Expert Advice on Starting a Lab

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During our Starting Your Own Lab webinar, attendees asked so many insightful questions that we ran out of time to respond to all of them. So we asked nine NIGMS early career investigators to tackle the most popular ones in short videos, which were featured on our social media. Now, you can watch the whole series on our YouTube channel.

1. What advice do you have for postdocs searching for a faculty position?
2. What experience and lessons can you share about applying for your first grants?
3. What do you wish you knew before starting your role as a professor?
4. What are your strategies for hiring new lab members?
5. What is the best way for you to tailor your mentoring style to best suit the different needs of individual students and trainees?
6. What is the best way to learn the logistical aspects of running a lab (e.g., buying equipment, managing grants/funds, tracking multiple trainee projects, etc.)?
7. How do you balance working at the bench with administrative duties such as grant writing, teaching, writing papers, etc.?
8. How do you decide on the scientific priorities of your lab?
9. How should new PIs balance collaborative projects with their own endeavors?

More webinars for the NIGMS training community on topics from biotechnology careers to virtual teaching are available on our YouTube playlist, including a discussion on developing a culture of safety in the lab.

We encourage you to share these videos with your friends, students, and colleagues. On Twitter, follow @NIGMSTraining for more advice on pursuing a career in science, @NIGMS for more information about NIGMS-funded research and resources, and @NIGMSgenes for tips on applying for grants. You can also connect with NIGMS through
Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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