You belong here.
To be our best selves, we need to be our whole selves. In the lab, I want you to thrive by thinking creatively, embracing challenges, and bringing your unique perspective and experience in solving problems. Achieving this requires a workplace where you have meaningful social connections, find the science exciting and engaging, and know that your opinions and contributions are valued. I am committed to fostering a lab environment where you feel safe and encouraged to be your authentic self.
Throughout my career, I have found that my ability to bounce back from rejections or experimental disappointments with the renewed motivation to try again (or “rinse and repeat” as one of my former mentors liked to refer to it) was greatly increased when I was intentionally prioritizing the things that make me whole. I love playing tennis, spending time with my wife and kids, and catching up with friends. I hope you invest time in building your own community, and never neglect your passions outside the lab.
I once had a great bench mentor, who after a hard day of failed experiments, refused to leave the lab without first doing something productive. Maybe they would pour agar plates, or aliquot a needed reagent. It made them feel better knowing that their day had not been a complete loss. We all have different ways to cope with hardship. And trust me, science will challenge you. My hope is that you will find many buckets from which to fill your lives outside of lab with joy and purpose, so that when experiments prove to be difficult, it will be a little easier to “rinse and repeat” and overcome these roadblocks.
Together, we can create a supportive team where everyone is empowered to be their whole self, ultimately benefiting both our personal well-being and our collective success in the lab.
Our mission.
Scientific Rigor
Our group will always strive to maintain the highest standards of rigor and integrity in our research. We will value intellectual honesty and the lessons that negative results can teach us, always striving to tackle problems and overcome experimental challenges as a team.
open-access data
We will promote open-access and transparent data sharing, recognizing that these practices are essential for advancing scientific knowledge. Our protocols will be shareable, our articles will be pre-printed, and our reagents and cell lines made available through bio-repositories.
Inclusivity
We will create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique skills and perspectives. Support and kindness will define our interactions within the lab. We will foster a culture of empathy, respect, and compassion, where lab members support and uplift one another.
Monthly Day of Service
New York City’s poverty rate remains well above the national average and substantial disparities, particularly along racial and ethnic lines, persists (2023 Poverty Tracker Report). I strongly believe that as part of this community, we have a moral obligation in fighting the structures of inequality that promote economic disadvantage, particularly among racial lines. As a biomedical research lab with a mission to improve human health, we cannot neglect the impact of economic hardship on the human condition. Here in New York City, low-income individuals and those facing material hardship are twice more likely to have work-limiting health conditions than high-income New Yorkers. It is important to me that we interact with our community members outside the lab in meaningful ways, face-to-face. Through days of service, we will drop our pipettes and instead use our hands to give back to our home through educational programs, volunteer opportunities, and social activism. As lab head, I will reserve a monthly workday towards service. Sometimes we will plan activities together, sometimes we will individually choose causes that are near and dear to each of us.