Open Welcome

Welcome

This lab manual can be found on the web at:

• https://docs.gribblelab.org/2/gribble-lab-manual

Here is the link to head back to the Gribble Lab website

If there is anything you need to know and you can't find it here, get in touch with me

—Paul
(he/him)

Open Contact Information

Contact Information

Me (Paul Gribble)

• My office is WIRB 4122
• Our lab rooms are WIRB 3141, 3133, and 2108
• My office phone is (519) 661-2111 x82237
• The lab phone (located in WIRB 3141) is (519) 661-2111 x86185
• the Gribble Lab website: https://www.gribblelab.org
• my email is pgribble [at] uwo [dot] ca
• the fastest way to reach me is probably on the superlab Slack

WIRB Staff

Denise Soanes (Administrative Officer)

• email: dsoanes4@uwo.ca
• office: WIRB 3190
• phone: extension 86057

Haitao Yang (Computer System Administrator)

• email: htyang@uwo.ca
• office: WIRB 3176
• phone: extension 82736

Derek Quinlan (Research Facility Manager)

• email: dquinla4@uwo.ca
• office: WIRB 3178
• phone: extension 87988

Open Contacting Me

Contacting Me

During the regular term I am generally around all the time and available to chat. If I'm not in my office, get in touch on Slack or on email. If you would like to talk for more than a couple of minutes, please schedule a time with me. My response time on Slack and on email is generally very fast, although on weekends and outside of work hours (i.e. between 5:00 pm and 9:00 am) it can be slower. During weekends and holidays I am not on campus. During these times I'm available electronically but my repsonse time may be slow. For anything urgent please don't hesitate to contact me including on my mobile phone number, which you can ask me for. During the summer when my kids are home from school (mid-June through August) I will not be in the lab all day every day. Some days I will be in for a while and other days I may not be, depending on my kids' schedule. I am available electronically so please get in touch when you need to. I will do my best in the summer months to set up regular meetings, e

Open My Feedback to You

My Feedback To You

I will try my best to provide feedback to you quickly---feedback about manuscript drafts, abstracts, presentations, data analyses, etc. I'm always happy to help out when you are having difficulties with your work but do remember that part of your training is to work through these kinds of challenges. Do come to me after you've made a solid attempt at a solution, and we can work through it together.

My goal is to get you feedback on short documents within 1-3 days. Short documents are things like Abstracts, or a single section of a manuscript (e.g. an Introduction section). For long documents (an entire manuscript, or an entire presentation) my goal is 1-2 weeks. Typically I am fast with providing feedback.

While you're waiting for feedback, don't stop working on your document! When you have new thoughts or time to work on your document again, feel free to tell me you're going to make some more changes and send me a new version.

Open Onboarding

Onboarding

There are a series of things to do, and we have a Google Docs document that lists them all. Ask Paul to send you a link to the document so you can make a copy and go through it.

Open Communication

Communication

We use the lab Slack (sensorimotor.slack.com) for communication within the lab and with other members of the Sensorimotor Superlab (the Gribble, Pruszynski, and Diedrichsen labs).

After-hours communication

If I Slack or email you on nights/weekends/holidays, I do not expect you to respond straight away. Rather, as a parent & someone who loves the freedom academia gives me to set my own schedule, I work whenever I can/need/want to. And so can you.

Open Purchasing & Lab Supplies

Purchasing & Lab Supplies

All purchases using research accounts must comply with both University and Tri-Council rules about eligible expenses. If there is any doubt, ask me. The simple rule is, all purchases must be directly related to research activities. You can use your own money to buy things, and then submit an expense report afterwards to get reimbursed (it typically takes 7–10 days to see the money in your account). If the vendor supports it you can also use one of the lab's speed-codes to directly charge one of our research grants. Ask me for the appropriate speedcode to use.

Open Software & Computers

Software & Computers

We mostly use computers running MacOS or Linux. Having said that if you want to run Windows, that's fine too, but just know that I can't help, I know nothing about Windows. Our lab research accounts can support buying one computer per trainee for use with your research in the lab. This can be a desktop or a laptop (plus external display(s), additional external storage/backup, and keyboard & mouse). Western has a site license for MATLAB and for Microsoft Office. In general, if there is a piece of software you need for your work, we can buy it using our research account(s). Come and see me and I will likely approve the purchase.

Do not store illegal or illicit documents, images, data, etc., on your work computer(s)

Lab Server

We have a lab computer server that we use to archive lab-related data and documents. The idea is long-term, in-house, on-site archival storage of lab related data and documents. The server is located in the server room on the 5th floor of the WIRB.

Open Lab Culture

Lab Culture

I want everyone in the lab to feel valued and welcome. We have a diverse group of people who bring different skills, personal backgrounds, and strengths. We all have different academic backgrounds as well. Some come from a Psychology tradition, some from Physiology or Biology, some from Kinesiology, some from Engineering, etc. I am happy all of you are here, I care about you as human beings, and I want you to feel happy to be here and excited about your work.

