Trainees in the Mudd laboratory are provided support and educational opportunities within a graduated system of increasing responsibility commensurate both with the trainee’s scientific background and demonstrated competence in their work once in the lab. This ensures increasing levels of independence for all trainees as they scientifically mature. All trainees are provided guidance and mentorship with the expectation that they will leave the laboratory with significant improvement in their experimental design skills, ability to interpret scientific data, critical thinking skills, data analysis, data presentation and writing skills. In addition to their scientific project, each trainee will participate and occasionally present in weekly lab meetings and journal clubs. Trainees will also participate in regularly scheduled mentorship meetings with the PI or a designated senior researcher in the laboratory.
Laboratory-based research takes time and substantial intellectual investment. Potential trainees with significant commitments outside of the laboratory (undergraduate students, medical students, and resident physicians) should recognize that several months of effort spending more than 10-15 hours per week is the MINIMUM for effective participation in a laboratory-based research project. Please plan accordingly before reaching out to discuss opportunities in the laboratory.
Graduate students and post-doctoral students are provided additional training and opportunities to improve their writing and presentation skills. This includes manuscript writing, preparation of abstracts and presentations for regional, national, and international scientific meetings, and the latitude to apply for career-development awards if they desire. Senior trainees will participate in the manuscript peer review and grant writing/review process. Senior trainees will also be encouraged and mentored by the PI to develop their own ideas and projects that can broaden the training they receive and lead the lab in new directions.
As a laboratory based physician-scientist and immunologist with a non-traditional area of expertise in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Mudd realizes that not all traditional backgrounds and training pathways are necessary for a successful career in biomedical research. Diversity in lab members’ backgrounds and expertise is the engine that drives innovation in our laboratory. Potential trainees with non-traditional backgrounds or non-standard previous training experience who maintain a strong desire to pursue further research training in human immunology in our laboratory are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Mudd directly via email.