“It is not the critic who counts…the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat”
In the Naik lab, we view science as an adventure into the unknown. We navigate complex biological systems with an interdisciplinary approach that draws from immunology, microbiology, stem cell, and developmental biology, as well as cancer biology. This requires teamwork both within the lab and with outside collaborators and allows for the cross fertilization of ideas. Teams with diverse perspectives not only lead to new discoveries, but also make science fun! Thus, our lab environment is dynamic and fosters dialogue. Communication, collaboration, and cooperation are crucial for our team to flourish and for each individual to grow as a scientist and person.
Mentoring is big part of life in the Naik lab. Each trainee establishes an individual development plan, with explicit short- and long-term career goals. This plan is reviewed yearly to ensure that the needs of the mentee are being met and to receive feedback on progress. Likewise, trainees provide Shruti with feedback about her mentorship and logistics of the lab on a yearly basis. Trainees are free to pursue questions that are exciting to them and are empowered to lead their research. Trainees write fellowships and grants and present their work at national and international conferences to engage with the scientific community. Professionally, students and postdocs are encouraged to hone their communication skills, both written and oral, to prepare them for pursuits in academia, industry, government, or any other path they find fulfilling and wish to pursue.
The Naik lab is located on the 4th floor of the brand new Science Building, overlooking the east river. Our floor is also home to the Reizis lab and the Ramkhelawan lab. The groups share a dynamic open laboratory space with a large lunch room and several conference rooms. Trainees on the floor often have shared lunches, routine get togethers, and happy hours. Collaborations between groups are organic and trainee-driven.
