Philosophy

We aim to cultivate an environment where independent scientists across various career stages converge to conduct diverse, cutting-edge collaborative research, fostering meaningful and fulfilling career trajectories.

We prioritize the success of trainees. The training in our lab will start with assessing your interests, values, and skills. You will be guided through the process of discovering true passion, providing guidance, and creating opportunities for exploration. Research projects will be specifically designed to align with your interests, values, skills, and career goals.

Considering the multidisciplinary nature of scientific research, particularly in our single-cell bacterial sequencing projects encompassing microfluidics, molecular biology, microbiology, material sciences, chemistry, and bioinformatics, difficult challenges are expected. Our lab is fully prepared to offer unwavering encouragement and support in every aspect to help you succeed.

Research

New Ideas
New ideas are crucial in scientific research. They drive innovation, spur advancements, and expand the boundaries of knowledge. Every scientist wants new ideas. So where do the new ideas come from? Or how can we generate new ideas?

Those questions would blind us. Because nobody generates new ideas. Instead, when the time for a new idea comes, the new idea will find someone to make it come alive. If the new idea comes to you, but you did not work on it or publish it, the idea will find someone else to come true. When the other person published the idea, he/she did not steal the idea from you. It is simply the time for the idea to come.

So the question we should ask is “How can we become the person that new ideas favor?” It is quite simple actually. Stay outside our comfort zone. During our scientific endeavor, we become experts in a specific and narrow field. This becomes our comfort zone. You might never be favored by a new idea if you stay there. You should explore two directions: deeper and wider.

Go deeper: Read high-quality articles in your own field. Spend time to understand the concept/technique/theory/mechanism that you overlooked.

Go Wider: Listen to talks outside your fields. We tried our best to invite the best researchers to our department to share their research, so do not miss those learning opportunities. Also, there are plenty of scientific podcasts that I enjoy learning from (such as This Week in Microbiology, Science Sessions Podcast, or Nature podcast). I highly recommend them. Use those podcasts as guidance for your in-depth reading. Talk to experts. We are a lab that develops new technologies to understand biology/chemistry. Whenever you have a chance to meet an expert in biology or chemistry, briefly introduce your research and ask “Do you have any question you want to ask using a high-throughput assay/single cell assay?”

Idea grows into its better form via bouncing between different minds. So if a new idea for a research project comes into your mind, talk it through with others, especially non-experts in your field. You will be surprised by how it leads to.

Of course, keep a notebook for your ideas. Even if you don’t have time to work on them or those ideas need more polishing. The notes will be very useful in your future career.

​Choose a Research Project
We just went through the research ideas. Now it is time to choose one of the ideas to start working on it. Be selective with new ideas because time is limited. If we can put all the ideas on a three-dimensional coordinate system with x-axis as the impact of the project, y-axis as the risk of the project, and z-axis as the effort you need to spend on the project, the ideal project you want is the one with high impact, low risk, and low effort. In reality, those low-hanging fruits have already been collected by others. So you may need to choose the projects with some risks and efforts, but definitely not the ones with low impact. Talk with me or others to evaluate the potential projects. We need to make sure of the following aspects: novelty, impact, feasibility, and relevance. Then we can design a small-scale pilot study to test the feasibility and effectiveness of your idea.

Research projects are different from ideas. You have full ownership and responsibility for your research projects. Of course, much of the time, you do not do it alone, as there will be multiple authors in the final publications or products. Everyone involved in the project would feel a sense of ownership over the project. As the first author/authors, you are expected to be the leader in the project, who should be responsible to push the project to its end. This means doing experiments, reaching out to experts for help/advice/collaborations, data analysis, patent applications, writing the manuscript, addressing the reviewers’ comments, conference presentations, etc. The lab will ensure you as much freedom as possible to pursue the ideas you are interested in and to be in charge of your own work.

​Research Support
The lab will support you in each step of this process as much as you need it. This includes financial resources to buy appropriate reagents and gain access to the right equipment or software. Because we are a highly multidisciplinary research lab and people have a lot of freedom in choosing projects, it is quite often that neither I nor anyone in the lab has appropriate expertise for your project. In such a case, I will help you to gain appropriate skills and to find the right collaborations.

Again, your success is the top priority of the lab. We learn by doing. The goal of working on these projects is not simply for you to publish a paper and graduate/find a job, but rather to give you the hands-on opportunities for your career advancement.

​Research Challenges
In scientific research, encountering unforeseen challenges is common. These moments present opportunities for scientific breakthroughs and the expansion of knowledge boundaries.

To tackle these challenges effectively, remember to:

Explore unconventional hypotheses.

Pursue risky experiments.

Challenge established norms.

Create new methods if necessary.

Teach yourself any new skills required for the research.

Maintain persistence.

However, it’s essential to recognize when a project may be reaching a dead end. In such cases, it’s prudent to halt early rather than attempting to force progress where it’s not feasible. Accepting this reality is perfectly acceptable; I’ve had to abandon multiple projects myself upon realizing their limitations. Despite this, valuable experiences are gained throughout these processes.

​Collaboration
Much scientific work is conducted collaboratively. I anticipate that you will engage in collaborative projects during your tenure in the lab. In certain projects, you will assume a leading role and potentially be designated as a first author (or co-first author, in collaboration with researchers from other labs). In other instances, you may play supporting roles and be listed as a middle author. When initiating a collaboration, it is crucial to clarify roles and responsibilities upfront, and I will do my best to ensure everyone comprehends them. If anything remains unclear, please don’t hesitate to ask for clarification.

It’s crucial for you to understand that your collaborators may have their own priorities and may not always be available when you require their assistance. Therefore, it’s essential to inform me when you’re initiating collaborations and to keep me informed about key communications. I’ll make every effort to ensure that your projects progress smoothly and that your time is protected.