Chapter 8 Frequently Asked Questions

These are topics that are commonly asked about when new members join the lab. Additionally, feel free to ask senior lab members for more information or advice whenever you have questions.

8.1 Scheduling Vacations

Taking time off is necessary to avoid burn-out during graduate school. While iPSC culture requires daily maintenance, it is still possible to take vacations and rest. Short trips over the weekend do not need to be cleared with me, but I should be aware if you are planning on taking longer periods of time off. I have yet to tell any lab members that they could not take a vacation, but you need to be smart about when you plan to be away so that progress is not disrupted.

If you are asking another lab member to cover your work while you are out of lab, you should ask that lab member at least a week before you are gone (unless it’s a personal health or family emergency). Before you leave you should provide the following information:

  • How long you’ll be out of lab

  • What cells need their media changed each day you are gone and what media to use following this template.

  • Where the cells are located

  • Where media and other necessary reagents are located

  • How to make more media if the lab mate is not used to maintaining the cell types

  • How to operate devices (if needed)

  • If you want more iPSCs when you come back and if you are leaving Matrigel plates

You should not:

  • Ask your lab mate to run crucial experiments for you while you are gone

  • Maintain short term differentations (ex: BMECs) or common iPSCs (ex: CC3s) if you’ll be gone for a week or more

Typically, first year students will take Thanksgiving break off. More senior students will rotate who covers this holiday. The lab generally shuts down for the holidays in December/January, although a couple of lab members may stay behind for maintaining long-term cultures (like neurons or organoids) or animals. Holidays such as the 4th of July or Labor Day are usually treated as half days where many people usually choose to do their bare minimum work and take the rest of the day off. If lab meetings fall on the U.S. Election Day, Ethan will cancel those meetings in order to allow lab members to vote if they have not already.

Overall, it is up to you to make sure that you are getting the necessary work done in order to graduate on time.

8.2 Mental Health in Graduate School

Mental health is a major issue in graduate school. Many members of the lab use mental health resources available on campus including the University Counseling Center (UCC) and the Vanderbilt Graduate Life Coach. Our medical insurances provides free access to psychiatry services although medication may still cost some money. There are also outside resources such as PhD Balance. Feel free to reach out to other members of the lab if you are having issues or need people to talk to! Several students over the years have been up front with me about their mental health struggles and I have made efforts to accommodate their needs, but I can only help if I know there is a problem. I fully acknowledge that I sometimes ask students to do too much, so if you are struggling or overly stressed because of lab work, it needs to be discussed so we can come to a mutual decision on acceptable outputs.

8.3 Advice on Navigating Co-Mentorships

  • No matter whether Ethan is your primary or secondary adviser, you are welcome to use the Lippmann lab spaces and equipment (some equipment such as the biosafety hoods, microscope, and osmometer needs extra training). You are also invited and encouraged to attend Lippmann lab social events.

  • Ideally, your co-advisor will be a faculty member that Ethan already has a working relationship with (a close collaborator or someone on a shared grant)

  • Time spent in the labs of both mentors is rarely split evenly, so make sure it is clear to everyone who will serve as your “primary” mentor, why this choice was made, and the relative time that you will be spending in each lab.

  • At the beginning of your co-mentorship, make sure to have a meeting where all three of you discuss the general outline of your research direction. While this may be difficult to do during your first semester, make sure that you are actively communicating with Ethan and your other advisor about where your project is at and any research changes. You are responsible for communicating between your advisors and making sure that they are on the same page with the status of your research. Co-mentorship is meant to enhance the scope of research but it can get messy if communication breaks down.

  • Similarly, if you’re feeling overburdened with double lab meetings, journal clubs, etc, then talk with Ethan about it! The goal of a co-advising relationship is for you to have the freedom to develop a more interdisciplinary project by pulling on the expertise of Ethan and your co-advisor. While it might require more time-juggling on the front end (learning two lab cultures, attending double lab meetings, doing more background reading to get acquainted), make sure that you’re also not neglecting your research! Communicate, communicate, communicate. It will always help you to be clear with Ethan about your stress level/workload and you can find a solution by having open conversations about it.

