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Gahtan Lab - Get involved
I welcome inquiries from ANY student interested in gaining neuroscience research experience. Students usually work together on projects related to the lab's main research areas but topics can also be self-directed. All members should be committed to maintaining good grades, taking biology and neuroscience courses at Humboldt, and pursuing post-gradaute training or work in related fields.
Student Research Assistant Syllabus
Contents of this syllabus: (A) Overview of research assistantships and learning objectives (B) Common guidelines and expectations (C) Project-specific guidelines (D) Evaluation of performance
A. Learning objectives
(Note: Student research assistants must register for an appropriate supervision course, e.g., Psyc / Biol 495, 499, 690).
- Master a selected bibliography of scientific literature related to your project
- Develop research technology skills through hands on experience
- Develop scientific communication skills
- Pursue science-related career development opportunities
B. Guidelines and expectations
- Complete, as needed: laboratory safety training with Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), IRB CITI training for human subjects research, or IACUC CITI Training for vertebrate animal reseach.
- Spend a minimum of 2 hours per unit per week working on research projects
- Contribute to lab maintenance and fish care, including some weekend shifts
- Present once at lab meeting on your project (background, methods, or data)
- Follow the table of contents of a selected target journal
- Take careful records on all lab work in your lab notebook
- Be creative, share ideas, look things up, ask questions, try new things
- Exemplify high standards of personal and scientific ethics
C. Evaluation
Research supervision courses can be taken for letter grade or credit / no credit. Grades will be based on time / effort spent on the project, lab meeting presentation, attendance and engagement at lab meetings, accomplishing short-term assigned tasks (such as reading a paper or taking specific steps in an experiment). Please stay in touch!... let's discuss any concerns you may have about your project or grade when they come up.