Working with a new prof

[Tall Chai Latte]

Hey guys, it's Chai.

On Monday, I started a new rotation with another lab. The prof is an assistant professor started in 2008, and the lab currently has 2.5 grad students, 3 post docs, and 2 rotation students (me and another guy). The science is interesting and very applied, which suites my intention of going into industry perfectly. My background is also the perfect complimentary to the lab's skill set, so far it looks like a good fit.

However, as I started to get more hands-on and interacting with everyone in the lab, I see how the PI structures her team: the research is in the lines of rational drug design, we have chemists handling the synthesis, molecular biologists handling the cloning and protein expression, and when any of them has time, they run assays to test the molecules. The lab only focuses on two main drug targets so far, and everyone works on a part of everything. Everyone has a focus, but it's skill oriented rather than topic oriented.

I know there are many ways to run a lab, but this is something I have never experienced before. It's a great setup for a pharmaceutical company, where every team member has a technical niche and collaborate. But after all, we are in university setting, especially when it comes to constructing a somewhat unique storyline for a thesis, this particular approach sounds a bit lacking in the "uniqueness" aspect. Or, is it me who should be striving for the "uniqueness"? I'd like to hear some perspectives, just out of curiosity, I'm by no means saying this approach is not going to work.

Thanks everyone!

[Eigen]

So are you one of the chemists, or one of the biologists?

The structure is actually pretty close to how our group is divided up, with the cavaette that we all have to pitch in on other parts if needed. For your dissertation, I don't think it would be much of a problem... Either end that you describe is significant enough to make a story out of.

[Tall Chai Latte]

So are you one of the chemists, or one of the biologists?

The structure is actually pretty close to how our group is divided up, with the cavaette that we all have to pitch in on other parts if needed. For your dissertation, I don't think it would be much of a problem... Either end that you describe is significant enough to make a story out of.

Hey Eigen. I am a biochemist with some structural biology background, so I'll be handling the biochemical and biophysical assays, maybe some cell-based assays... I guess I'm one of the biologists since I don't do synthesis at all.

[singlecell]

have you gotten a chance to hear a member of the lab present yet, even informally in a group meeting?

[cogneuroforfun]

I don't really see a problem. What part of it is troubling to you? Many of the bigger molecular labs seem to have everybody more or less working together on big projects. When it comes to publications, they typically have long author lists, with one or two obvious lead authors depending on the focus of the paper.