3  Expectations

Expectations work in both directions. Below are points I expect of lab members but also what lab members can expect from me. Accountability works both ways and I fully expect lab members to let me know when I’m not meeting expectations.1

3.1 Expectations for Everybody

  • Adhere to the Code of Conduct.

  • Work on what you’re passionate about, work hard at it, and be proud of it. Be so proud of it that you have to suppress bragging (but it’s ok to brag sometimes).

  • Scientists have to be careful. Don’t rush your work. Think first. Then implement. Incorporate sanity checks. Ask others to look at your code or data if you need help, and help others when they ask. It’s ok to make mistakes, but mistakes shouldn’t be because of carelessness or rushed work.

  • Authorship will be discussed early and often. We will include everybody who meets the criteria for authorship. Authorship position should reflect field norms and contributions. Authorship (and order) may change over time but this change should reflect the evolution of the project. Authorship is never political.

  • If you do make a mistake, tell your collaborators (if they have already seen the results, and especially if the paper is being written up, is already submitted, or already accepted). We admit our mistakes, and then we correct them and move on.

  • Respect your collaborators. Answer their questions promptly and directly. Respect their time. Keep them updated on progress, timelines, and other important information. We never keep collaborators in the dark. We never give them impossible turn around requests (e.g., 2 weeks it the minimum amount of time we’ll give each other to review grants or manuscripts).

  • Respect each other’s time. Meetings should have an agenda and/or objectives. Minimize meeting cancellations and reschedules, and meet agreed-upon deadlines. When you can’t, give as much notice as possible. This is important enough to also warrant a mention in the Communications chapter.

  • We all want to make discoveries, get papers published, and do great things. But we do this honestly. It is never ok to plagiarize, tamper with data, make up data, omit data, or fudge results in any way. Science is about finding out the truth, and null results and unexpected results are still important. This can’t be emphasized enough: no academic misconduct!

  • Support your fellow labmates. Help them out if they need help (even if you aren’t on the project), and let them vent when they need to. Science in this lab is collaborative, not competitive. Help others, and you can expect others to help you when you need it.

  • Respect your fellow labmates. Respect their strengths and weaknesses, respect their desire for quiet if they need it, and for support and a kind ear when they need that. Respect their culture, their religion, their beliefs, their sexual orientation.

  • If you’re struggling, tell someone. Your health and happiness come first. The lab looks out for the well-being of all its members. We are here to help. It’s ok to go through hard patches (we all do), but you shouldn’t feel shy about asking for help or just venting. Academia and science can inspire some deep, deep rage at times!

  • If there is any tension or hostility in the lab, something has to be done about it immediately. We can’t thrive in an environment we aren’t comfortable in, and disrespect or rudeness will not be tolerated in the lab. If you don’t feel comfortable addressing the situation, tell Matt. (Actually, in any case, tell Matt about this sort of thing. It’s important!)

  • If you have a problem with Matt and are comfortable telling him about it, do! If you aren’t comfortable, then there are a few others you can talk to, including Professor David Rehkopf, Professor Michelle Odden, or Professor Melissa Bondy (senior faculty in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health) or you can talk to the people at Stanford TILE who are not in the department.

  • Stay up to date on the latest research using Google Scholar, subscribing to journal table of contents, etc. Also consider following scientists in the field on social media (e.g., BlueSky, Mastodon).

  • Have a life outside of the lab, take care of your mental and physical health, and don’t ever feel bad for taking time off work.

3.2 What You Can Expect from Matt

In your first weeks, we’ll have a dedicated conversation about how we’ll work together (see Matching Expectations of the Mentorship chapter). Here is what I commit to as PI:

  • Mentorship tailored to you. I will invest time in understanding your career goals and help you work toward them, whether you want to be a professor, work in industry, join a health department, or do something else entirely. Your success is my success.

  • Regular, reliable meetings. I will hold regular one-on-one meetings with you (see Communication) and will not frequently cancel or reschedule. If I need to move a meeting, I will offer an alternative time within a reasonable timeframe of the original time.

  • Timely feedback. I will return feedback on manuscripts, code, and presentations within two weeks. If I’m going to be slower (e.g., during conference season), I’ll tell you. I know that delayed feedback from a PI is one of the most frustrating bottlenecks in graduate school and postdoctoral training, and I take that seriously. My goal is to never be your bottleneck.

