Fall 2007 Toxicology Rotation Students
Student Name Temp Advisor Graduate
Student
Mr. Samuel Buxton Temp: Dr. Manju Reddy Mr. Hilary Afeseh Ngwa nhafeseh@iastate.edu
Ms. Shecoya White Temp: Diane Birt Mr. James Delgado jdelgado@iastate.edu
Rotation Start Date: please try and begin your first rotation by August 27
Rotations: you
are required to participate in 3 rotations of 6 to 8 weeks in length
Rotation dates: August
27-October 21
October 22-December 21
January 7-March 3
Temporary Advisor Meetings:
We encourage you to meet with
your temporary advisors at least once per month.
Dr. Diane Birt,
FSHN 4-9873 215 MacKay dbirt@iastate.edu
Dr. Manju
Reddy, FSHN 4-2024 1127 HNSB mbreddy@iastate.edu
Paid Vacation: November
22-25
December 22-January 6
Rotation students who wish to take any additional time
other than the above must have prior
approval
by the Toxicology Chair or their major professor and will likely not be paid
for that time.
Students
may also take off University employee holidays (Labor Day, Martin Luther King
Day)
Lab Choice Decision date: March 15,
2008
Funding: All students on regular assistantships are
funded until June 30, 2008 by the
Who can I do rotations with? You may
contact any Toxicology faculty member regarding rotations. You are now a graduate student and it will be
up to you to contact faculty in whose research you are interested. We will provide guidelines, but ultimately
you are responsible for contacting and setting up your own rotations. Faculty funding resources change throughout
the year so do contact those genetics faculty in whose research you are
interested even if they are not listed below.
When should I set up the 2nd and 3rd
rotations? This is tricky!
Some faculty want to know within a few weeks of your arrival if you are
interested in doing a research rotation with them so that they can schedule
your rotation and design a project for you to work on. They will have other students meeting with
them as well from a variety of graduate majors and they may only wish to have
one rotation student at a time so as to be able to interact with you a
reasonable amount during your rotation.
We encourage you to talk with as many faculty
in whose research you are interested as early as possible. You should have your 2nd rotation
selected by September 15 and your third rotation selected by December 1.
Okay, I have my three rotations set, but now I have
learned about a lab that I might prefer to do a rotation in; what do I do
now? Go ahead and talk to the faculty member about the possibility of a
rotation, then decide if you would like to do the rotation and if so, where it
would best fit (2nd or 3rd). Contact the faculty member whose lab you
originally planned to do the rotation with and let them know as soon as
possible of this change.
I started my rotation and it has been two weeks, and I
know I will not select this lab; should I continue in the rotation? No. Begin looking for other lab rotation
possibilities. As soon as you have
located another lab you are interested in, let the faculty member whose lab you
are doing the rotation in know you are not that interested in the lab’s
research and begin the other lab rotation.
What if the rotation project I am working on runs
longer than expected? The purpose of rotations is for you to
discover if the lab you are working in--the major professor, lab mates, lab
culture, and the research projects are a good fit for you. By eight weeks you should have a good idea
about this. Do not stay in the lab
rotation for longer than 8 weeks; this may mean that you leave without
completing the project assigned. Faculty
are aware that you need to continue with your rotations since you are required
to complete 3 and must make a decision regarding your lab by March 15.
I really liked my second rotation and I let the
faculty member know that. I am worried
that if there is only one opening in the lab that unless I tell the faculty
member I will take it, the faculty member will give the slot to someone
else. I still have my third rotation to
go. Most faculty members will allow you to finish your last rotation (as
long as you are on schedule) before they make a decision as to whom to offer
the opening in their lab to. Let the
faculty member know you are beginning your third rotation and that you need to
be in that lab for at least six weeks before you can make a final
decision. Ask them by what date they
will be making the decision. Most faculty will work
with you. If they have other students
rotating in their labs, they likely will not be able to make a decision until
the last student has completed their rotation.
I really liked my second rotation and nothing could be
better. I told the faculty member I
would be back after my third rotation.
Only now I really really like my third
rotation and I want to stay with this faculty member and research project. We
remind the faculty that they should not put pressure on the students to make
decisions prior to the end of their last rotation, but sometimes it
happens. If you change your mind, let
that faculty member know. If you feel
you need assistance in talking with a faculty member, talk with your temporary
advisor or contact the Chair of the Toxicology program.
Finding my second or third lab is hard. I can’t seem to find one that meets my
interests, indicates they have funding to support me, and is available during
one of the lab rotation periods. As a graduate student it is your responsibility to
keep looking and talking to potential faculty about research projects. You can contact your temporary advisor for
advice and you can contact Linda Wild regarding potential faculty rotations. You are responsible for making the most of the
time you have to participate in rotations.
Opportunities to meet with faculty about rotations:
üDuring Orientation you will have a chance to meet with several faculty
and graduate students on Friday, August 17.
üTalk with your temporary advisor about what you are interested in and
let them help you find the research and researchers you are most interested in.
