting is not blaming; it is how we improve and protect each other.
Every person in the lab contributes to a shared scientific mission. Roles differ, but each is essential for building a productive, supportive, and ethical research environment.
- Principal Investigator (PI) – Stone Chen
Stone’s role as PI is to create an environment where you can grow into an independent, rigorous, and productive scientist. You should expect the following from Stone:- Availability: Stone will be available for scheduled 1:1 meetings, group meetings, and daily informal discussions. Whenever his office door is open or ajar, you are welcome to come in. He will also walk through the lab regularly to remain available. In addition, he will attend your committee meetings, thesis defenses, practice talks, and external presentations whenever possible.
- Funding and Resources: Stone will work hard to secure funding for lab operations, personnel salaries, equipment, and supplies. He will ensure a well-functioning laboratory space, shared equipment, and access to core facilities or collaborators.
- Scientific Guidance: Stone will help you develop a meaningful and feasible research project. He will discuss hypotheses, experimental design, interpretation, and troubleshooting with you regularly. His goal is to push you to think independently and critically, instead of giving you step-by-step answers or doing something on your behalf.
- Feedback: Stone will provide honest and constructive feedback on your experiments, presentations, and writing. His critiques are meant to help you grow, instead of discouraging or embarrassing you. He understands that everybody learns differently, and he will adapt his mentoring style where possible and welcome feedback if something isn't working.
- Publications and Authorship: Stone will strive to publish your work in the best appropriate journals and will communicate openly about authorship.
- Collaboration: Stone will do his best to support you in building collaborations within and outside of the lab to enhance your productivity and expand your scientific network.
- Advocacy: Stone will advocate for you by writing reference letters, supporting conference travel, nominating you for awards or opportunities, and promoting your work to others.
- Personal and Long-Term Support: Stone recognizes that each trainee has unique goals and personal challenges. He will support you through stress, setbacks, and career uncertainty. His mentorship does not end when you leave the lab, and he will continue to support you as a mentor, colleague, and lifelong advocate.
- Trainee Responsibilities (Students, Postdocs, Staff Scientists)
Your responsibility is to make full use of the resources, mentorship, and scientific environment to grow into an independent and responsible scientist. What is expected from you include the following:- Experiments and Data Integrity: Plan, design, and carry out high-quality experiments with attention to detail. Include appropriate controls, replicates, and statistical analysis. Record all experiments in a complete, organized, and timely manner. Back up data and maintain data integrity. NEVER fabricate, manipulate, or omit results. Be open and clearly label mistakes, negative results, or unexpected findings.
- Learning and Initiative: Take initiative in learning new techniques, even if no one in the lab has used them before. Seek out protocols, literature, workshops, online resources, and experts when needed. Attend seminars, aiming for at least two per week. Read literature regularly to stay current in your field.
- Communication: Meet regularly and diligently with the PI. Come prepared with well-annotated figures, notes, and questions. Communicate clearly and respectfully with lab members, collaborators, and core facility personnel. Present your work at lab meetings, journal clubs, practice talks, and conferences. Develop writing skills through protocols, abstracts, manuscripts, and grant/fellowship applications.
- Time Management: Manage your time effectively and take responsibility for the effort you invest in your work. While the PI does not track hours or micromanage schedules, there are expectations on consistent commitment, professionalism, and steady scientific progress. As a general guideline, most projects require roughly 8–12 hours of focused effort per day, but you have flexibility in how you structure your time. What matters most is productivity, quality of work, and forward momentum. Please inform the PI and lab manager if you will be absent due to illness, personal reasons, or travel.
- Lab Manager Responsibilities (Dr. Daniel Kramer)
Our lab manager plays a crucial role in keeping the lab running efficiently. His responsibilities include overseeing lab orders, inventory, and supply management, maintaining shared equipment, organizing the lab space, training new members on basic lab operations and safety protocols, and assigning lab duties and ensuring compliance with safety and institutional regulations. Keep in mind that Daniel also has mentoring and research responsibilities. Please be considerate and respectful of his time and workload.
All lab members are expected to:- Respect the lab manager’s decisions related to safety, operations, and resource use.
- Follow his instructions promptly and responsibly.
- If disagreements occur, discuss them respectfully. The PI will mediate if needed.
