Welcome to the lab! Starting a new job is always stressful - Will I fit in? Will people think I’m competent? What if my project doesn’t work? Relax! You have been selected to join the lab because Pat and the rest of the group think you’re awesome. Our group and the research we do is pretty unique and we don’t expect people to have all of the skills that are needed. That’s probably why you are joining us. Heck, if you had all of those skills, you should be the PI - he certainly doesn’t have all of those skills. Some people have amazing lab skills, others can take another person’s 100 line script and reduce it to a one-liner. The goal is that by the end of your time in the lab, you will have grown in your ability to design experiments, execute microbiome-based experiments, analyze cutting-edge data, and disseminate your research.
But first things first, let’s get you through your first week in the lab. Here’s a checklist and resources of things for people that are new (or not so new) to the lab…