The overarching goal of the lab is to create an environment that fosters the development of its its members through engaging in high quality research and clinical work on eating disorders, anxiety, evidence-based treatments, and everything in-between. We strive to create an environment that values:
(1) Working Hard Toward Things That Matter To You. Current society (and in particular, academia), glorifies being busy and working yourself into the ground to the detriment of individuals' mental and physical health. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard a graduate student or professor discuss their never-ending to-do list or the sleep they have lost trying to "have it all," I could retire tomorrow. I plan to create an environment that runs directly counter to this "busy" culture, through modeling and encouraging my students to engage in self-care practices, taking time and space away from work, and to develop values, goals, and hobbies outside of work. That said, I am not naive to the fact that thriving in academia requires a large, sometimes overwhelming amount of work, and that doing good quality, impactful work often takes even more time. My hope is that (a) I can help students find the area of research or clinical work that makes hard work enjoyable for them and (b) aid students in finding a working schedule and productivity methods that allows them to continue working toward other goals outside of work while in graduate school (e.g., family, friends, hobbies). Too many graduate students place their lives on hold while in graduate school. I will do everything in my power to ensure that this is not the case in my lab.
(2) Diversity: Diversity is critical to the lab's success in several ways. I use the term diversity in the broadest sense, referring to diversity in age, color, disability status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, gender identity or expression, family and marital status, socioeconomic status, religion, nationality, or any other characteristics that make you who you are. A team engaging in science benefits from a diversity of opinions and backgrounds in numerous ways, including the quality and scope of the work, and in the personal and professional growth of its members. In addition to celebrating diversity among its members, I will challenge our team to constantly engage in self-reflection regarding the ways in which our work (both research and clinical) considers issues of diversity and how we can expand our work to be more inclusive.
(3) Openness & Transparency: As may already be apparent to you, people engage in scientific careers for a number of different reasons. Some of these reasons, alongside the natural structure and policies in academia, have resulted in a research base that is poor in quality, unable to be replicated, and underpowered. Over the past several years, a number of initiatives have emerged to ensure ongoing transparency and to improve the quality of collective science. I am committed to running a lab that embraces transparency at every step of the scientific process and uses open science practices. This is a newer endeavor for me, so I plan to learn as I go. All students will be expected to embrace movement toward a more valid and reliable collective science. Often, this may mean that our work will take a bit longer, and/or that we may hit roadblocks. This is a small price to pay when we consider what is at stake and the implications of putting crap research out into the world.
(4) Collaboration & Mutual Support: I "grew up" in a lab that held collaboration and mutual support most dear. This changed my training experience tenfold and was (and remains!) one of the most enriching experiences of my life and career. As far as I am concerned, working with thoughtful, smart, caring people is the absolute best part of being in this field. In the lab I plan to run, students will not be siloed into their own projects. Everyone's work will be open to any team member that is interested, and we will support one another in our professional and personal endeavors. Collaborative science allows us all to benefit from others' skillsets, personalities, and backgrounds. Collaboration enhances the quality of the work, and the lives of its individual members. Learning to become a collaborator also promotes self-awareness and identification of the things that matter most to you as a scientist. If you work better solo, my lab environment will not be the place for you.
(5) Genuineness & A Sense of Humor: Doing research and clinical work demands professionalism and respect for the seriousness of the issues that we study. That said, significant data supports that in therapy, therapist genuineness improves patient outcomes. I think many academics take themselves too seriously or feel the need to put on a mask. I strive to create an environment where trainees can BOTH (a) be who they are and embrace the humor in the somewhat absurd world of academia, as well as (b) maintain professionalism and respect for the work we do and the people we do it with.
(6) Growth & Flexibility: It is very personally important to me that I consistently engage in self-reflection in the service of personal growth. I encourage students who wish to engage in an intense period of personal and professional growth during graduate school to join me in the lab. Growth during this time may include many things, not limited to but including acquiring skills, figuring out what matters to you, learning a lot of new things, realizing that your knowledge and skills are limited, getting it right, getting it wrong, and engaging in critical self-reflection. I have added flexibility to this value, because I think that prioritizing growth demands it. I commit to flexibility in how I approach my relationship with you as a mentee and while I will explicitly encourage you to set goals, I will continue to consider these goals as a moving target, open to change.