- Peer Mentor Responsibilities
Our lab believes that mentoring is a core responsibility of being part of a scientific community. We were all trained by others; it is our duty to pass that forward. Training will benefit not only the mentee but also the mentor, as it helps crystallize knowledge of protocols, trains you in effective communication, and enrich your resume. In our lab, every new lab member will be paired with a peer mentor for onboarding. Peer mentors are expected to introduce new members to lab operations, shared resources, equipment, safety practices, and lab note standards, guide them through early experiments, protocols, and data organization, and help them understand lab culture and expectations. In general, the mentee starts by working on a small training project, assisting and contributing to the mentor’s project, and finally developing an independent project after training.
The quality of the mentoring is very important. The mentor should guide the mentee in understanding the “why” behind experimental steps, not just the “how”. A good example is training to do a pulldown assay: it would be good to show a picture of a poor pulldown gel, highlighting issues affecting loading controls, baits, or protein quality. Additionally, mentors should discuss known pitfalls in carrying out assays or techniques. The mentor has a major responsibility to ensure the mentee follows lab procedures, such as operating equipment, organizing lab notes, and analyzing DNA sequences.
It's important to emphasize that although peer mentor provides direct contact and supervision for a mentee, mentee is also encouraged to interact with and learn from all other lab members, including the lab manager and PI.
We are committed to conducting science that is reproducible, ethical, and of the highest quality. Every experiment and every dataset must be approached with honesty, rigor, and transparency. Science is not built on perfect data, but on accurate data and honest interpretation, whether the results are expected, negative, or confusing. When doing scientific research, we should collect data without any prejudice and avoid cherry-picking.
- Experimental Design and Rigor
High-quality science begins with well-designed experiments. Each experiment should be driven by a clear question or hypothesis and include appropriate controls and replicates. Therefore:- Controls: include positive and negative controls whenever applicable.
- Repeats: repeat key findings to ensure reproducibility.
- Quantification: quantify results and apply appropriate statistical analysis whenever possible.
- Cross-validation: consider alternative hypotheses and design experiments to test them or rule them out.
- Lab Notebooks and Data Recording
Accurate documentation is essential for transparency and reproducibility. Therefore:- Timely: every experiment must be recorded the same day (if not at the same time) it is performed, rather than at a later time based on memory.
- Key Details: electronic lab notebooks (typically Excel) must include: date, experiment title, purpose, detailed protocol steps with key parameters (buffer composition, concentrations, incubation time, temperature, and procedures), sample IDs, raw observations, results, and interpretation. Use the example Excel files from the PI as a reference or template to build your own notebooks.
- Factual: record what you did, not what you wanted to do. If you made a mistake or omitted something, record that as part of your notes.
- Originality: once an experiment is completed, NEVER modify the original Excel file or alter its time stamp, as this compromises data integrity. You MUST keep the original file unchanged and make edits only on a clearly labeled copy.
- Clarity: lab notes must be clear and understandable by others so that someone else could repeat your experiment purely based on your notes without asking you.
- Completeness: lab notes must be complete. Negative or unexpected results are still results and must not be hidden or dismissed.|
- Data Storage and Backup
Every member is responsible for organizing and backing up their data regularly.- Location: all digital data MUST be stored in your designated research folder on UTSW Box. Do NOT store data solely on local HD, personal laptops, USB drives, or external HD: these may only be used as additional backups.
- Organization: each experiment should have a clearly organized folder structure containing the Excel notebook file, raw data, processed data, and Illustrator figures. Save all experiments using a similar naming scheme, so you (and others) can find them easily. Our lab uses “Initals-yymmdd-Experiment Type-Specific experiment”. An example is “DAK251022 – Cloning – TgWIP N-Cysteine Construct”.
- Up to Date: shared Google Sheets (DNA constructs, primers, antibodies, lab duties, ordering lists) must be accurate and up to date.
- DNA Constructs and Sequencing Policy
DNA constructs are the foundation of our research. Accuracy and traceability are critical. Details are provided in our DNA construct organization SOP, and below are some highlights:- PI Approval: all cloning designs, including primer sequences, must be reviewed and approved by Stone before ordering.
- Record Keeping: after sequencing, results must be annotated in the updated primer design file, the DNA Google Sheet must be updated, and annotated sequencing results should be updated in a copy of the original primer design file stored in the same experiment note folder, which should also include subfolders containing the raw sequencing data (abi files).
