AIDS VACCINE RESEARCH LABORATORY

• Mission Statement
• Facilities
• Graduate Education
• Job Opportunities
• Contacts

Graduate Education Philosophy

Graduate students are the lifeblood of my laboratory, having, over the years, produced the most important manuscripts from our group. My goal as a graduate student mentor is to train independent scientists.  I give students leeway to come up with their own projects and allow them to invest time and energy in testing these ideas.  This approach often results in failure and can be frustrating.  However, success in this context gives students the self-assurance to pursue their own ideas when they leave the lab.  My ultimate goal is to give students the necessary confidence to initiate and develop their own projects; this is essential when pursuing a career in science.  The measure of my success as a graduate student mentor are the achievements my students enjoy after leaving the laboratory.

I have created an environment of international collaborators, scientists, post-doctoral fellows and senior graduate students which I feel fosters the intellectual growth of students.  Additionally, we have divided the laboratory into several cores to ensure that routine techniques are performed correctly (sequencing, MHC typing, tetramer synthesis, flow cytometry, virological and immunological techniques).  This structure provides support to students both in formulating and carrying out experiments.       

While working with me, students will learn to write manuscripts and grants in addition to conducting their hypothesis-driven research.  Most students should graduate with three first-author papers in J. Virology-level journals.  Also, we have successfully submitted students’ prelim B proposals as NIH R01 grants.  

A list of previous students and their publication record in my laboratory can be seen here.