Mentorship and Career Development

My goal is to provide junior scientists with scientific and lab training to equip you to ask and solve novel scientific problems and ensure that we achieve the defined goals for the projects as we have mutually agreed upon. However, I do not want any individual of this lab to lose sight of the big picture: your future. Every lab member will be required to complete a research and career development plan to help strategize and ensure that you are taking steps towards career development. There are two goals of this document: 

(1) Mutually beneficial partnership: As we work towards the common goal of advancing scientific knowledge within defined frameworks of this lab, I want to ensure that I am able to fulfill my commitment to you by helping you acquire the necessary skills required for your present and future self. 

(2) Developing a strategic plan: I love academia, science and research and do not mind spending years lost in solving research problems. However, I am well aware of the challenges of an academic career and life in academia. In order to achieve Goal 1, described above, I want us to be on the same page and make sure we don’t lose sight of your career goals. Therefore we will use a mutually agreeable and modifiable template to completing your personal development plan. This is inspired from the Individual development plan but I’ve tried to incorporate some aspects that I would have benefitted from during my journey. 

As a new lab, we understand that not all information may be available about us. However, we have some useful resources to share to provide insights about the mentorship and vision.

• Lab Rotation FAQ document for PhD students to provide some insights about rotations, general expectations and what we would aim to provide you during the rotation. 

• Vision for postdoctoral training: We welcome postdoctoral candidates considering both academic and non-academic tracks in science and are committed to foster your training to independence.

• Career and professional development plan: Here is a draft outline of our development plan that we will use to help strategize and ensure that all members of the lab are taking steps towards career development. We will work towards personalizing this plan for each individual.

• Lab handbook: Our detailed handbook will be provided upon request. Here we provide an overview of general vision and expectations