- Organization: raw sequencing data folder names should follow lab convention (e.g., yymmdd-cloneID range-description).
- Unique ID: all DNA constructs MUST have a unique Lab ID and Clone ID in your experimental note. Sequence-confirmed tubes must be clearly labeled on both the side and the cap, following the lab format and stored in your DNA box in a highly organized manner.
- Sequence confirmation: once you put your name and “sequencing confirmed” on a construct, you are responsible for the contents – any issues can tarnish your reputation, so take care that you are validating everything you keep in your plasmid box. This includes plasmids you create, as well as those you get from other lab members and external labs.
- Re-sequencing: if you miniprep any DNA plasmids created by other people, including your lab mates, collaborators, or vendors, you must sequence them to double check their correctness.
- Authorship and Publication Policy
Authorship is based on intellectual and experimental contribution to a manuscript, not on seniority in the lab. To be an author, a person must contribute meaningfully in one or more of the following areas: experimental design, data collection or analysis, development of key methodology, and/or writing or revising the manuscript intellectually. First or co-first authorship requires leading the project (design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation). Co-authorship requires meaningful contributions, not minor technical help (such as running a gel, shipping a sample, sharing a common plasmid/protein). Acknowledgment (instead of authorship) is appropriate for individuals who provided technical assistance, materials, or general support without intellectual contribution. Authorship may be re-evaluated as projects evolve. The PI has final responsibility to ensure fairness and adherence to ethical guidelines.
- Research Misconduct
The following behaviors are unacceptable and will NOT be tolerated:- Fabrication or manipulation of data or images.
- Selective exclusion of data to mislead interpretation.
- Plagiarism or inappropriate reuse of text or figures.
- Withholding data from collaborators or PI.
- Ignoring safety or ethical concerns.
Concerns about research integrity should be reported to the PI, lab manager, or institutional offices without fear of retaliation.
Clear, respectful, and timely communication is essential to maintain a productive and supportive research environment. Good science relies not only on well-designed experiments, but also on how effectively we exchange ideas, discuss results, and support one another.
- Foreign Language Policy
English is the working language used in the lab for both scientific and casual conversations when others are present. This ensures full inclusion and transparency and encourages international trainees to improve English communication. You may use a non-English language in private settings or when no one else is excluded by it.
- Communication Methods
We communicate using different tools depending on the purpose and urgency. In general:- In-person Conversation is preferred for most conversations and questions.
- Email is used for non-urgent matters, or when documentation of a complicated matter is needed. You should expect response on the same day for short answers, 1-2 days to up to a week for something that requires extensive work to draft the reply. If there is a deadline, indicate it clearly in email. A follow-up email to kindly remind people is appropriate if no response is received after a reasonable period.
- Slack should be used for short, quick updates or questions. Slack messages are automatically deleted after 90 days. Anything critically important should be sent by email, as those will last as long as you are at UTSW. One should expect instant or maximally several hours as people can be busy on something. Keep notifications on all the time.
- Text Messages or Phone Calls are reserved for emergencies or time-sensitive situations. You may text/call Stone or Daniel. If you wish to call Daniel about an emergency, send a text saying “This is lab member” first so he knows who you are and does not ignore an unknown number calling him.
- Reminding Stone: if Stone fail to respond within a reasonable time, it is ALWAYS okay to send a reminder — he will never be offended.
- Meetings and Expectations
Lab meetings are essential for scientific exchange, feedback, and community building. Attendance and active participation are expected from all members, unless excused in advance.- Weekly Lab Meeting: All lab members must attend and participate actively. Presenters should summarize recent progress, show well-annotated data, and propose next steps. Know your audience, and spend 25% of time on background, 75% on new data. Figures must be presentation-ready (Illustrator).
-
Weekly Journal Club: Please present a recent, high-impact paper (with approval from PI). Structure your presentation in two parts:
- Tell the overall story-the motivation, key findings, and conceptual framework.
- Dive deeply into one take-home message-explain why it matters and how it advances the field.
Avoid going figure-by-figure; instead, retell the story to help understand the logic behind the work. While reading and preparing, please consider the following points:
- Scientific gap and discovery: What was unknown? What new knowledge did this paper contribute? Understanding this broadens our scientific perspective.
