The Kiang Lab Lab Manual

Author

Mathew V Kiang

Published

March 18, 2026

Welcome!

Welcome! This lab manual codifies how the Kiang Lab works.1 If you’re reading it, you are likely joining the lab or thinking of doing so — we are excited to work with you!

ImportantWork in Progress

This manual is under active construction.

The following chapters are still being drafted:

  • Ethics
  • Doing Science
  • Scientific Writing and Presentations
  • Mentorship and Development
  • Funding and Fellowships
  • Offboarding
  • Credits
  • Checklists
  • Further reading
  • R Code Style Guide
  • Project Structure

Note that all of this is basically in draft form. If I’m missing something or you find mistakes, let me know — better yet, create a fork and fix it yourself.

The manual has multiple purposes: a public statement of the lab culture and philosophy, a source of practical information (e.g., how to get reimbursed), a repository of institutional knowledge, a set of reference materials (e.g., coding style guide), and a contract between all members of the research team.

In short, the lab manual is designed to make the implicit explicit by setting clear expectations (of you, of me, of each other). Transparency makes for a more equitable and higher-functioning lab.

This is a living document and will evolve with feedback from lab members. You should feel free to send suggestions to Matt or submit a pull request on the lab’s GitHub repo.

  1. Or at least how I hope the lab will work.↩︎