Lab handbooks are becoming an increasingly popular resource that outline expectations to group members. They help onboard new team members, outline responsibilities around working culture and practice, and set a general theme that all in the group can follow.

The session addresses how to prepare a lab handbook. The invited speakers have written their own lab handbooks, and we will hear about how these resources were developed, adapted and implemented. The session will also include advice on preparing your own lab handbooks alongside a Q&A so that you can ask your own questions.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

Appreciate the value of lab handbooks and their potential impacts on research culture;
Write a lab handbook;
Know where to find useful resources

Format of the session

This session will be held on Zoom and will be led by Dr. Stuart Higgins, Dr. Noémie Hamilton, Dr. Benjamin Tendler, Professor Karla Miller and Professor Leonardo Uieda. The speakers will deliver short talks followed by an opportunity for interactive Q&A.

Dr. Stuart Higgins (he/him) is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering in the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, at the University of York. His research focuses on developing bioelectronics and biomaterials for interfacing with biological systems. He also explores research culture and its role in science and academia.

Dr. Noémie Hamilton (pronounced ‘No-eh-mee') (she/her) is a lecturer and group leader at the University of York, with a research focus on neuroimmunology in zebrafish models of neurological diseases and is the founder of Leukolabs.

Dr. Benjamin Tendler (Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow) and Professor Karla Miller (Biomedical Engineering) develop new techniques to study the brain using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at the University of Oxford. They are at the forefront of creating and promoting the use lab handbooks through their WIN lab handbook iniative, highlighted here: https://elifesciences.org/articles/88853

Professor Leonardo Uieda (he/him) specialises in Geophysics at the Universidade de Sao Paulo. Leonardo studies the earth using tiny disturbances in gravity and magnetic fields, from a microscopic to global scale.

Who can attend?

This session is aimed at PIs and Managers of Researchers across the UK.

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How lab handbooks can help shape research culture in your team - PI Network