8.4 Registering for Courses in the YES Portal

Graduate students register for courses on the Vanderbilt YES Portal. You can register for courses using the “Student Registration” tab. All graduate students are required to enroll in 9 credit hours every semester.

  • Enrolling in Classes:
    • Search for the courses you are required to take/interested in taking
    • Click on the course and click the “Add to Cart” button at the bottom of the pop up screen.
    • Move the to “In Cart” tab.
    • Click the down arrow at the left side of the course. Click on “Enroll.”
    • You can see how many courses/credit hours you are enrolled in for each semester by moving to the “Enrolled” tab.
  • Enrolling in Research Credit:
    • Search your home department in the search bar.
    • If you have not passed your qualifying exam yet, select Ethan’s course in the Non-Candidate Research offerings. If you have passed your qualifying exam, select Ethan’s course in the Ph.D. Dissertation Research offerings.
    • Enroll in the course using the instructions listed in the “Enrolling in Classes” bullet point.
    • Move to the “Enrolled” tab. On the right side of the course, there is an edit button (looks like a pencil and paper). Click the edit button.
    • Select the number of research credit hours you need to enroll in, and click the “Save” button.
    • This needs to be done every semester even after you are done taking classes for Vanderbilt tuition purposes (Ph.D. students do not pay for tuition themselves).

8.6 Core Facilities on Campus

There are a variety of equipment that graduate students and postdocs can use through Vanderbilt University (VU) and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Common core facilities that the Lippmann Lab uses includes the VUMC Flow Cytometry Shared Resource, VUMC Translational Pathology Shared Resource, VU NMR Facility, VU Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR), and the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE). If you are interested in seeing what equipment the lab is trained to use, you can look at this spreadsheet. You can also talk to Ethan about getting trained to use different facilities on campus. Students should have an iLabs account set up in order to use most core facilities.

8.7 Potential Vanderbilt Funding Sources

There is the potential to have travel, research, and your stipend funded from Vanderbilt sources other than Ethan’s grants at Vanderbilt. This is a (non-comprehensive) list of potential funding sources open to Lippmann Lab trainees.

8.7.1 Graduate Student Council (GSC) Travel Grant

GSC offers up $500 travel awards for enrolled Vanderbilt graduate students. Graduate students are eligible for travel grants up to 3 times during their training.

8.7.2 Graduate Leadership Institute (GLI) Grants

GLI offers two types of funding opportunities: GLI Dissertation Enhancement Grants and GLI Professional Development and Training Grants. The Dissertation Enhancement Grants offers up to $2,000 for dissertation research expenses. All Ph.D. students in good academic standing are eligible to apply. The Professional Development and Training Grants offers up to $1,000 for professional development and training opportunities. This can include traveling to conferences. All Vanderbilt graduate students in good academic standing are eligible for this grant.

8.7.3 Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) Vouchers

The Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research can be a source of funding to use core facility equipment on campus. Ethan will usually talk to you about applying for VICTR vouchers, and resources for filling out the application can be found in this folder. Note that especially motivated undergraduate students can also apply for vouchers. If you receive an updated biosketch from Ethan, please upload it to the folder. You can make a biosketch using the SciENcv section of your My NCBI account.

8.7.4 Training Grants

There are several NIH-funded training grants that can cover up to 2 years of your training. Lippmann lab members have been funded through the T32 Training Grant in Alzheimer’s Disease and the T32 Training Grant in Environmental Toxicology. The activities required while funded by the training grants will vary but can include presenting at a seminar, participating in a journal club, or taking certain courses. Typically, Ethan will talk to you about training grant funding opportunities, and applications usually require a CV.

8.8 Common Conferences

While Ethan is always open to suggestions of conferences you would like to present at, here is a list that many lab members have attended in the past:

  • American Chemical Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting

  • Biomedical Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting

  • Society for Neuroscience’s Annual Meeting

  • Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative Neurodegeneration Challenge Network Annual Meeting

  • Gordon Research Conference: Barriers of the CNS

  • Vanderbilt Annual Alzheimer’s Disease Research Day

  • Vanderbilt NanoDay

8.9 The Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training’s (BRET) Career Resources

The BRET office has career development resources for both graduate students and postdocs. The Bistro series is focused on graduate students, while the cafe series is focused on post doctoral fellows. Additionally the BRET office has a job search series and a career fair that are open to graduate students and postdocs.

