Mentorship compacts are a method to set expectations in mentor-mentee relationships for new lab members, as well as an opportunity to introduce lab-specific dynamics and overall lab functioning. The checklist below is meant as a conversation starter, rather than a contract, for developing a compact upon joining a lab. Suggested topics of discussion are listed below. Each lab group and each mentor dyad (relationship between mentor and mentee) may look different depending on the career status, goals, and overall dynamics. As new mentees progress in their studies, dyad dynamics may change and this document is flexible in recognition of evolving relationships and projects.
Lab best practices, expectations, and logistics are compiled in our GitHub how_we_work repository. Students are expected to document and disseminate their workflow and data via folders in the lab Google Drive. Code and ideally data are expected to be tracked via GitHub repositories. Documenting research products (e.g., updating README files in GitHub) is expected before departing the lab.
What is the goal of the lab research program? What projects are active in the lab? How are the scientific questions determined?
Please see our website and how_we_work respository README for a mission statement and project descriptions. Often students will start out collaborating with me on a pre-existing question. Subsequently, students are encouraged to come up with research questions, preferably aligned with ongoing projects, in collaboration with me. My goal as a mentor is to facilitate students learning how to identify interesting questions, develop feasible approaches, and process and synthesize information to address the question.
What are the expected working hours, working conditions, and schedule? Do these vary from person to person?
I do not have expectations for the amount of time spent in lab, but I do expect you to spend sufficient time in the lab to interact and to make the commitment of time and effort necessary to make steady progress in your research and to meet milestones. Balancing research with hobbies and other enjoyable activities is central to success in graduate school, so group members are encouraged to bring their whole selves to the research group. I am happy to discuss remote working arrangements with lab members.
We have weekly group meetings where we present research, discuss papers, and undertake professional development activities. They are often shared with other research groups and we welcome broad participation. We decide on a schedule collaboratively at the start of each quarter and sometimes select a topic for the duration of the quarter.
I aim to take the lab out to lunch approximately monthly and we also get together for occasional happy hours, dinners, or other social events. Events are optional but encouraged. Lab members are welcome to plan lab social events.
I generally meet with trainees weekly but am happy to interact with students more frequently when beneficial. I understand that productivity is uneven as are the demands of non-research activities, but I expect students to arrive to meet each week with something they have produced (graphs especially welcome) or learned. We’ll review progress on the previous week’s goals and set goals for the next week. I ask students to complete an individual development plan annually that we will go over together. The process includes assessing progress on meeting past goals and timelines and revisiting research and professional goals and milestones. I also appreciate feedback on how I can be a better mentor for each student’s individual needs.
Lab data are stored in the TrEnCh shared Google Drive and often in GitHub as well. Each individual is responsible for organizing and documenting their data.
Research should be documented via README files that can point to other documentation in Google Drive or GitHub. Documentation of ongoing research activities is expected in whatever format works best for the mentee (e.g., paper or electronic lab notebooks).
We recognize the value of taking breaks for fun and rejuvenation. Trainees should give notice of at least a week if they will be away for more than 4 days. It’s also appreciated to let me know if you will miss a lab meeting or other lab event. Students are only expected to work during school breaks as necessary to maintain experiments or meet deadlines. It is preferable to align most graduate student vacation time occur over school breaks, but additional vacation time of a reasonable duration (~3 weeks) is fine. Postdoc vacation time of 21 days annualy is specified by the union.
The lab Slack channel (http://huckley.slack.com/) is the preferred method of communication for a quick response. I check email less frequently, but emails are fine and sometimes work better. I am happy for trainees to stop by my office for unscheduled meetings. However, I also aim to encourage independence, so I appreciate you making initial attempts to address issues that arise before consulting with me if appropriate.
See the Mentoring Philosophy in GitHub.
Our grasshopper research is in collaboration with Sean Schoville at U Wisconsin and Caroline Williams at UC Berkeley. Ray Huey at UW, Joel Kingsolver at UNC, and Mike Angilletta at ASU are also frequent collaborators. We collaborate broadly and are happy to facilitate connections to other research groups. Checking out the labs’ recent papers is a good way to identify additional collaborators.
