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Ten simple rules towards healthier research labs

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  • Fernando T Maestre

Abstract

The negative effects of extremely competitive academic and research environments on the performance and health of researchers are well known and common worldwide. The prevalence of these effects, particularly among early career researchers, calls for a more humane and people-centered way of working within research labs. Although there is growing concern about the urgent need for a better life–work balance when doing science, there are not many examples about how this could be achieved in practice. In this article, I introduce 10 simple rules to make the working environment of research labs more nurturing, collaborative, and people-centered. These rules are directed towards existing and future principal investigators (PIs) but will be of interest to anyone working in a research lab and/or dealing with how to improve working conditions for scientists.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando T Maestre, 2019. "Ten simple rules towards healthier research labs," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-8, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pcbi00:1006914
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006914
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kevin R Burgio & Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie & Stephanie B Borrelle & S K Morgan Ernest & Jacquelyn L Gill & Kurt E Ingeman & Amy Teffer & Ethan P White, 2020. "Ten Simple Rules for a successful remote postdoc," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-9, May.
    3. Kevin A Janes, 2021. "Ten simple rules for being a faculty advocate of first-year graduate students," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(9), pages 1-6, September.
    4. Prakash Kumar Paudel & Basant Giri, 2024. "Carrying out research in Nepal: perceptions of scholars about research environment and challenges," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(5), pages 2499-2519, May.
    5. Cameron Mura & Mike Chalupa & Abigail M Newbury & Jack Chalupa & Philip E Bourne, 2020. "Ten simple rules for starting research in your late teens," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-11, November.
    6. Nigel Golden & Kadambari Devarajan & Cathleen Balantic & Joseph Drake & Michael T Hallworth & Toni Lyn Morelli, 2021. "Ten simple rules for productive lab meetings," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(5), pages 1-13, May.
    7. Carol Nash, 2021. "Improving Mentorship and Supervision during COVID-19 to Reduce Graduate Student Anxiety and Depression Aided by an Online Commercial Platform Narrative Research Group," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, March.
    8. Carol Nash, 2022. "Self-Direction in Physics Graduate Education: Insights for STEM from David J. Rowe’s Career-Long Methods," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, September.
    9. Zellmer-Bruhn, Mary E. & Forbes, Daniel P. & Sapienza, Harry J. & Borchert, Patricia S., 2021. "Lab, Gig or Enterprise? How scientist-inventors form nascent startup teams," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(1).
    10. Reena Debray & Emily A Dewald-Wang & Katherine K Ennis, 2024. "Mentoring practices that predict doctoral student outcomes in a biological sciences cohort," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(6), pages 1-17, June.

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