Training Students in the Lab ASHA-NIDCD Lessons For Success Conference

1
Training Students in the LabASHA-NIDCD Lessons
For Success Conference

• Elena Plante, Ph.D.
• The University of Arizona

2
With Practical Advice from

• Pélagie Beeson
• Carol Bender
• Julia Evans
• Susan Felsenfeld
• Marc Fey
• Merrill Garrett
• Ted Glattke
• Judith Gierut

• Ron Gillam
• Shelley Gray
• Audrey Holland
• Tiffany Hogan
• Kimbrough Oller
• Elizabeth Peña
• Lyn Turkstra

3
Philosophy

• What is the primary goal of the lab experience?
• Completing the research?
• Generating excitement about a research career?
• Introducing students to how research works?
• Engendering an appreciation for the role of
  research in the profession?
• Training someone to be a successful researcher?
• What are the secondary goals?

4
Different Philosophies

• Undergraduate
• Completing the research.
• Generating excitement about a research career.
• Masters/AuD (theses)
• Introducing students to how research works.
• Ph.D.
• Informed teachers/practitioners
• Researchers

5
Expectations
Need to be made crystal clear. (multiple
respondents)

• Yours
• Goal relative to students level.
• Further lab research.
• Meet important deadlines.
• Meet expectations for professional conduct.
• Meet expectations for level of effort.
• Publication opportunities?
• Participation beyond assigned duties?

• Students
• Goal based on?
• Gain specific skills?
• Get a letter of rec?
• Be in line for a job?
• Publications?
• Explore a career option?
• Prioritize work relative to my classes.
• Prioritize work around my social life.

6
For every student in the lab

• Can they articulate their goal for being in the
  lab?

A. Holland, J. Gierut
7
Undergraduates

• Need to feel they are part of something
  important. (R. Gillam, M. Fey)
• Need to see others in the lab as regular people
• Contact with more advanced students
• Ill sleep when Im dead not the best motto
• Treat them as if they are headed for a Ph.D. (J.
  Evans).
• Need to feel connected to a community.
• Easier to host 2 undergraduates than 1 (E.
  Plante, S. Felsenfeld)
• Match grads with undergrads. (R Gillam, S. Gray)
• Need to know the others in the lab.
• Need time with you. (L. Turkstra, E. Peña)

8
Masters/Au.D.

• Typically come with
• No practical research experience.
• Limited ability to recognize which bodies of
  literature are relevant.
• Difficulty critically assessing the literature.
• No experience translating ideas into an
  experimental design.
• No or only introductory statistics .
• Have 12 to 18 months to complete a thesis

9
Practical Advice

• Recruit good students in their first semester.
• Keep a list of short, do-able projects they can
  chose from. (E. Plante, E. Peña)
• Reconsider the sequence of experiences the
  student gets
• Promote transfer of ownership for the project.
  (practically everyone mentioned this)

10
Practical Advice

• I've only worked with Masters' students and
  undergraduates and the way that I've gotten them
  interested in research is by fanning "their"
  passions.  Great for them, although probably not
  as good as if I always lured them into areas of
  my own expertise in following them where their
  passions take them. Not so good for me.  It's 
  one reason why I'm not a more productive
  researcher today.  So please use my idea, but
  don't identify me.

Anonymous
11
Ph.D.s

• There are two basic approaches
• mentoring in helping students become who
  they want to be.
• and mentoring students to become who you think
  successful Ph.D.s should be.
• A. Holland
• Perhaps a happy medium?

12
Training Researchers

• To train researchers, research needs to be the
  primary focus of the Ph.D.
• This is not the M.S./Au.D. degree extended.
• Prospective students often dont know this.
• Time allocation needs to reflect the primary
  focus.
• Get students into the lab right away.
• Evaluate the behaviors you want to encourage.
• Are grades on the students annual review?
• Or is manuscripts written or grants submitted?

13
Predicting Success

• Scenario 1
• Put new employees on carefully selected projects
  for which
• Mistakes wont hold up critical work.
• Allow worker to work independently until they are
  up to speed.
• Scenario 2
• Throw them in the deep end
• A project component necessary for anothers
  success.
• Something requiring coordination with others.
• Work needs to meet a deadline.

Scenario 2 is associated with higher retention
and success rates
14
A Survey of Ph.D. Grads

• The least satisfied Ph.D. graduates
• Had only a loose fit to their mentors interests.
  
• Had the fewest publication opportunities.
• The most satisfied Ph.D. students had
• Had close fit with their mentors interests.
• Had chance to guide a pre-dissertation study from
  start to finish.

U of Arizona, last 7 years
15
Other Core Competencies

• Speaking
• Progress reports on ongoing work
• Use a format that covers critical elements
• Give a time limit
• Tell people what you are doing at every
  opportunity (T. Glattke)
• Undergrad or visiting student lab tours
• Show and tell for Department events
• Departmental seminars
• Preview formal talks

16
Other Core Competencies

• Writing
• All students should keep a lab log or journal.
  (T. Glattke)
• Student should practice writing like artists
  practice drawing.
• Graduate students should write a little every
  day. (T. Glattke)
• Abstracting literature as a writing tool. (J.
  Gierut)

17
Other Core Competencies

• Reasoning
• The ability to evaluate theory and evidence.
• Knowledge of how ideas evolve in the literature.
• Seeing the forest for the trees in the
  literature.
• Use of abstracting as the basis of discussion.
  (J. Gierut)
• The ability to identify the holes in the
  literature (T. Hogan)

