If you are interested in working with us in the Nault Lab, here are some specific guidelines for each academic position in the lab:
Postdoctoral Researchers:
As more established and independent researchers I aim to help you cultivate your skills and develop your research program with your future career goals in mind. I will help you identify avenues for potential funding to join my lab and work with you to develop a project with shared overlap in scientific interest between us. As a member of the lab and department I expect you to participate in opportunities to engage and interact with our colleagues, including lab meetings, departmental seminars, and networking opportunities. Postdocs in our lab often have leadership roles in our group, which often leads to collaborations with other members of the lab, mentoring experiences, and opportunities for developing your outreach and communication skills. I will work closely with you to build your professional profile and assist you in identifying your career path. I also realize that time off is important and will follow all university policies regarding vacation time, but if more time off is needed we can discuss options to help you be productive during your time in the lab. As your time in our lab will be research focused I expect peer-reviewed publications to result from our collaboration.
Graduate Students:
Your number one priority as a graduate student is your research, which includes experiments, analyses, and writing up your results for collaborative peer-reviewed publications. I expect you to maintain this as your priority, but also recognize this should definitely not be your only activity during graduate school. I generally do not hand thesis projects to graduate students, but instead work with you to identify research avenues that excite you and are likely to lead to new discoveries. You should read widely from the scientific literature, but also use these readings to narrow down your interests and discover gaps in our knowledge for you to pursue. As a junior colleague I expect you to participate in all departmental and lab-related activities and seminars and contribute to the scientific community. I typically try to support your participation in at least one scientific conference per year where you will present your independent research, although you should seek funding too. I expect to be informed about all of your professional activities (i.e. teaching, seminar invitations, grant applications, conference participation, outreach, etc.), which helps me to advocate for you and also assist in navigating successful decision making. You should aim for the goal of publishing most of your thesis research during your time in my lab. I also want to make sure we are arming you with the skills you need for a successful career path including outside of the academy as there are many diverse ways to use your degree in science. Mentoring undergraduates is encouraged and is a great way to gain mentoring experience. Time off is important for rejuvenation and I will, of course, follow all university policies regarding time off, but I am also open to other time off needs as long as we discuss them in advance. Ultimately, I am here to guide, support, and cheer for you not only during your time in my lab, but for your entire career.
Undergraduates:
As an undergraduate intern in our lab I hope to help you discover what conducting research is and about the diverse career options in science. To better help you in this regard it is important that you are interested in the research questions and techniques we use in our lab. Although you may not start immediately doing independent research in our lab, my goal is to expose you to scientific methods and biodiversity research in our molecular lab and/or in the Cornell University Insect Collections. Most undergraduates in the lab work closely with more senior members of the lab (postdocs and graduate students). We highly value your contributions to our lab and we have had undergraduates join us at national scientific conferences, participate in international fieldwork, and even be authors on and of peer-reviewed scientific publications. Communication is essential so we can help you discover research skills and questions, while always prioritizing your classes and education. I encourage undergraduates to attend and participate in our weekly lab meetings when your schedule permits. Opportunities in our lab are only limited by your passion and dedication.