We cherish passion, a flat hierarchy, working smart, independence, and your fit within our lab!

Passion and Creativity

The path to academia is often challenging and demanding. Your passion can make the journey enjoyable, or at least help you persevere through difficulties longer, increasing your chances of success before considering stepping away. Meanwhile, your creativity may light up a shortcut to achievement. Therefore, if you choose the algorithm track, we expect that:

• You enjoy coding.
• You are passionate about algorithm development and problem-solving.
• You love exploring different strategies and can think outside the box.

If you choose the bioinformatics track, we hope that:

• You are interested in or curious about a specific taxonomic group.
• You enjoy conducting phylogenomic analyses and are driven by scientific inquiry itself.

Flat Hierarchy

We uphold a flat hierarchy where all lab members, including the PI, are regarded as junior or senior colleagues to one another. Feel free to share your questions, concerns, suggestions, and challenges with the PI. Remember, it is the PI’s responsibility to support your success—not the other way around! You are an integral part of this lab. Relax and enjoy refreshments from the fridge—you are welcome! Just be mindful not to disturb others.

Work Smart

Work smart, not hard! Overtime work is highly discouraged unless deadlines are approaching. Leisure is valued as an important aspect of your work, especially for programmers. We understand that coding can be extremely mentally draining, and in such cases, taking breaks is encouraged even during work hours, as long as it does not disrupt others. However, part-time jobs, entrepreneurship, or preparing for civil service exams during work hours are strictly prohibited and considered a breach of contract for PostDocs and RAs. You are encouraged to work flexibly, as long as you dedicate your most energetic and creative hours to your responsibilities.

Independent yet Collaborative

Our aim is to train Ph.D. students to conduct independent research, with or without regular guidance from senior researchers. For exceptionally talented individuals, we strive to empower them to design their own research projects and assess their significance and difficulty. At the same time, we highly value collaboration. Every member is expected to contribute actively to group meetings. If you join a collaborative project, commit fully—be a help, not a burden!

Fitness

When selecting new members, we prioritize their fit within the lab over past achievements. We seek potential members as if choosing co-founders for a startup. Each new member should add value to the lab and benefit personally from joining our community.

Lab Photos