18
Other Core Competencies

• Problem Solving
• Efficiency vs. Student independence
• Fixing problems identified by the student
• Gives beginning Ph.D. students quick success.
• Gives them a sense of support.
• Direction to resources to solve problems
• Provides a transition phase for Ph.D. students.
• Acknowledging problems only
• Requires student independence.
• Shows trust in the student capabilities.
• Students with the best futures are self
  starters and troubleshooters (M. Fey)

19
Other Core Competencies

• Ethical issues
• Researchers are truth seekers (K. Oller)
• Mandatory Human Subjects Protection/Animal
  Welfare Training.
• Scenario training specific to the labs
  activities
• Authorship issues
• Refer to professional standards
• Align student mentor expectations

20
Hard Realities

• It is so flattering to have someone ask to work
  with you that it is easy to overlook red flags.
• Not all doc students were the student you were.
• Not everyone who believes they should get a Ph.D.
  are correct in that belief.
• A women-dominated field that cannot accommodate
  the issues of women during training (and
  employment) has no future.

21
Postdoctoral Fellows

• Need techniques from your lab.
• Need experience running studies.
• Their own studies.
• Your studies.
• Need publications.
• Get the dissertation submitted.
• Use your labs infrastructure to assist research
  efficiency.
• Need to begin to develop a national presence.
• Recommend them for professional opportunities.
• Support travel to conferences.

22
Postdoctoral Fellows

• Dont have them too early in your career.
• Dont rely on them for managing your workload.
• Do get set them up with mentors outside your lab.
• Do give them experience managing other people in
  your lab.

23
Lab Meetings

• Social meetings Feed them and they will come.
• Gives a sense of community
• Lowers intimidation factor
• Research meetings
• Communicates importance of the work
• Provides venue for oral presentation
• Provides for efficiency of scale
• Caveats Wed rather do the work than meet
  about it

24
Lab Meetings

• Make sure everyone has the labs big picture,
  where their part fits in, and what projects have
  priority.
• Separate research from logistics meetings (J.
  Evans)
• Schedule with appropriate frequency for the labs
  needs.
• Have an agenda. (M. Garret)
• Expect key players to be prepared.
• Provide an opportunity for junior members to
  voice an opinion.
• Have opportunities for undergrads to present. (J
  Gierut)
• Consider the functionality of your own
  interaction style. (M. Garret)
• Prevent digression.

25
General Practical Advice

• Helping students set realistic goals is critical
  to their success. (T. Hogan, S. Gray)
• Make the process seem manageable concrete.
  Attach timelines (S. Felsenfeld)
• Protocol manuals provide a starting point and
  promote competency. (J. Gierut)
• Lab web pages are useful (S. Gray)
• Avoid N.I.H. attitudes (yours and theirs)

Not in house
26
General Practical Advice

• Undergraduates are better lab members than
  Masters/Au.D. students.
• Masters theses always take longer than you think.
  
• A good Ph.D. student is a wonderful thing, but
  consumes time. A bad Ph.D. student tends to take
  little of your time.
• A weak Ph.D. program cannot be salvaged by a 2
  year postdoc.

27
Glattkes Maxims for Students

• Don't be afraid to try new things.  You cannot
  break the equipment and if you do, its only
  money.
• Students should keep a journal.  Every day should
  find them writing in the journal and any changes
  they make in protocols, etc., should be recorded.
  You think you will remember, but you wont. And
  you certainly wont in a year.
• Analyze data as you go so you don't get to an end
  point an realize something was amiss.  Two of my
  students had to re-run a ton of subjects because
  of miscues.
• Keep an open mind while you look at data.  You
  never know when you'll discover something.
• Tell people what you are doing at every
  opportunity.  Invite others into the lab and do
  show and tell. The more you talk about your
  projects, the better you will be at it.
• Write a little every day, or if not every day,
  insure that you break the writing into small
  pieces that you can manage and feel good about. 
  Don't save it up until Sunday night.
• Students are usually haven't had enough practice
  to crank out an abstract on the first try.
• Quiet weekend days in the lab are the best.
• Don't spill your coffee on the keyboard.

Theodore Glattke, Ph.D., Professor, University of
Arizona.
28
Benders Maxims for Mentors

• Don't be patronizing, but assume no knowledge on
  the part of the undergraduate when the student
  starts.  That way you can be pleasantly surprised
  when your student knows something (or even a lot)
  but you won't be disappointed if they know little
  to nothing about the work.  It also  avoids
  problems with miscommunication.
• Encourage the students to ask questions and never
  make it uncomfortable for them to do so.
• Make your expectations very clear (but leave the
  door open for negotiation if something isn't
  going to work for them)
• Don't forget to share your enthusiasm and passion
  for your research with them...it can be
  infectious!
• Patience, patience, patience -- remember they are
  learning and if we do a good job in introducing
  them to research our efforts will be richly
  rewarded in a myriad of ways
• Listen to what the students say, and what they
  don't say--we have a lot to learn from them and
  we need to be open to what they are telling us.
• Remember you own experience as undergraduate
  researchers...what did you like and not like? 
• Many of the undergraduates will someday be your
  colleagues, so it is important to establish
  collegial relationships with them.....and have
  fun with this! 

Carol Bender, Ph.D., Director of the
Undergraduate Biology Research Program,
University of Arizona