When challenges arise, resources are available through UW wellbeing. Please contact Lauren to report an issue. Communication will be treated as confidential to the extent possible given that faculty are mandatory reporters for some issues. Graduate program manager Krista Clouser is an excellent resource for resolving conflicts.
For information on working with me, see Mentoring Philosophy.
The lab has been primarily funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and has been fortunate to maintain continuous funding. I aim to provide research assistantships (RAs) in the summer and for 1-2 quarters each academic year as well as research funding for students conducting research aligned with my funding. Students are encouraged to apply for external fellowships (e.g., National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Environmental Protection Agency STAR Fellowship, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship). Grant writing is an important skill and receiving independent funding is important for professional advancement. Recent students have been funded by National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships and an IGERT fellowship.
Who is responsible for knowing training deadlines (graduate school related activities, scholarships, conferences, etc.)?
Trainees are responsible for keeping track of due dates for training activities. Students are welcome to send weekly reminders of things needed from me such as reviews and letters.
Trainees are expected to construct a timeline and stick to it for activities on which they need feedback. My work style is that I prefer to work in chunks on planned activities and I don’t work well at the last minute, so you will get the best feedback if you provide plenty of time for me to provide adequate feedback. I am happy to provide feedback on revisions with a quick turn-around time if needed, but I request initial drafts at least a week (and ideally two weeks) before deadlines such as fellowship proposals. You are welcome to check if for feedback if it’s been at least a week or if feedback is needed urgently.
Yes, trainees complete and we discuss IDPs shortly after arrival and we revisit the IDPs annually.
Trainees are encouraged (and expected to a minimal degree) to mentor other lab members.
Yes, students generally work on sufficiently distinguished projects that they are welcome to continue the project after leaving the lab.
I aim to provide lab members funding to attend at least one scientific meeting each year. Funding is also available through the graduate program. There are many local-ish conferences in the PNW (EVO-WIBO, BC ECO-EVO retreat) that are great for networking and learning about interesting science. It’s often a good idea to start out presenting posters since they can allow for interactions with more people before you become more established.
What networking and/or career development opportunities are encouraged – for academia, industry, government?
Attending workshops or getting involved in working groups can be helpful for networking. I am happy to discuss internship options, particularly for those interested in careers outside of academia. There are many excellent local internship opportunities that some previous students have taken advantage of.
Yes, we aim to provide funding for professional development.
Students are encouraged to apply for external fellowships (e.g., National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Environmental Protection Agency STAR Fellowship, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship). Applying for foundation, society, and UW Biology grants are good ways to fund components of your research that can’t be covered by group grants, but it’s alternatively easy to go overboard and spend excessive time applying for many small grants. Grant writing is an important skill and receiving independent funding is important for professional advancement.
Intellectual contributions as well as contributions to the final product such as writing and conducting analyses are required for authorship. The project leader is generally first author and I am generally last author on papers by mentees. I won’t always be an author on papers by mentees if my involvement has been minimal, for example, if a student conducts a project mentored by another faculty member. The order of the remaining authors can be either alphabetical or descending order of contribution. It can be helpful to include an author contribution statement in the acknowledgements if it’s not a formal part of a manuscript. Undergraduates have often been co-authors on papers. I am happy for trainees to be corresponding author provided you plan to be responsive to requests. For undergraduates and postbacs, I will generally be sole or co-corresponding author since changes in career plans can make contact difficult.
Students should generally aim for one publication per chapter and three chapters are required. Students are strongly encouraged to submit, and ideally publish, at least one chapter before graduation. Publishing early is a great way to ensure both academic and non-academic options post-graduation.
I work closely with students writing their first paper and often make substantial edits. I aim for your writing competence and independence to increase as you proceed through subsequent publications. Students are generally expected to make the figures.
Communication is essential to a good mentor / mentee relationship, so I welcome questions and discussion of any issue.