My personal belief is that everyone I welcome into the lab brings something valuable to the table. More than that, I believe everyone I welcome into the lab has great potential to grow as a scientist and as a person. My outlook is to try to always assume people have good intentions, and to be welcoming, supportive, and generous in my approach. I hope we can all adopt this outlook together.

I want our lab to be a collaborative environment in which we can all feel safe to pursue ambitious scientific projects, together. We all bring u

Open Being Present

Being Present

We are an in-person lab.

The expectation is that everyone comes on campus regularly (e.g. on weekdays, during regular business hours).

We do not operate remotely (though we do use Slack for messaging).

Being present in the lab counts for a lot. You will bump into people and conversations will start, you will talk about your work, their work, a paper you read, a talk you saw. Ideas will happen. Spontaneous interactions like this are a big part of science and of any kind of creative work. The more you're present, and interactive, the more this will happen. I'm a big proponent of being present as much as possible. Reading papers? Read them here. Writing a results section? Write it here. Grading assignments? Grade them here.

The other phenomenon that being present in the lab helps facilitate is rapid feedback loops for problem-solving. When you run into a problem, whether it's a software/coding issue, or an equipment issue, a sticking point as you're writing a manuscript, or even

Open Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

We are committed to supporting and promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. Diversity is not a challenge to be overcome or a difficulty to be tolerated, it is a tremendous source of strength. We recognize that we are stronger when we embrace different backgrounds, perspectives and approaches, in our lab and in our community. Everyone is welcome and will be supported in our lab, regardless of race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability. Together with Western, the Brain and Mind Institute at Western, and BrainsCAN, we are dedicated to increasing the inclusion and advancement of women, and other under-represented groups in science and engineering. In our lab we commit to be respectful of each other. We do not tolerate harassment, belittlement, bullying, or discrimination of any kind. We are committed to learning more about how to promote the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion both in our lab, on campus, and in the scientific commu

Open Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution

It's really important to me that everyone in the lab can get along and work together in a mutually respectful and intellectually generous environment. Working together with people who have different personalities, a wide range of ages, and a diversity of life experience can be challenging at times, for sure. It's something we all have to work together to support.

If you have concerns about how a fellow lab member is behaving interpersonally, please first try your best to resolve the situation with each other, if appropriate. If you still have concerns please communicate them to me. I will listen, without judgment, and do my best to support you. If needed, I will take steps to address a situation that is causing interpersonal conflict. Ultimately though it is up to each of us to find a way to work together.

Open Egregious Behaviour

Egregious Behaviour

I expect us all, including myself, to be respectful of each other. We do not tolerate harassment, belittlement, bullying, or discrimination of any kind. Being respectful means many things, but it includes: not gossiping about each other's private lives; respecting confidentiality in official matters with the University; being mindful of how other people might interpret jokes differently than yourself; behaving in a professional manner in the lab, on campus, and when dealing with the public in your capacity as a scientist (e.g. experimental participants, patients, visiting speakers, etc). If you have concerns about harassment, unprofessional behaviour, in the context of our lab or any other situation on campus, please come to me straight away to communicate your concerns.

Open Scientific Misconduct

Scientific Misconduct

The Office of Research Integrity at the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services provides a definition of research misconduct:

Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results.

(a) Fabrication is making up data or results and recording or reporting them.

(b) Falsification is manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record.

(c) Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.

(d) Research misconduct does not include honest error or differences of opinion.

Scientific misconduct of any kind will not be tolerated in our lab. We are in a priviledged position, to spend our time working towards understanding how the

Open Work-Life Balance

Work-Life Balance

In general I expect us all to be in the lab for normal-ish work hours. Typically I arrive in the lab around 9:00 am and I leave in the late afternoon. Some days I leave mid-afternoon when it is my turn to pick up the kids from school. I never work on weekends or evenings (and I rarely did as a graduate student). Occasionally there are "crunch" times, like before the deadline to a grant application, or before a big presentation, where it might make sense to work longer hours or get stuff done on evenings or weekends. In general I try to avoid that kind of situation, and I suggest you do as well. Try to be organized and efficient, and plan ahead, so that your work can get done without having to work in your spare time.

I may now and then send you email or contact you on Slack outside normal work hours, usually because I've found some free time to catch up on things. Know however that I don't expect you to respond outside of your normal work hours. I respect and support the idea of prot

Open Well-Being

Well-Being

We are all here to grow as scientists, leaders, and people by pursuing ambitious research goals. However, that should never come at the cost of your well-being. Your mental and physical health are by far the most important consideration in all that you do while in our lab. Moreover, success should not come at the cost of maintaining your interests/hobbies or healthy relationships in your life. In fact, you are more likely to be successful if you take care of yourself and give time to the things outside of work that matter to you. Below are some general guidelines on well-being, but every situation is unique, and I am always open to discussion on this topic, so please don’t hesitate to ask.

If you are not feeling well, either physically or mentally, take the time off you need to seek out help and take care of yourself (see the "Need Help?" section for pointers to specific services). If you are struggling with depression or anxiety and wondering: "Is it okay to go see a counsellor instead of

Open Need Help?

Need Help?