8.10 Early Milestones in Each Department

There’s a lot of variability in the department graduation requirements. Here’s a short summary of some of the milestones that occur up to the qualifying exam and what is required for each milestone for the departments that are commonly represented in the Lippmann Lab. Graduate school documents for forming your thesis committee, scheduling your qualifying exam, and preparing your dissertation/defense can be found here. Make sure you are aware of your department’s specific requirements for each milestone.

8.10.1 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE)

  • Departmental Exam: This exam typically occurs in late August/early September. Students are expected to prepare a 10 page written report and a 20 minute oral presentation. Students should focus on how the principles of chemical engineering applies to their research and should demonstrate the progress they have made on their research projects – the latter point is the most important, while the former point will typically be raised by the faculty during the Q&A. One retake is held in December if students do not pass the first exam.

  • Qualifying Exam: Chemical Engineering students are expected to take their qualifying exam by the end of their 5th semester at Vanderbilt (although most students take it sometime during their 2nd year). Students should prepare a written document and an oral presentation on their dissertation proposal. Written documents should be given to the students’ committees at least 2 weeks before the oral component of the exam. This exam can be taken a maximum of 2 times.

    • Thesis Committee: A minimum of 4 people including Ethan, 2 CHBE faculty members, and an additional faculty member from outside the department. Students should meet with their committee at least once a year after passing their qualifying exam.

8.10.2 Biomedical Engineering (BME)

  • Mentoring Committee Meetings: Prior to forming our thesis committee, BME graduate students are randomly assigned a committee of 3 BME professors (including Ethan) around November of their first year. BME students are expected to meet with their mentoring committee every 6 months until they form their thesis committee. These meetings are typically just 30 minutes with 15 minutes spent presenting to your committee and 15 minutes for questions. The template for mentoring committee meeting presentations can be found here.

  • Qualifying Exam: Lippmann lab BME students typically take their qualifying exam during their 3rd year at Vanderbilt (although there is some flexibility). Students should prepare a written document and an oral presentation on their dissertation proposal. Written documents should be given to the students’ committees at least 2 weeks before the oral component of the exam.

    • Thesis Committee: A minimum of 5 people including Ethan, 2 BME faculty (with at least one having a primary appointment in BME), at least one member from VUMC, and an additional member from any department. BME students are expected to meet with their committee at least every 6 months after passing their qualifying exam.

8.10.3 Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program (IMS)

  • Preliminary Exam: This exam will be taken before the end of the third semester at Vanderbilt, ideally after the majority of required coursework is completed. The main purpose of this exam is to confirm that you have the potential to make a successful PhD student and that you have an adequate understanding of the foundations of materials science from all previous courses. Since our lab is mostly concerned with biomaterials, this exam will be focused on a short presentation of all the research you have accomplished (10-15 min) and an “area paper” (4-10p) which will need to be submitted to your committee at least one week before your exam. You will be responsible for forming a preliminary exam committee which consists of five faculty members (including Ethan) that are from at least three different departments. This may be the same committee that you choose to move forward with for your qualifying exam, but it does not have to be. If you fail your first examination, your committee may decide to allow you to sit for a second exam or suggest that you complete the additional research work required to earn a master’s degree.

  • Qualifying Exam: The IMS qualifying same is similar to quals for other departments. Its main purpose is to determine that your proposed research will be worthy of attaining your PhD. It must be completed within four years of entering Vanderbilt and at least six months before defending. Similar to the Preliminary Exam, there is both a written and oral portion although each are more lengthy. The written proposal should be sent to your committee at least two weeks before your exam and is a formal, detailed justification of your proposed hypothesis future research direction, supported by the work that you have completed so far. You will then give a 30-minute talk to your committee, followed by a period of oral examination.

    • Thesis Committee: The composition of your thesis committee for your qualifying exam and PhD defense may be the same as for your preliminary exam. Your thesis committee should comprise of your 2 thesis advisers and 3 other faculty members. Three faculty must be members of the Graduate Faculty and at least 3 affiliated with the Materials Program. For more detailed information see “Expectations for IMS preliminary and qualifying exams” document that you received during orientation.

