Well, I suppose I should write a 2020 wrap-up for posterity’s sake. This was a very challenging year for the lab, with a COVID-19 related shut-down that interrupted our lab work and lives for several months. Despite these great challenges, we have had several bright spots this year. Here are 10 great things that happened for the lab this year (in no particular order):
We successfully recruited two new graduate students through the ILS rotation season: Kendall Clay and Taylor Medlock. Lab members did an excellent job hosting rotation students safely mid-pandemic (including creation of a suite of training videos). We’re excited to have them join us!
Graduate student Tulip Chandra passed her qualifying exam.
Rachel received an NSF CAREER award.
Jennifer presented her exciting research virtually at the Society for Developmental Biology meeting.
We prioritized self-care and mental health with a lab wellness check and other related activities.
We held our first ever lab career development week (we liked it so much we made it 2 weeks long!).
Our Spring undergraduates (Rachel, Raag, Labo, and Anusha) virtually presented their work at the CURO Symposium.
Rachel was invited to write a Perspective and a book chapter, published in the summer and out in 2021 respectively.
Britessia built a fancy recirculation system for the lab which is almost complete!
We submitted our first research paper from the lab, which is in review but which can be found at bioRxiv!
I’m grateful for the support that my trainees have offered to each other in this truly difficult year. I’m so grateful for the support of colleagues, particularly junior faculty members at UGA and around the country, who unfailingly offered their time and generously offered their friendship (and made me laugh when I needed it most). Wishing you and yours all the best (especially good health and research progress) in 2021.