  • Advocacy. I will advocate for you — writing strong letters of recommendation, introducing you to colleagues, nominating you for awards,2 and promoting your work at conferences and in conversations. Your contributions will be visible and credited.

  • Funding transparency. I will be open about the lab’s financial situation. If funding changes in ways that affect you, I will tell you as early as I can so we can plan together.

  • Funding sources. Funding sources will always be from funding institutions (government or foundations) or other trustworthy sources. I will never take money from assholes.3

  • A safe environment. I will work to create and maintain a lab culture where you feel safe to take intellectual risks, make mistakes, disagree with me, and be yourself. If I fall short of this, I want to know.

  • Respect for your time and boundaries. I will not expect you to respond to messages outside of work hours. If I send a late-night Slack message, it is because that is when I happened to be working — not because I expect an immediate reply. I cannot stress this enough — I expect you to work during your work hours and I know that may not align with mine.

  • Honest feedback. I will give you honest, constructive feedback — including when things aren’t going well. You deserve to know where you stand, and I will not let problems fester. In return, I hope you will do the same for me.

3.3 Role-Specific Expectations

3.3.1 Undergraduate Students

You are here to learn. I expect you to be curious, show up consistently, and push yourself to understand not just what to do but why we’re doing it. We will pair you with a more experienced lab member for day-to-day mentoring, though I am available for bigger questions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions — that’s the whole point of being in a research lab. Before you leave, we should have a clear sense of what computational or research skills you’ve developed and whether graduate school or another research path interests you.

3.3.2 MS Students

You are responsible for meeting the requirements of your department. Keep me updated on your planned timeline for your thesis, your thesis requirements (e.g., length, number of readers, etc.). For many of you, this will be your first attempt at taking a research question from conception to completion and I want you to take ownership of your project.4 We will have regular one-on-one meetings where we discuss your thesis, blockers, and questinos you may have. These regular meetings will keep both of us honest about your progress.

If you have not already, read Stanford’s guidance on advisor-advisee relationships from VPGE.

3.3.3 PhD Students

You are here to develop from a student into an independent scientist. That transformation is the whole point. By the end of your first year, you should have ownership of at least one research direction. Over the course of your training, I expect you to develop strong statistical and coding skills, present at conferences, write papers, and gradually take the lead on projects. You are responsible for your academics and should keep the recommended timeline for departmental requirements (e.g., qualifying exams, dissertation committee, etc.). Keep me updated on your timeline and let me know how I can help you.

We will have regular one-on-one meetings where we discuss both your science and your career trajectory, and we will use your Individual Development Plan to keep both of us honest about your progress. I deliberately avoid setting universal publication benchmarks — the right number of papers depends on your field, your methods, and your career goals. If you want concrete targets to work toward, let’s set them together.

If you have not already, read Stanford’s guidance on advisor-advisee relationships from VPGE.

3.3.4 Postdoctoral Fellows

You are transitioning toward independence. I want to help you establish your own research identity and prepare for your next role. You will have significant autonomy in your research, and I expect you to drive your projects from conception to publication. I also expect you to mentor graduate students — this is a critical skill for your career, and it makes the lab stronger. We will discuss your longer-term career vision early and revisit it regularly. I will support your grant writing (including K awards and other fellowships), help you develop a research statement, and facilitate connections that might lead to your next position.

3.3.5 Lab Staff and Managers

You keep the lab running, and your professional growth matters too. We’ll discuss your role’s scope and opportunities for learning, and I will give you meaningful work and clear feedback. If you are interested in developing new skills or taking on different responsibilities, let’s talk about it.

  1. Nearly all of this was taken from Dan’s lab manual. Modifications were my own or based on Fernando Maestre’s “Ten simple rules towards healthier research labs”.↩︎

  2. If you see something you want to be nominated for, let me know! I’ll keep you in mind for things that come across my desk but you will know of more opportunities than me.↩︎

  3. Since apparently this needs to be stated explicitly these days.↩︎

  4. It is not uncommon for PI’s to “give” projects to students. I do not do that. To me, figuring out how to operationalize an abstract vague idea into a concrete testable hypothesis is the best part of research and the struggle is to live.↩︎