Yang Lab guideline for graduate students
What you should expect from me
- I will work tirelessly for the good of the lab group; the success of every member of our group is my top priority, no matter their personal strengths and weaknesses, or career goals.
- I will be available for regular meetings twice a week and informal conversations. I will try to be available as much as possible.
- I will help you navigate your graduate program of study. You are responsible for keeping up with deadlines and being knowledgeable about requirements for your specific program. However, I am available to help you interpret these requirements, select appropriate coursework, and select committee members for your MS or PhD training.
- I will be your advocate. If you have a problem, come and see me. I will do my best to help you solve it.
- I am committed to mentoring you, even after you leave my lab. I am committed to your education and training while you are in my lab, and to advising and guiding your career development - to the degree you wish - long after you leave. I will provide honest letters of evaluation for you when you request them.
- I will lead by example and facilitate your training in complementary skills needed to be a successful scientist, such as oral and written communication, grant writing, lab management, mentoring, and scientific professionalism. I will encourage you to see opportunities in teaching, even if not required for your degree program. I will also strongly encourage you to gain practice in mentoring undergraduates.
- I will encourage you to attend scientific/professional meetings and will make an effort to fund such activities. You can generally expect to attend at least one major conference per year, when you have material to present. Please use conferences as an opportunity to further your education. If you register for a conference, I expect you to attend the scientific sessions and participate in conference activities during the time you are there. Travel fellowships are available through the Departments. I will help you identify and apply for these opportunities.
- I will discuss data ownership and authorship policies regarding papers with you. These can create unnecessary conflict within the lab and among collaborators. It is important that we communicate openly and regularly about them. Do not hesitate to voice concerns when you have them.
- I will strive to be supportive, equitable, accessible, encouraging, and respectful. I will try my best to understand your unique situation, and mentor you accordingly. I am mindful that each student comes from a different background and has different professional goals. I view my role as fostering your professional confidence and encouraging your critical thinking and creativity. If my attempts to do this are not effective for you, I am open to talking with you about other ways to achieve these goals.
What I expect from you
- Be honest, ethical, and enthusiastic
- Openly share your data and research outcome with your colleagues
- Learn how to plan, design, and conduct high-quality scientific research
- Learn how to present and document your scientific findings
- Be engaged within the research group and broader research community on campus
- Treat your lab mates, lab funds, equipment, and animals with respect
- Be responsible for your lab job
You will take ownership over your educational experience
- Ensure that you meet regularly with me and provide me with updates on the progress and results of your activities and experiments. Make sure that you also use this time to communicate new ideas that you have about your work and challenges that you are facing. Remember: I cannot address or advise about issues that you do not bring to my attention.
- Be knowledgeable of the policies, deadlines, and requirements of the graduate program, the graduate school, and the university. Actively cultivate your professional development. TKU has outstanding resources in place to support professional development for students. I expect you to take full advantage of these resources, since part of becoming a successful engineer or scientist involves more than just doing academic research. All graduate degree programs require attendance at a weekly seminar. Various organizations on campus engage in science outreach and information education activities. Attendance at conferences and workshops will also provide professional development opportunities. When you attend a conference, I expect you to seek out these opportunities to make the most of your attendance
You will be a team player
- Attend and actively participate in all group meetings, as well as seminars that are part of your educational program. Participation in group meetings does not mean only presenting your own work, but providing support to others in the lab through shared insight. Do your part to create a climate of engagement and mutual respect
- Strive to be the very best lab citizen. Take part in shared laboratory responsibilities and use laboratory resources carefully and frugally. Maintain a safe and clean laboratory space where data and research participant confidentiality are protected. Be respectful to, tolerant of, and work collegially with all laboratory colleagues: respect individual differences in values, personalities, work styles, and theoretical perspectives
- Be a good collaborator. Engage in collaborations within and beyond our lab group. Collaborations are more than just publishing papers together. They demand effective and frequent communication, mutual respect, trust, and shared goals. Effective collaboration is an extremely important component of the mission of our lab
- Acknowledge the efforts of collaborators. This includes other members of the lab as well as those outside the lab
You will develop strong research skills
- Take advantage of your opportunity to work at a world-class university by developing and refining stellar research skills
- Present your work at meetings and seminars and publish scientific articles that effectively present your work to others in the field. The "currency" in science is published papers: they drive a lot of what we do. We have an obligation to complete and disseminate our findings. I will push you to publish your research as you move through your training program, not only at the end. Students pursuing a doctoral degree will be expected to lead author on at least two journal paper submissions