8.10.4 Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (IGP) and Quantitative and Chemical Biology (QCB): Neuroscience Track

  • Qualifying Exam: All neuroscience students take their qualifying exams at the end of the second year. The requirements typically include a written exam in the form of a Nature Neuroscience style review document. This review is expected to cover literature that supports the student’s disseration research topic and must be broadly related to their thesis. Alongside the review document, the student is expected to submit a specific aims page outlining their plan for the next few years of grad school (work on this begins as part of a grant writing course in the Spring). Neither documents can be reviewed by the PI and must be original work. Following submission of the written portion of the exam, students take an oral qualifier comprised of a 5 minute chalk talk followed by open question by the committee for up to 2 hours. This includes topics like general knowledge of neuroscience, experimental design and thesis project. Oral exams usually occur between June to August. The qualifying exam committee must comprise of three professors of the student’s choice and one department appointed committee chair.

    • Thesis Committee: The composition of the thesis committee may differ from that of the qualifying exam committee. These are typically professors with research backgrounds similar to the student’s thesis project. You are required to have 2 Neuroscience faculty members and 1 external faculty member on your committee. Committee meetings should typically occur atleast once a year until the final defense or more frequently as requested by the student or committee.

8.11 Advice on Scheduling Committee Meetings

It can be notoriously difficult to schedule meetings with committee members due to faculty members’ busy schedules. We recommend choosing a 2 week period of time and confirming that Ethan will be available those weeks. You can also ask your committee members if there are days that are generally not good for them to meet (ex: their lab meeting schedules or days they teach). Once you have a shortened list of potential days and times, you can create a Doodle poll to determine what will work for all your committee members. Note that if you have a VUMC faculty member on your committee, they may have secretaries that you can email for quicker responses.

8.12 CZI Resources

The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Neurodegeneration Challenge Network (NDCN) provides resources for Lippmann lab trainees. They hold an annual conference where Ethan can take 2 trainees; he will discuss how trainees will be selected for this conference before it starts. They also hold a weekly seminar series. The schedule for this seminar will be sent out in the monthly newsletter. All seminar presentations are recorded in the NDCN forum. Additionally, there is a Slack workspace that staff, graduate students, and postdocs can access. There are weekly Computational Office Hours where trainees can learn to a variety of computational topics including processing RNAseq data and creating reproducible code. There is also a staff and trainee database being developed for further collaborations and networking. Talk to Ethan or senior lab members if you are interested in getting more involved with the opportunities provided by CZI.

8.13 Two Factor Authentification

Vanderbilt uses Duo Security for extra protection when logging onto Vanderbilt website and to access files remotely. Use this link to set up Duo with your computer or phone.

8.14 OneTab

OneTab is a Google Chrome extension that some lab members have found useful. When you inevitably have billions of tabs open in your browser, OneTab can be used to condense all the tabs into a single list that you can organize.

8.15 Mentoring Opportunities

There are many opportunities to mentor younger students in the Lippmann lab.

  • High School Students: Ethan is involved with a partnership with a local high school that brings high school students on campus to learn about (and potentially participate in) research. He will contact you if there is an opportunity to mentor a high school student. Typically, these students will shadow you while you conduct your research and submit an article to the Vanderbilt Young Scientist Journal. This is can range for a couple months to a couple years commitment. In addition to research, some students may also ask you questions about college and the application process. Occasionally, other high school students will spend a day shadowing you in lab.

  • Undergraduate Graduate Students: There are many opportunities to mentor undergraduate students whether they are Vanderbilt students or visiting summer students. Talk to Ethan if you are interested in mentoring an undergrad or could use help with your projects.

  • Younger Graduate Students: Senior graduate students are expected to help mentor and train younger graduate students. Typically, students sharing common research interests will be paired together, but all senior students can help younger students adjust to graduate school. Younger students should feel free to reach out to more senior students for advice on courses, opportunities available at Vanderbilt, and research advise/feedback.

8.16 Outreach Opportunities

There are several outreach opportunities at Vanderbilt and in the Nashville community.