This statement of our mission and values is a living document. At our annual retreats, we will review and update the statement as a community, and discuss concrete ways in which we can meet our goals and live up to our values.
Our lab has two important goals:
● To develop and use innovative technologies in combination with mechanistic, hypothesis-driven approaches to address research questions that are both intellectually fascinating and relevant to medicine and society, and to make our research tools and results accessible to the scientific community and the general public in the spirit of Open Science.
● To provide a nurturing training environment for lab members with diverse backgrounds and career goals, empowering them to reach their full potential, while maintaining a healthy balance with their personal life.
In pursuing these goals, we are guided by shared values:
● Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. As a lab, we value diversity and seek to create an inclusive environment where people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences can thrive. We stand actively against racism, discrimination, and oppression, in all of their structural and systemic forms, in our lab, on our campus, and in our communities. We seek to recruit, mentor, and support scientists from historically underrepresented groups. We provide equal opportunities to applicants regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability status, veteran status, socioeconomic status, citizenship, and immigration status. The success of our lab is dependent on its diversity.
● Integrity. As scientists, we have the responsibility to conduct our experiments, analysis and reporting of results with the highest level of scientific rigor and honesty. Scientific misconduct will not be tolerated. We all make honest mistakes – in those cases, it is important to openly communicate the mistake as early as possible, before more damage is done. We adhere to practices to ensure rigor and reproducibility of our works, such as keeping pristine records. We strive to be our own toughest critics, and as a community, we strongly believe in a culture that promotes constructive criticism by giving and receiving feedback across hierarchies. Integrity also extends to research ethics, in particular as they apply to working with human samples and data and animals, and complying with health and safety rules.
● Commitment. Success in science requires enthusiasm and hard work. It depends not only on the time spent in the lab, but also on how that time is used – time is precious. To be productive, we need to be results-oriented, organized and set priorities. We owe it to our funders, to patients, and - importantly - to ourselves and each other to bring our ‘A’ game! At the same time, work-life balance and a healthy lifestyle are essential to be productive and happy. A commitment to science is also a commitment to your well-being. If you feel overwhelmed or lose your enthusiasm for science (most of us do sometimes!), don’t hesitate to talk about it to Martin or to UCSF resources (such as counseling services). We want science to be fulfilling and enjoyable for all lab members.
● Team spirit, mutual support and lab citizenship. Modern science is a team sport and requires interdisciplinary collaborations. We can only succeed as a lab and as individuals if we support each other and synergize. Acknowledging the contributions of others is an important part of team science. Criteria for authorships will be discussed with the team at the early stages of projects and collaborations. Beyond our focus on our individual research projects, every lab member is expected to contribute to the lab community according to their strengths, for example by leading a subgroup or contributing to the lab’s social life. In our interactions with other lab members who have a range of backgrounds and strengths, we aim to treasure diversity, assume the best intentions in others, and be good listeners and communicators. In particular, we address frustrations early on, before they turn into more serious problems. Our goal is to build a lab community and an enjoyable, trusting and positive lab environment – and scientific and personal relationships that will last for many years beyond our time in the Kampmann lab.