Learning How to Run a Lab: Interviews with Principal Investigators

A research lab is the workhorse of modern science. Running a research lab, whether it is a wet lab, dry lab, or both, is a complex and costly endeavor, which requires a talented team, solid funding, lab space, and a principal investigator (PI). The success of a lab is normally associated with its PI and, indeed, very much dependent on his or her scientific achievements (hence vision), productivity, and, importantly, management skills. Management skills are essential, because the individual contribution of the PI alone is insufficient to make a lab flourish. Ultimately, it is the ability of the PI to envision, manage, motivate, and lead the team that makes this workhorse healthy and productive.