Graduate Student Information
Advising Style and Expectations
Expectations
Graduate school should be the seminal experience in your life and before entering that experience you should have a clear idea of what you are getting yourself into. This page is dedicated to what you are expected to do and what you will receive from me in return.
What I will provide you as one of my students
I will teach you how to do science. Of course, any yahoo with a brain can train a monkey to do science. You are a budding scientist and this takes far more training that just figuring out how to write a sentence and form a hypothesis.
I will teach you how to do think. One would think that thinking should be fundamental to a scientist, but many faculty, scientists and graduate students have a faulty thought process. I'll work on your thinking skills to improve them.
I will teach you how to survive as a scientist. This includes concepts of power and politics. You don't have to play politics as a scientist, but everyone else will be. So, why not learn the game.
I will teach you how to do teach. This will probably be a part of your life in some form: formal teaching, mentoring, trianing, public speaking, etc. So, you'll learn rhetorical techniques to be a better teacher, you'll learn how to think about outcomes of a course/lab/seminar. You'll learn how to design curriculum and labs. You'll learn to think about student centered instruction.
I will teach you to tap into your strengths and to fix your weaknesses. This really is the purpose of graduate school: to teach you about yourself so that you can be a self-sufficient scientist in the future. How can you do that without knowing what you do well and what you don't?
Current Graduate Students
What I expect out of my students
An open mind.
Take ownership of your ideas.
Want to be better thinkers, scientists, and human beings.
Motivate yourself because it is your degree.
Think in alternative ways.
Effort.
Master Student Timeline
Number 1 rule: Graduaion papers are not signed until your project is submitted to a journal.
1st Semester
Mid-October--Understand lab equipment and current projects
End-October--Have a general idea of your project (Project Question)
End of November--Have a set question and start work on methods
2nd Semester
January--Attend SICB annual meeting with lab
Mid-February--Present project idea to Ecobreak for feedback
Mid-March--Proposal defense in front of committee
April--Start data collection (unless field project)
Only Summer
Early Summer--Collect data
Late Summer--Start analyzing data
3rd Semester
Mid-October--Run statistics and generate your graphs
End-October--Finalize Intro and Methods (from your proposal)
Mid-November--Finalize (with edits) your results. Start writing your discussion
Late December--Finalize Discussion
4th Semester
January--Attend SICB annual meeting and present
Mid-Feburary--Clean up document and submit to a journal for publication
Mid-March-April--Prepare talk for defense
Mid April--Defense (Shoot the ceiling with a cork and sign your name to the legacy)
End of April--Make electronic copies of all videos, data files, and documents for storage in the Moore Lab
Ph.D. Student Timeline
Number 1 rule: Graduaion papers are not signed until your project is submitted to a journal.
Number 2 rule: If you are not reading at least a paper a day and a book a month, you are not preparing yourself enough.
1st Semester
Mid-October--Understand lab equipment and current projects.
End-October--Have a general idea of your project (Project Question).
End of November--Begin to study for your prelims.
2nd Semester
January--Attend SICB annual meeting with lab.
Mid-February--Present project idea to Ecobreak for feedback.
Mid-February-to-Mid-March--Take Prelims.
April--Start writing dissertation proposal and grants.
June--Defend dissertation proposal.
1st Summer
Early Summer--Collect data.
Late Summer--Start analyzing data.
3rd Semester
Mid-October--Run statistics and generate your graphs for your first pub.
End-October--Start collecting data for your second project/pub.
Mid-November--Finalize (with edits) your results. Start writing your discussion for first pub.
Late December--Finalize Discussion for first pub.
4th Semester
January--Clean up document and submit to a journal for publication.
Mid-March-April--collect data on second project.
April--Write grants for funding projects.
Summer through 6th Semester
Continue to collect data, analyze data, write papers.
7th Semester
September--Start contacting potential Post-Doc advisors and grant opportunities.
September--Look for opportunities to teach to augment your research skills.
October--Start putting together your papers into a dissertation package.
8th Semester
January--Sign up for a departmental seminar for your dissertation defense.
Mid April--Defense (Shoot the ceiling with a cork and sign your name to the legacy)
End of April--Make electronic copies of all videos, data files, and documents for storage in the Moore Lab
The System
What is “The System”?
