In November 2023 we put together our first version of a laboratory handbook for the research group, this is a code of practice / way of working that we collaboratively put together in order to achieve high standards and uphold our core values. This version may be adapted as the group develops and we keep a live document in our lab sharepoint that members can access.
Welcome to the Dumbell Lab. This is a working document that we try to keep updated with all the lab philosophies, information and policies. The Dumbell lab is a place we value honesty, trust, integrity, mutual respect, inclusiveness, fairness and responsibility. These inclusive values are the foundation of our work, and we will build on these to maintain and improve research productivity, reproducibility, transferability, and replicability. This will sustain the quality of our work and build our reputation within the scientific community and public trust in our research.
All group members have a key role to play and are valued members of our team. Some members may have different skills and experiences that may not overlap with others and this is an important part of building our team.
I am a senior lecturer and researcher at Nottingham Trent University. I established my research group here in 2020/2021. My research experience started during my BSc Zoology (University of Aberdeen, UK; 2004-2008), followed by an MRes at the University of Glasgow (2008-2009), followed by my PhD, back in Aberdeen, at The Rowett Institute, 2010-2014. My research interests are in the neuroendocrine regulation of energy balance. This can involve genetic and environmental factors, and I have projects that focus on hypothalamic regulation of growth and energy balance, circadian metabolism, and differential adipose tissue regulation. I have experience in comparative physiology and comparative genetics and using a variety of in vitro and in vivo models and techniques.
MBiol and MRes project students may work in the lab from October – March
Doctoral students may be funded through the NTU VC scholarship scheme (3 years) or the Nottingham BBSRC DTP scheme (4 years including rotations and a ~ 3 month placement). PhD students may also be funded through external grants which have different conditions and lengths.
RAs may be at postdoctoral level or BSc qualified, and their level of responsibility will depend on this. An RA may be employed on internal or externally funded contracts. Current and former members of the team are listed on the lab website: www.dumbell-lab.com.
This handbook is a living document and agreement between lab members that lays out the expectations for all members of the research group. The manual is meant to evolve across time to meet the needs and scope of our research portfolio. Each individual researcher in this group is expected to:
Some studentships may have a different length for stipend funded years and for additional time to submit (eg. 3 + 1 years). It is expected that the research / lab time is completed within the time of the stipend fund, and that the thesis write-up is begun, if not completed within this time. It is the supervisor and PhD students’ joint responsibility to manage this project and dedicated time for writing up should be allowed. Nobody should be expected to work without being paid.
This should be how all formal communication is carried out to ensure we have a record of conversations. Emails may arrive outside of normal working hours (Mon-Fri. 9am-5pm) but replies should not be expected outside of these hours. Informal, and urgent communication can be by whatsapp, and all group members have access to the group leader’s mobile number for this reason.
Meetings should be arranged in advance, and should be acknowledged by accepting a meeting invitation or by reply to a message that you will be there. Meetings can be rearranged for any reason, if you won’t make a meeting please get in touch as soon as you know you wont make it or you will be late. If nobody turns up to a meeting 10 minutes later than scheduled, the meeting needs to be reorganised (5 mins for short 15-minute meetings).
Lab meetings are held weekly. Currently these happen on Monday 9am. If a team member is regularly unable to attend, the timing of this meeting can be changed on discussion with the whole group. These meetings are scheduled for 1 h but may not always last this long. This is an opportunity to discuss lab issues, experimental issues, data or to practice presentations. These meetings should be open and informal and it is important that all members are treated with respect and kindness to foster this open discussion.
All members will be issued with a lab book on joining the lab. This remains property of the lab and is a lasting record of your work. Lab members are expected to keep a detailed record of all their work in the lab including any data analysis. Records of where data is kept must be included in this lab book. Each page of the lab book must have the date, experiment title, lab book number, page continued from/to completed, and signed by the lab member. From time to time these lab books will be audited by the group leader who will then sign the latest completed page of the book to approve the record of the work. Results should all be recorded in the lab book in clear and readable text, or should be cross referenced to the location of the file on the sharepoint.
All data produced in the course of your projects must be stored on the Dumbell Lab Sharepoint. Each lab member will have their own folder that only they and the group leader have access to. Files must be named and organised clearly, and this must be cross referenced to lab book entries – this can be done as simply as clearly dating the files.
Sometimes called an SOP (standard operating procedure). All methods carried out in the lab must adhere to a standard protocol that all members work to and note any adaptations. This ensures consistency, integrity and reproducibility within the group. This means experiments are much more likely to work first time. Lab protocols can be printed and included in lab notebooks or accessed through a tablet in the lab. Do not ever rely on memory to carry out any lab work. Standard protocols will be stored on the lab sharepoint, and updated versions may be added from time to time. If a standard protocol doesn’t already exist, one should be created in the process of optimising the protocol and this will be used in all future experiments.
Every single tube or vial or bottle must be clearly labelled in the lab. Nothing should ever be decanted or pipetted into a vial or tube (etc) that is not already labelled. All plasticware (etc) must include your name or initials, the date, and the content of the vessel. Any unlabelled / poorly labelled samples may be discarded at any stage by other lab members. A poorly labelled sample cannot be used and may be unsafe for others to handle.
The date should always be written in the following format: DD/MON/YY
Where MON is the abbreviated written month (e.g. FEB). This is important to avoid any confusion between international conventions and to preserve intellectual property.
All work shall be credited to the people who produced it. Publication authorship requires substantial contribution to the paper of the following type - conception or design; data acquisition, analysis or interpretation; intellectual content development or critical review, funding acquisition and / or supervision and all authors must have final version approval. This is in accordance with the rules set out by the international committee of medical journal editors and authorship contribution should be defined by CRediT taxonomy. From time to time there may be discussions on lead and senior authorships. This should be an open discussion at the start of any project, and as projects develop and publications are planned. If a paper will be published with co-first authorship, a statement will be added to the acknowledgements of the paper stating “both authors contributed equally and have the right to list their name first when citing this paper”. Presentations – conference posters or talks – must credit all contributors as acknowledgement or authorship. When collaborating with other research groups, all PIs must approve abstract wording and submission so that no data is presented externally without permission. It is imperative that a clear and auditable record of the work carried out is maintained, through use of laboratory notebooks, provided by the lab, and kept in the lab once the student or staff member moves on. There should be a clear handover whenever anyone leaves and all data must be stored on the lab sharepoint or cloud storage. This is a requirement for inclusion of data in any publication and therefore authorship.
Our work will be published open access through route 1 – instant open access on publication or route 2 – by depositing a version in the University repository iREP (see UKRI guide).
On/before submission to a journal, a copy of the manuscript will be deposited with a preprint server (e.g. bioRxiv) to allow for immediate visibility and credit for the work. This must only be done with approval from the group leader and all other named authors on the manuscript.
A data availability statement will be included in all publications and large (eg ‘omics) datasets will be made available either through NTU’s iREP server or through another online repository on acceptance of the manuscript for publication.