- Logical flow of the study: How did the authors identify the problem? What steps did they take to solve it? Analyzing this helps cultivate strong problem-solving skills and reveals how successful research programs operate.
- Methodology and experimental design: How were key experiments designed and executed? For example, in cryo-EM papers:How were samples prepared?How was the data collected and processed? This technological knowledge could be directly applied to our own work.
- For structural papers: Structural results are often difficult to convey using 2D, static images. To clearly illustrate conformational changes or model features during lab meetings, it is extremely helpful to use movies (either provided by the authors or generated yourself, since PDB files and maps can be downloaded easily).
- Weekly 1:1 Meetings with PI: come prepared with organized results in a PPT. Mainly focus on going through new data, experiment notes, troubleshooting, and planning.
- Quarterly Progress Review: every three months, we will evaluate goals, accomplishments, challenges, and next steps. We will review long-, mid-, and short-term plans.
- Practice Talk / Ad Hoc Meeting: any formal talks given outside the lab (qualifying exam, conference talk, thesis defense, or job talk) must be practiced in the lab 1–2 times in advance. Please schedule practice talks at least two weeks ahead, preferably using the backup lab meeting time. This is to allow you to get feedback on your talk, with the ultimate goal of improving your presentation skills.
- Manuscript Presentation: if you are focusing on paper writing, and the manuscript is near completion (e.g. the figures are 80% done), you should present the paper at least once in a group meeting to receive feedback.
- Meeting Etiquette
- Be On Time: everyone needs to have an electronic calendar: Outlook/Teams and/or Google calendar.
- Electronics: Mute phones and avoid using laptops/phones for non-meeting or non-urgent purposes.
- Take Notes: it shows respect and helps you stay focused, remember key messages, and engage with the meetings by asking questions and contributing to discussions.
- Ask Questions: Ask thoughtful questions that help advance scientific discussion, not to show superiority or criticize others unfairly. Taking notes will help you ask questions.
- Communicating with People Outside the Lab
- Principle: be transparent, collaborative, and generous when interacting with people outside of the lab, especially collaborators, while being mindful of potential conflicts of interest such as competitions and the risk of sharing unpublished results.
- Keep Stone in all email communications with people outside the lab.
- Sharing Materials/Information: For general lab supplies, protocols, and published results, you may share within our capacity.
- Common, low-value items requested in person from local colleagues do not require Stone’s approval.
- For unpublished results, unique or expensive reagents, equipment use requests, always obtain approval from Stone.
- Who to Include in Emails? There is no strict rule, and that is a sense to develop over experience. Stone is always happy to be included. You can always discuss with Stone specific cases if you are unsure whom to cc.
- Email Quality: you are what you say or write. Emails cast an impression of who you are and should be written as best as you can. Feel free to use ChatGPT to refine wording and correct grammar before sending.
Scientific discoveries rely not only on good ideas and experiments, but also on a well-organized, safe, and collaborative working environment. Every lab member plays a role in keeping the lab functional, safe, and respectful of shared resources.
- Lab Safety and Compliance
Safety is the responsibility of every lab member. We must maintain a physically and emotionally safe workplace. Therefore:- Institutional Training: all lab members must complete required institutional safety trainings (fire, chemical, biosafety) and keep your training records up to date.
- Lab-Specific Training: do not perform procedures or use equipment or hazardous materials until properly trained.
- PPE: always wear appropriate PPE: lab coat, gloves, goggles/face shield when required and follow institutional protocols for chemical, biological, and equipment safety.
- Gloves: do not wear gloves in public spaces outside the lab. Do not directly touch door handles or elevator buttons with gloves on. Take it off or use a clean paper towel.
- Food: do not eat or drink in the lab.
- Report: report accidents, spills, injuries, or unsafe conditions immediately to the lab manager or PI.
- First Aid: ensure you know where the first aid kit is stocked with unexpired basic medical supplies and is always easily accessible. Ensure you know where eyewash station, shower, and fire extinguisher are located.
- Inventory: update the chemical inventory before relocating any chemicals between different storage or inventory locations to maintain accurate records and safety compliance.
- Waste: follow proper waste disposal procedures for chemical, biological, and sharps waste.
- Emotional Safety: harassment, intimidation, or aggression have no place in our lab.