Western has a number of services available for trainees including Health Services, Housing Services, an Equity & Human Rights office, Disability Services, Indigenous Services, and Pride Western. Here is a link to Western’s Wellness & Well-being site.

The Student Health Services office has a variety of services including medical appointments with Physicians, Birth Control information, Counselling & Psychiatry, Allergy injections & immunization (including annual flu shots), sexually transmitted disease testing, wellness activities (meditation, tai chi, yoga), Sports-Medicine Clinic (the Fowler-Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic, which provides sports-medicine appointments with Physicians & Surgeons, as well as Physiotherapy) and Crisis Intervention. I encourage you to take advantage of the services offered here, as needed. Please let me know if I can help you find the services you need on campus and elsewhere.

Crisis

**If you

Open General Expectations

General Expectations

My expectations of you and your expectations of me will vary depending on your role in the lab and your prior experience and skills. You will also find that expectations change as time goes on and you gain more experience in the lab.

Mentoring

A general principle I would like to encourage and foster is an approach whereby lab members develop our mentoring skills with each other. We all have unique knowledge, experience, and skills that may well be of value to others. If we are all open to helping each other, and open to being helped by each other, that will help us do our best scientific work and will contribute to a positive, supportive, and exciting research environment.

Drive your research project

A critically important general principle is that you should take ownership of your research project. You take the steering wheel and you drive the bus. As a supervisor I may give you advice, or suggest you go in certain directions and not others (back-seat driver?) bu

Open Specific Expectations

Specific Expectations

Undergraduate thesis students

You have 8 months to complete a research project and produce a well polished thesis document. This is not a lot of time. When you first arrive in the lab we will work together to decide on a focused, feasible research project that is of mutual interest to us both. You may be paired with a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow in the lab, or you may be paired with me. It depends on the project.

You are expected to meet with me regularly to review progress. This is our chance to make sure that your project is progressing and that you will be able to complete it successfully. I am here to help. You drive the bus, I provide advice and feedback ... but you are the driver.

You are also expected to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of your fellow lab members: graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff, and volunteers. We are all here to help each other learn. We are all busy but part of our lab culture is to foster colla

Open Lab Rooms

Lab Rooms

Room Reservations

Lab rooms are booked using an online Resource Booking System: https://bmicalendar.ssc.uwo.ca. Log in using your Western credentials. If you have problems logging in, please contact Haitao Yang (htyang@uwo.ca).

Lab Upkeep

It is our shared responsibility to keep our lab rooms tidy, organized, clean, and safe for ourselves and our experimental participants.

Please keep computer/equipment/cables off of the floor.

Please put items to be disposed of in the recycling or trash bins.

Tidy up before leaving the lab for the day including powering down lab equipment.

Please tell Paul right away if a piece of equipment is damaged or is not functioning properly, so that we can get it working again.

Emergencies

For urgent matters or emergencies related to facilities (e.g. a water leak) please contact me and/or Florence, Denise, or Haitao right away.

If there is smoke or a fire, leave the building, pull a fire alarm

Open Lab Meetings

Lab Meetings

Sometimes we have a regular lab meeting "just us" (just the Gribble Lab). Whether this is happening or not depends on the season, on my teaching load, and on the composition of the lab. You should regard attendance at these as mandatory, unless you have a class that is scheduled in conflict.

Sometimes we also attend the Pruszynski lab meeting, or the Diedrichsen lab meeting, depending upon who is presenting and what is being presented. We should regard the three labs as one cohesive unit, and we should feel free to attend each other's lab meetings optionally when there is something of interest being presented.

We also meet together with the Pruszynski lab and the Diedrichsen lab for a shared "superlab" meeting & journal club. The exact time & location may change from year to year. You should regard attendance at these as mandatory, unless you have a class that is scheduled in conflict.

Lab meetings (shared and on our own) are a great opportunity to get feedback and constructive crit

Open Research Ethics

Research Ethics

All experiments must have approval from Western's Research Ethics Board (REB). Each of you is responsible for obtaining an REB approval for your study/studies. You are responsible for keeping detailed records of each research participant including receipts for payment of subject fees. Getting a study approved can sometimes take several months so start early. It's better to submit early and submit revisions than wait until your study design is finalized.

Open Conference Travel

Conference Travel

Travel to conferences is dependent from year to year on our lab budget. Generally our model is that to attend a conference, your research project should be sufficiently developed such that it makes sense to present a poster or give a talk. This is something that we will decide together.

We often attend SFN and NCM each year. If there is another meeting or meetings that you would like to attend, that is a possibility, budget permitting. Typically trainees attend 1 major meeting per year.

Conference Abstracts

IMPORTANT: You will need to show me your draft abstracts, posters, etc, well in advance of the conference deadline, as typically we will require several edits before they are ready to submit. I would like to see your final draft at least one week before the conference deadline so that we have a chance to edit it together.

Conference Talks

For talks, you should have a complete talk prepared at lea

Open Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Portions of this lab manual have been adapted from materials by Jen Heemstra, Paul Minda, Jonathan Peele, Mariam Aly, and others.