My goal is to create a supportive, dynamic laboratory that maximizes productivity and enables people who work hard and intelligently to flourish. All the greatest discoveries in science were made by young intrepid researchers, so I want to nurture my lab members' talents and remove obstacles to their development and scientific discoveries.
We are a research laboratory with 2 junior faculty, 2 postdoctoral fellows, 1 graduate student, and multiple highly trained technicians. Every person in the laboratory will have his/her own project(s), including one high-risk, high-impact, and intellectually challenging project. I expect everyone to commit to his/her research and work hard. There are significant opportunities for collaboration within the lab as well as with external collaborators. I have meetings every week with individuals, research teams, and the whole lab. I have an open-door policy for everyone in the lab and will always welcome high-quality and important data. I spend an extensive amount of time with new members when they start in the lab, to introduce the research, inculcate the lab ethos and work ethic, and chart out a research plan.
Each lab member will present weekly at lab meetings with an emphasis on written and oral communication skills. The laboratory is optimally geared to develop postdoctoral fellows for a career in academic research, with grant and paper writing (with significant feedback prior to submission), mentoring summer students, developing leadership (running a research program), and establishing their local and national reputation at talks and conferences.
I look for four characteristics in my researchers: integrity, appetite for hard work, infectious ability to work with others in a team, and scientific curiosity and enthusiasm for the challenge. I believe that by teaching “how to fish rather than giving a fish," I will develop superb scientists who will make a difference.
A laboratory's most important asset is its people. Our primary goal is to make a difference in the lives of patients with cancer.
Our motto is, "Be scientifically aggressive and follow the science!"