- Shared Equipment and Reagents
Shared equipment and reagents are for everyone’s use and must be treated with care and responsibility. Therefore, show respect for shared resources, instruments, and spaces, ensuring fair access to everyone (or first some first served) and maintaining lab safety and cleanliness- Sign Up: use sign-up sheets or calendars when required. Do not occupy equipment longer than needed. Fill out the logbooks for the appropriate instrument before and after using it.
- Clean & Return: clean instruments and workspaces after use. Return tools, reagents, and pipettes to their designated locations.
- Notify/Report: take responsibility and be a diligent communicator.
- If a piece of equipment is not working properly, put up a clear sign and notify the lab manager immediately. You should also let the entire lab know, so no one uses it after you.
- If you notice an issue in surroundings, even if it’s unrelated to your experiment, report it immediately. This could include flashing warning lights, strange sounds, strange smells, etc. It is better to catch an issue early than to let it develop into a large problem.
- Notify Lab Manager if an item is running low, or if you need a special chemical/piece of equipment. If you use the last of a reagent or consumable, record it in the ordering list promptly.
- If you lend or provide a shared item/instrument to another lab member or people outside the lab, be sure to notify the rest of the group in advance to maintain transparency and avoid any unexpected issues.
- Research-Only: Do not store personal or unrelated items in lab freezers, refrigerators, or incubators.
- Lab Cleaning and Lab Duties
A clean, organized, and well-maintained lab benefits everyone. Therefore:- Cleanliness: shared areas (chemical/buffer areas, cold room, cell culture room, gel areas, microscope rooms, etc.) must be left clean after use. Keep your own bench clean, organized, and clearly labeled. This should be done at least weekly, preferably daily.
- Lab Duties are Top Priority: lab-wide duties such as making protein gels and stock solutions, maintaining TC room, restocking tips and tubes are assigned to individuals in the lab. Completing these duties is part of everyone’s responsibility and takes priority over individual research tasks.
- Record: record completion of assigned duties in the shared lab duty sheet.
- Trash Clutter: ensure the timely disposal of unwanted materials instead of allowing them to accumulate (e.g. empty boxes, expired chemicals, used toner cartridges, or broken equipment).
- Ordering and Inventory
Efficient ordering prevents delays in research.- Roles: the lab manager leads ordering and inventory, but everyone must contribute to keeping supply lists updated. Note which COA is used for each order.
- Proactive: add items to the ordering spreadsheet as soon as you notice low supply. Do not wait until reagents are fully depleted.
- Update: when you order or receive an item, update the Google Sheet promptly.
- Large Orders: for expensive reagents, antibodies, or new equipment requests, consult Stone before placing an order. It’s likely you’ll need to compare prices and cost effectiveness.
- Research Only: Lab funds are for research purposes only. Personal purchases using lab accounts are a federal crime.
- Core Facilities and External Resources
UTSW offers powerful core facilities. Use them responsibly and respectfully.- Reservation: book instruments or services ahead of time and cancel reservations if you cannot attend. Often, you will be charged for no shows, and it can lead to permission being revoked.
- Follow rules: follow all core facility rules, training requirements, and safety policies. There are no exceptions.
- Respect: be respectful to core facility staff. They are essential collaborators in our research.
- Acknowledgement: acknowledge core facilities and staff appropriately in presentations and publications when their services contributed to your work.
Our goal is not only to complete a scientific project, but to help each lab member grow into an independent, productive, and ethical scientist. Scientific success is measured not only by publications, but also by maturity, judgment, and ability to lead future research.
- Scientific and Professional Development
Each lab member is expected to continuously develop in the following areas:- Technical Skills: master core lab techniques and progressively learn advanced methods relevant to your project.
- Experimental Judgment: design logical experiments, identify proper controls, troubleshoot problems, and interpret results critically.
- Communication Skills: present clearly at lab meetings, journal clubs, conferences; write clearly in papers, protocols, and proposals.
- Independence: take increasing ownership over your project, including literature review, planning, and problem-solving.
- Collaboration & Mentorship: be able to work with others, train juniors, and contribute positively to the lab environment.
- Emotional Maturity: Manage stress, failure, and conflicts calmly and rationally.
- Graduation and Completion Criteria (“Hardware” and “Software”)
Your readiness to graduate or move on is evaluated based on two aspects:- “Hardware” (tangible scientific outcomes): You have completed at least one significant research project with clear ownership. Typically, this is demonstrated by one first-author or co–first-author publication (published, submitted, or manuscript near completion). In addition, you can clearly explain your research question, hypotheses, experimental logic, and conclusions.
