Getting started · Postdocs
Welcome to the BIRD Lab at UC Davis! 🎉 This is your onboarding roadmap. Most items are do-once; some are ongoing. You belong here, and everyone in the lab started exactly where you are now. Work through it at your own pace and ask when you’re unsure.
At a glance
Orientation & access Week 1
1. Read the lab guide.
- Read the Lab Guide in full.
2. Complete safety training and gain access.
- Complete all initial trainings in Lab safety.
- Complete the Key Authorization Form to get an office key.
- Request the door code to the Wind Tunnel Building.
The wind tunnel office is room WTB 1401.
If your project involves animals, complete the required training early; see Animal care & ethics.
3. Install core tools and set up data backups.
- Set up UC Davis Microsoft 365, a synced Google Calendar, and the Box Desktop App.
- Submit a purchase request on Slack for an external hard drive.
- Request the one-time authorization link for the lab’s time-off request app. This app helps us know who is in the office and can only set your own Slack status; it can’t read your messages, files, or channels. See the Time off & vacation page for details.
- Set up your backups and version control as described in Data management.
See Data management for the full backup policy and Code for our Git practices.
- Install Zotero and its Word plugin.
- Install Git, create a GitHub account, and (if new) complete Introduction to GitHub.
- Set up the programming environments your project uses: R & RStudio and Python & VS Code.
4. Request access and schedule meetings.
Email Christina from your UC Davis address to request:
- Slack workspace access
- member portal access
- an entry on the team page
- Box folder access
- GitHub organization access (include your username; you can also contact the GitHub owner, see Lab operations roles)
Once you have portal access, bookmark it and save the Emergency Contact Information page offline — it’s the one page you may need when nothing else is working.
- Get added to the weekly lab meeting and a weekly 30-minute one-on-one (see Meetings).
Christina sends a scheduling poll at the start of each quarter, then sends calendar invites for your 1:1 and the lab meeting.
Goals & mentoring Weeks 1–2
1. Consider your goals. Spend some time reflecting (maybe over a coffee or tea), then set your quarterly goals; see Goal setting. Review them in your 1:1s.
2. Set up your research profiles. Set up your ORCID, Google Scholar, and other profiles; see Professional presence.
Research & growth Ongoing
1. Mentor students. You help mentor the lab’s undergraduates. Support their onboarding and day-to-day questions, and model good practice; see Mentoring.
2. Plan your development and next step. Set an individual development plan and map your career direction; see Goal setting and Career planning & job search.
3. Apply for fellowships and grants. Postdoctoral fellowships and grants build toward your independence; see Funding applications.
4. Complete university onboarding. Enroll in benefits following instructions in UC Davis HR onboarding. International scholars may also need to work with Services for International Students and Scholars.
5. Prepare your year-end review. Once a year, reflect on your progress and draft a short year-end review before meeting with Christina. Cover:
- Research contributions: publications, protocols and SOPs, and technical skills gained.
- Project planning and problem-solving: managing timelines and handling challenges.
- Mentorship and training: helping or training others, and any sessions you led.
- Research impact and visibility: presentations, outreach, and new research scope.
- Professional development: growth areas, new ideas proposed, and funding you explored.
- Overall progress and where you want to grow next.
Draft your reflections first; Christina uses them to focus the review conversation on your development and next step.
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