Preparing to move on? Be sure to:
- Finish experiments and writing manuscripts — this is VERY difficult to do after leaving the lab
- Provide soft and hard-bound copies of thesis to PI (if appropriate)
- Schedule meeting with PI and/or lab manager
- Dispose of useless reagents and clean up lab area and glassware
- Organize and catalog samples
- Plasmids and strains should be consolidated into as few boxes as possible
- An index to the sample box(es) should be placed in your notebook that describes the location and identity of each sample in sample boxes
- SLAM entries should be complete and informative — will a new student be able to understand and trace the entry/sample?
- Back up data onto optical media (CD/DVD); give to lab manager
- CD/DVD should indicate which computer/file system the files are/were available
- Backed up digital data should include: manuscripts, thesis, NMR spectra, fluorescence/UV/CD spectra, titrations, gels, graphs, DNA sequence data, mass spectra, etc.
- Finish making notebook entries; give notebooks to lab manager
- Give lab manager contact and forwarding information
- Return keys to lab manager
- Good fortune, best wishes and keep in touch!
M. Foster
Modified July 2016