The system is what we keep our crayfish in. This system is a modified mouse/rat rack set that holds the crayfish that we use for our experiments. It requires regular upkeep and is the responsibility of the lab as a whole. It consists of the mouse rack in the front, and the rat rack in the back (Figure 1).
Figure 1 top view of the system
The system works in such a way that the water comes from the main reservoir, gets pumped to the mouse and rat racks by the pump, and that water then cycles through their respective racks (and all the layers within) and falls into their respective reservoirs (Figure 2). It is vital that the system is checked periodically by every member of the LSE to maintain its functionality (i.e. water is being transported to each animal container).
Figure 2 side view of the system; this figure demonstrates the movement of water through the system
Checking the system:
A quick check would be to make sure adequate water is available to feed the pump. There is a red fill line on the main reservoir (under the mouse rack); this indicates where the water should always be filled up to. It is imperative that if any member checks the system and sees the water has dropped below this line that they fill it up immediately. If the water is not replenished, then the pump may dry out, the pump may die, or animals may die. There is a hose opposite to the door of the system (i.e. if the system is at the 12 o’clock position, then the hose is at the 6 o’clock position). If you see that the water has reached this critical level, please replenish the reservoir. There are two types of checks that you may perform: a complete check and a quick check. Ideally, a complete check will be performed; however, if you are busy, then a quick check will suffice.
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A Complete Check
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Check the water level
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Look at bins surrounding reservoirs to ensure nothing is spilling
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Adjust the flow nozzles such that each bin is receiving water
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Check for dead animals
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Complete the log
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A Quick Check
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Check the water level and replenish if necessary
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Look at bins surrounding reservoirs to ensure nothing is spilling
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Complete the log
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It is critical that every time the system is checked, that the log located to the left of the door (Figure 1) is completed. This creates a timeline that allows us to trace the source of a problem, should it arise. The system should be checked regularly by each individual in the lab, including weekends and holiday breaks.
Feeding the Animals and Cleaning the System:
The animals are fed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday weekdays, and the system is cleaned on Thursdays. The schedule is constructed each semester and sent to the entire lab.
Feeding the Animals:
If it is your day to feed the animals, proceed by placing one piece of rabbit food into each bin within the racks. For the mouse rack, it is ideal to slide the bin out a couple of inches to check that the animal is still alive and water is flowing into the bin. For the rat rack, it is more involved. You must pull each bin out a majority of the way, and drop one food pellet into each section of each section of the bin that holds an animal. When you have returned the drawer to its shut position in the rat rack, you must check to see that the outflow tube has been returned to its trough (Figure 3). Keep in mind that you should only feed the animals if you or another lab mate will be available/around to check the system for the next hour. Often, feeders accidentally leave tubes out or have overflow issues resulting in a spill. Therefore, someone must be around for the hour following feeding and cleaning.
Figure 3 outflow tubes of the rat rack; the left is a picture of the outflow tube incorrectly not returned to the trough and the right is a picture of how it should look when the tube is correctly replaced to the trough
Cleaning the System:
To clean the system, you must use the shop vac located next to the system. Ensure that the plug is screwed in to the bottom of the vac (without the plug, there will be no suction and it will not work). When cleaning, it is best to start at the top of the rat rack and work your way through. There are two reasons for this: (1) the top of the rat rack is hardest to clean, and (2) it takes more time to get the water to the top of both racks. It is a good idea to have the hose filling the system’s main reservoir as you are cleaning, as it typically drains much of the water.
To clean, open the bin, vacuum most of the water/debris out (but not the crayfish), and then turn the inflow valve up and allow the drawer to fill ¼ - ½ of the way full. Then, reduce the inflow to a steady drip, and replace the drawer (if it is the rat rack, then check to ensure the outflow tube is in its trough). If necessary, it helps to use a net to ensure the crayfish does not find its way into the vacuum while cleaning. It is imperative they do not get suctioned in to the shop vac because it can damage the animals and cause them unnecessary stress/harm. Repeat this with each and every drawer. When the shop vac is full, it will no longer suction water, and the pitch of the vacuum will also change. When this happens, simply unscrew the plug and allow the vac to drain into the drain by the hose. When finished draining, replace the plug and continue.
What keys do I need?
Key for:
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LSC Building
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Class you teach (if you teach)
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Graduate Student Office
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Wet Lab
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Wet lab (back)
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Dry Lab
Key Number:
LF 1702
Depends
LF 1793
LF1857
LF 1968
LF 1484