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

1. 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.
2. Spend a minimum of 2 hours per unit per week working on research projects
3. Contribute to lab maintenance and fish care, including some weekend shifts
4. Present once at lab meeting on your project (background, methods, or data)
5. Follow the table of contents of a selected target journal
6. Take careful records on all lab work in your lab notebook
7. Be creative, share ideas, look things up, ask questions, try new things
8. 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.