Following your three lab rotations, you will select one for dissertation research. You will have the option of a fourth rotation to be done over the summer as well. Once you have chosen your lab and notified the other rotation labs that you will not be joining, please be sure to compete the Lab Selection Survey. Meredith will be in touch during the spring quarter to announce the decision deadline (usually mid-June), and will follow up with your new PI to distribute information to them regarding your financial support and academic responsibilities.
In late spring of your first year, you will meet with your graduate advisor for your Annual Review, and one of the topics of discussion will be your choice of dissertation lab. This is a big decision, and in addition to your advisor, feel free to speak with more senior students, postdocs, staff in the particular labs, and the DSCB administrators.
Advice on choosing a thesis lab:
- Choosing a Thesis Lab" - from Science Careers.
- "Decisions, Decisions" - an article about selecting scientific colleagues by Cori Bargmann
- "Questions to ask when selecting an advisor" - based on data collected in the national Survey on Doctoral Education and Career Preparation
- "How to Choose a Good Scientific Problem" - an article by Uri Alon
- "Staffing the Lab" - a Burroughs Wellcome Fund handbook designed to train new PI's how to hire a postdoc... and to train graduate students how to find, apply for, and interview for a new postdoc position.