üLinda Wild (lmwild@iastate.edu)
will have listing of faculty looking for rotation students
üRead about their research and contact faculty: http://www.toxicology.iastate.edu
üTalk to the other graduate students.
Sometimes you will hear things about a lab that is not positive. Make your own decisions; what was not a good
experience for one student, might be a good fit for you.
For
those students participating in rotations, here is a tentative listing of
faculty who are looking
for rotation students for fall. If you are interested in other
toxicology faculty then those listed below
(http://www.toxicology.iastate.edu)
please feel free to contact them. Faculty funding
situations change all the time.
Diane Birt, Food
Science and Human Nutrition dbirt@iastate.edu
Bryony Bonning
Entomology
bbonning@iastate.edu
Richard
Martin
Biomedical Sciences
rjmartin@iastate.edu
Ruth MacDonald Food Science and Human Nutrition ruthmacd@iastate.edu
Timothy Day Biomedical Sciences day@iastate.edu
Suzanne Hendrich Food Science and Human Nutrition shendric@iastate.edu
Larry Halverson Plant Pathology larryh@iastate.edu
Gary Munkvold Plant Pathology munkvold@iastate.edu
Marit Nilsen-Hamilton Biochemistry, Biophysics & Mol Biol marit@iastate.edu
Ravindra Singh Biomedical Sciences singhr@iastate.edu
You can find
information on toxicology faculty research:
·During Orientation on Friday, August
17.
·Homepages of the individual faculty:
http://www.toxicology.iastate.edu
Click on
“Toxicology Research Areas” or “Tox Faculty”
·Discussions
with individual faculty members.
Faculty can provide curriculum vitae and recent publication references. We would encourage you to contact and
interact with a minimum of six different faculty
during the rotation selection process.
Once you have decided with
whom you would like to rotate, follow these guidelines:
______You need
to personally ask the faculty member whether you can rotate in his or her
laboratory and before committing to a rotation, ask whether the faculty member
will be able to take on additional graduate students that year.
______In
consultation with the faculty member, decide on dates to begin and end your
rotation in the lab. If your rotation
includes holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas you should ask about the work
schedule during this time and indicate if you plan to take any vacation days.
______ Discuss
with the faculty member if there is an expectation of a presentation or short
paper so you can plan for this during the rotation. Also discuss with the faculty members their
expectations regarding your work schedule (arrival and departure times in the
lab).
______Rotation
schedules are somewhat flexible.
However, if you decide to extend or to rotate in a different lab than
you had originally planned, then you must notify any faculty member whose
schedule may be impacted by this change.
______ Ask who
your main contact in the lab will be during your rotation.
______You do
not have to stay past the agreed upon lab rotation completion date to
finish a project.
______ If
you know after two weeks that this is not the area of research that you wish to
pursue, you should work with faculty member and the rotation lab manager to
terminate this rotation. The Toxicology
program is willing to assist you in this as well. This will allow you to do at least 3
full-term rotations in labs that perform research in your area(s) of interest.
_______You must meet with
the faculty member at the end of your rotation.
Topics of discussion may include
·
Your research progress during the rotation (Your notebook should be
complete and legible.)
·
What you learned during the rotation.
·
Which questions addressed by the research group interested you the most.
·
If you are interested in joining the research group, you should state
that after your rotations are complete.
You may also choose to discuss possible projects if you were to join the
lab.
·
You MUST NOT COMMIT TO A LAB UNTIL YOU FINISH YOUR
ROTATIONS. The faculty member may not be
aware of your rotation schedule and may ask you to commit to a decision
prematurely. In this case, you may
discuss your interest in the lab, but you must state, “I can’t actually commit
to a lab until my third rotation is completed.”
Remember that as great as your present rotation may be, there is always
the possibility that the next rotation will be even more interesting or
promising.
On completion of each rotation, your
performance will be evaluated and the faculty member will provide a written
evaluation to the Chair. These
evaluations will be used in the annual review of each student. Although research will be conducted during
these rotations, the completion of a project is not required. You will be asked to evaluate the rotation
experience in an interview with the program Chair at the end of the spring
semester.
______ After you finish all of your laboratory rotations, ask the
faculty member with whom you would like to work whether he or she can accept
you into his or her laboratory and arrange for your future financial support.
______ Ask
regarding the amount of the stipend.
These are things you need to know when deciding whether to join a
specific lab. Toxicology faculty are located in 14 different departments and stipend
rates differ within each department and laboratory. You can approach this question by indicating
the present amount you receive from Toxicology and ask if the faculty member
will be able to provide the same support.
______ Once a
mutual agreement has been reached, please inform the INTERDEPARTMENTAL TOXICOLOGY program
chair and program coordinator. Students
should initiate a “Request to Establish a Home Department for Students Admitted
to Interdepartmental Majors” form found at:
http://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/forms/files/EstablishDepartment.doc
and bring that
form to the Toxicology administrative office in 2102 Molecular Biology.