Mission statement and expectations: My goal is to cultivate a lab environment that enables everyone to perform exciting research and hone their scientific and professional skills. All members of the lab (including the PI) are expected to practice the following skills: a growth mindset, a willingness to ask questions, the ability to accept constructive criticism, positive sum thinking, and reliability. In addition, all members of the lab are expected to contribute to a positive culture that makes the lab an enjoyable place to do research. Specific expectations about performing research in the lab will be written down and provided to everyone joining the lab to ensure that we are on the same page from the very beginning.

Lab culture: The Newman lab is a welcoming and supportive environment, and we value a wide range of ideas, backgrounds, and experiences, which will provide the lab with varied perspectives and ideas that will fuel creativity. Therefore, all lab members are expected to contribute to a lab environment where everyone can thrive. Members of my lab can expect me to promote this environment by tailoring my mentoring to each individual lab member, practicing active listening, and providing the resources and support needed so that everyone in the lab can reach their full potential.

Mental Health (aka Health): Science can be challenging! Experiments don’t work, rejection happens to all of us, and the feeling that “I’m behind everyone else and will never catch up” can wreck havoc even when it’s obviously not true. Despite all of this, academia doesn’t have to drag you down, and being in a supportive environment can help with building the resilience needed to tackle the next challenge. Therefore, I expect all lab members to cultivate a supportive and positive environment. To this end, I will strive to be an empathetic mentor that practices and promotes active listening, in addition to de-stigmatizing mental illness and normalizing mental wellness. Despite the challenges, scientific research is an incredibly fun and rewarding career, and my goal is to ensure that this is always the case in the Newman lab.