Lab Mission Statement

Our mission is to understand how the brain develops so we can then unlock the underpinnings of childhood brain injury and disease.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

It is my strong belief that the lab environment should be welcoming and inclusive for all members and I am committed to fostering that culture. We are all coming from different backgrounds with different lived experiences. This is not only the case with respect to our personal but also our scientific experiences. It is the union of everyone’s expertise and experiences that will make our lab a truly great place to work and learn. In the end, the more we can come together as a team and foster a collegial environment for everyone the more we will be able to achieve together to push the boundaries of the science we do! To succeed in my lab requires the ability to work with and support your peers, to engage in fun scientific discussions, to share in successes and hard times and to aim to be the best lab citizen possible.

Mentorship

I have been lucky enough to have some great mentors in my career and have seen just how valuable that can be. I take mentorship very seriously and aspire to be the best mentor I can be for each member of the lab. My goal is to model an adaptive approach for my trainees. Some incoming lab members with little experience need closer supervision and those already skilled in research need more independence. I tailor my approach for each individual and adjust as they gain experience and confidence in the lab. I hope that by modelling this approach, trainees will also learn how to become skilled mentors themselves and apply these skills within the lab and in their future careers.

Expectations

With every member that joins the lab I make a point of discussing expectations. Both my expectations of you but also your expectations of me. This is important because I want everyone to enjoy their experience in the lab. Depending on your career stage, whether you’re an undergrad or a senior post-doc, the expectations will be different. Whatever your career stage I ask that you work hard, with the highest level of integrity and ethics, and do the best, rigorous, well designed experiments you can do. I prefer to set achievable goals together and then monitor progress towards those goals instead of focusing on hours worked when and where. It’s up to you to decide what that looks like. Ultimately, the more you put into your experiments the more you will get out of the research experience.