description of the training environment

The Dixon lab is composed of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, orientations, and outlooks, all committed to the objective study of cell death, metabolism and related phenomenon. In general, we seek to approach the difficult task of understanding biology with an open mind and humility, recognizing that it is often only through painful trial and error, and much thought and discussion, that we will arrive at something approximating the truth.

Towards this end, Scott’s goal is to foster a respectful, fun, and intellectually rigorous environment that can help everyone succeed, and reach their full potential as individuals. Scott has completed extensive leadership and mentorship trainings, including the CSHL Workshop on Leadership in Biosciences, and the Culturally Aware Mentoring (CAM) training offered by the University of Madison-Wisconsin. Trainees are mentored one-on-one, in small group settings (2-3 people) and as a group.

Our lab mentoring culture focuses on deep consideration of the literature and the use of hypotheses and working models to guide the design and interpretation of individual experiments. The central importance of effective oral and written communication skills are heavily stressed, and extensive feedback is provided on both. Scott encourages all trainees to present their work at local, national or international meetings, and works with all trainees to describe finished results in high-quality, first-author publications.

Equipment

The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art robotic liquid handling (Versette) and high-throughput imaging systems (Essen IncuCyte ZOOM) for large-scale small molecule and genetic screening and analysis. We also have a BioTek Cystation3 multimode reader equipped with an automated stacker with a 30 plate capacity and a sensitive BioTek Neo multimode plate reader for luminescence- or fluorescence-based assays. Cell culture is performed in our own fully equipped suite, including two hoods and four incubators. On our floor we have access to many others resources including flow cytometry and confocal imaging. We work with Stanford collaborators and commercial organization to perform metabolomic and genomic analyses (e.g. CRISPR screening, RNA-Seq).

Interested in joining?

Postdoctoral candidates should contact me via email, describing a specific line of investigation relevant to the research goals of the lab (What scientific question, exactly, most excites or intrigues you?  How do you propose to address that question?).  The Stanford Postdoctoral Handbook, which contains information on many interesting postdoc-related topics (e.g. housing, visas, etc), is here.  You can find more information concerning immigration-related issues here. Unfortunately, I am not looking for Research Associates (e.g. post-postdoc scientists) at this time.

Current graduate students who are interested in joining the lab for a rotation can contact me directly. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Prospective graduate students can find more information on how to enroll in the Biology Department graduate program here.  Information on Graduate Student policies is here.  A few common questions and answers for students in this position:

Are you planning to take new PhD students next year? The general answer is “yes” - Scott is always looking for potential new candidate PhD students. Of course, the details vary from year to year. Depending on the background and interests of a particular student, they may be a better or worse fit for the lab, and therefore be more or less likely to ultimately join the lab.

Do you take students directly into your lab? This is not possible. The Dixon lab is part of the Department of Biology, which is part of the Stanford Bioscience program. Students must first be admitted to the Biology PhD program, following an application through the Stanford Bioscience PhD portal. After that, students are invited to interview. After that, students may be offered admission to the Biology PhD program. After that, students must rotate in at least two (and in as many as three) labs in year 1 of the PhD, and only then after that process is complete is a mutual decision made about joining the lab. There is no path to directly join the lab without passing through each of these steps.

Can I speak to you about your lab’s current interests? Every fall Scott receives many requests from prospective students to meet on Zoom or in person to discuss what the lab is currently investigating. The best suggestion would be to consider what is on this webpage and also the latest papers from the Dixon lab. This should provide a good idea what the lab is currently working on, in general.

Undergraduate students. We currently have a number of Stanford undergraduates working in the laboratory and generally open to considering new Stanford undergraduate students. Please email Scott directly.

I am not currently accepting applications from high school students for positions in the lab.

Additional Thoughts

Here are some additional thoughts that may be useful when thinking about choosing a lab, a lab mentor or project: A Nature perspective on what makes for a great lab environment.  The late (great) Stanford Professor Ben Barres writes about how to choose a Ph.D. mentor.  Uri Alon discusses how to pick a good scientific problem.  Indira Raman provides excellent thoughts on how to be a graduate advisee and make the most out of your time as a student.  Peter Walter details the history, and provides examples, of the importance of serendipity in biomedical research.  Doug Green suggests six ways to minimize the stress associated with doing biomedical research.  Giulio Superti-Furga talks about how to choose between academic and industry careers, among other related matters of professional development.  Plus, was Charles Darwin successful because he was a genius, or just really stubborn?