Pulling on the same end of the rope
(February 15, 2024)
Our laboratory does not have a handbook. It is a document many labs use to clarify responsibilities, expectations, and lab culture. Perhaps I was too lazy to assemble such a manual, although there are plenty of resources and examples (Research Culture… Tendler et al., 2023). Perhaps I was never a big fan of describing a specific culture in a long document because I believe that the culture of a lab cannot be defined by writing it down - by requiring newcomers to “fit in,” or else? I’d rather believe that lab culture is the product of how all lab members treat and support each other and the mutual understanding that nobody is perfect.
It took decades for me to come to this conclusion. I experienced good and bad camaraderie throughout my career, and I also learned that the PI has only limited influence on the lab culture. The culture is rather the product of how each research group member interacts with the other members. This, in turn, is dictated by many parameters that the PI often cannot control. These daily changing parameters affect mood, motivation, behavior, sharpness, willingness to go the extra mile, and perspective - among pretty much everything that makes us tick.
Ultimately, it is important to communicate to every lab member that they should think about what is important for their individual career goals. Each lab member should be egoistic about this because, at the end of their stint, there will be a simple calculation determining their future. For a graduate student, this will be to arrive at a successful thesis defense. For a postdoc aiming for an academic career at a “high-octane” institution, this will be papers - not only one paper but a series of papers that culminate in at least one high-impact paper, to be clear. However, other postdocs' goals differ because they aspire to an academic position at a smaller college. Some postdocs and graduate students do not want to stay in academia and aim for industry, which offers many different opportunities at all levels for different future lifestyles. Academic positions are very limited, and simple math explains why most students and postdocs will decide on a productive career outside of Universities or Research Institutions. Still, the most important parameter that provides the ticket for all these future careers is each individual’s academic and research productivity during their time in the lab. The bottom line is that papers are the currency that allows each lab member to move forward with their career: a graduate student might have the requirement to have a first author paper submitted (or even accepted) before they are allowed to graduate; a postdoc needs several papers to compete for a faculty position or needs to provide a rationale (papers!) why they would be a fabulous team leader in a biotech lab. A measure of someone’s success is their productivity, and the quantifiable parameter for this is the number and impact of their papers. Whether one agrees with this or not, it is the reality.
Back to lab culture. As an essentialist, what kind of message should be given to my research group and incoming new members? The message needs to be simple and clarify how following one simple guideline will increase each person’s chance for a successful stint in the lab - and provide a stress-free environment for all.
This led to the below sketch, which medical illustrator Chris Gralapp helped me with. It communicates what our lab represents when it works at its best. I do not want to say that the picture on the right side perfectly represents us, but I ask my lab members to think about the benefits of helping each other, sharing resources, and supporting each other. This applies not only to the lab alone but also to how we treat our administrative staff and everyone who supports our research (the APLAC people, the FedEx delivery people, the people who pick up our trash, etc.). Making an effort to collaborate and pull on the same side of the rope will increase each person’s productivity and ultimately strengthen each person’s career perspective. Also, because I am an integral team member, I gratefully take this benefit for myself. This is common sense, and I do not see the need for an extensive lab handbook to communicate such a basic message.
