STEM Tea | How to lead a lab

In this episode of STEM Tea, host AJ Hinton is joined by Quinton Smith, an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine (CA, USA). Quinton’s lab focuses on distilling the complexity of early human development to controllable factors, creating synthetic biomaterials that support the differentiation and expansion of stem cell-derived organoids and building small and large-scale vascularized tissues from single donor iPSCs for regenerative medicine applications.

Here, Quinton discusses his journey into academia, his lab’s research and how he balances life with work, blocking out time to look after his mental health. Quinton and AJ then delve into leadership, including how to lead a lab, transitioning to a leadership role and the challenges that come with it. We also hear about academic life on the sunny West Coast!

Contents

· 00:00–01:00: Introductions

· 01:00–04:05: Quinton’s journey into academia and life as an Assistant Professor on the West Coast

· 04:05–06:00: Looking after your mental health in academia

· 06:00–09:35: Quinton’s lab focuses and his mentoring style

· 09:35–11:47: Challenges of balancing leading a lab with a faculty role

· 11:47–13:45: Why choose this career path?

· 13:45–16:30: Curating an inclusive lab

· 16:30–18:30: Transitioning to a leadership role

· 18:30–24:14: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

· 24:14–27:55: Life outside science

· 27:55–35:36: How has DEIA impacted your career?

· 35:36–38:43: Breeding success and making an impact

· 38:43–39:59: Communicating science

· 39:59–43:19: Favorite experiments

· 43:19–44:47: What are you drinking?

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