- “Software” (scientific maturity and independence): It is a subjective call, but the goal is to determine whether you can plan and troubleshoot experiments independently, can manage time responsibly and maintain high data integrity, can communicate clearly, handle feedback professionally, collaborate effectively, and can function in a new lab environment without constant supervision.
- Typical Timeframes (flexible based on progress/goal):
- Graduate students: 5–7 years. Ask yourself: If you were placed in a lab of 10-20 postdocs with minimal supervision, could you thrive?
- Postdocs: 1–7 years depending on project type and career goals. The goal is to be capable of leading your own project or lab.
- Finishing and Handing Off Projects: Before transitioning away from a project (graduation or switching focus), you are expected to prepare a clear, written summary of the project’s goals, key findings, remaining questions, and next experimental steps. Complete the tasks in the Lab Exit form and ensure that all plasmids, datasets, notebooks, protocols, and figures are organized so they can be easily found and referenced by others.
- Conferences, Grants, and Career Preparation
- Local Conferences: you are always encouraged to attend and present at them.
- National Conferences: you are encouraged to attend and present at them once your data are mature enough. The lab will support travel when justified. Popular meetings that fit our expertise include ASBMB, ACS, Protein Society, as well as various smaller meetings focused on specific topics in Gorden conferences and Keystone symposia.
- Fellowship/Grants: most trainees are expected to apply for fellowships or grants during their training. This builds skills in scientific writing and project planning.
- Goal Setting: during quarterly review meetings, we discuss career goals (academia, biotech, industry, teaching, consulting, etc.) and adjust your training accordingly.
- Career Preparation: near graduation or departure, Stone will help with CVs, recommendation letters, job applications, and practice interviews.
- Recognition and Celebration of Achievements:
- Milestones such as publications, defenses, prelim exams, Grants, postdocs setting up their lab, etc should be celebrated.
- Birthday celebration is our lab tradition.
- Lab retreats, e.g., an end-of-the-year hangout or lab lunch/dinner, will be our lab tradition.
- Mentorship and Connections After You Leave
Mentorship does not end when you leave the lab. Stone will continue to support you as a mentor, collaborator, and advocate, whether that involves helping you revise your own grant or manuscripts and providing letters or advice throughout your career. He expects to build life-long relationships with all members of the Chen Lab. Other lab members, including Dr. Kramer, are also committed to supporting you and celebrating your achievements long after your time in the lab.
Research is challenging, and stress is natural. What matters is that we address problems early, communicate respectfully, and support each other.
- Handling Conflict
Differences in opinion will arise; how we handle them defines our lab culture. The best advice for conflicts is to not go in assuming the worst: often, conflicts arise from miscommunication, not malicious intent.- If you have a disagreement with a lab mate, first try to resolve it calmly, respectfully, and privately, if you feel comfortable.
- If it cannot be resolved, or if the issue involves safety, ethics, or personal discomfort, speak with Stone or lab manager.
- No gossip, sarcasm, or passive-aggressive behavior. Focus on solving the problem and address the issue directly and respectfully.
- Stone will listen to all parties and mediate fairly. The goal is resolution, not blame.
- Mental Health and Personal Well-being
Your physical and mental health come before any experiment.- Research can be stressful. Feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or exhausted is not a failure; it is a sign that support is needed
- You are encouraged to talk to Stone, trusted lab members, counselors, or institutional resources.
- Taking breaks, time off, or mental health days is acceptable, with proper communication.
- Vacations should be planned in advance when possible. Unexpected leave (illness, family emergency) should be communicated as soon as possible.
- When to Seek Institutional Support
If an issue involves harassment, discrimination, research misconduct, or you feel unsafe raising it directly within the lab, you should contact: UTSW Graduate School or Postdoctoral Office; Title IX Office (for harassment or discrimination); Research Integrity Office. You will not be penalized for reporting concerns in good faith.
- New lab member onboarding checklist
- Lab member Exit checklist
- Lab safety checklist
- DNA construct naming and logging template
- Example experimental note template
- Ordering and inventory Google Sheet guide
- Write an SOP for yourself right after you take a training.
- BioHPC; training for everyone