Summer 2019- some updates

We've had a great 2019 so far, with our first lab paper accepted to EMBO Reports this spring, graduate student Louis passing his prelim exam, and everyone making significant experimental headway on all of our exciting projects. We took some time in mid-June to reflect upon year 2 of the Hamilton lab during our day-long lab retreat. We started the day with a "State of the Lab Address", where we discussed milestones from the past year, the highs and lows, and goals for the upcoming year. We also took the time to discuss each others' individual accomplishments and set our intentions for the upcoming year, which includes professional and personal growth for all! The morning portion of the retreat concluded with the kick-off of the summer writing challenge! Seeking to up the ante from last year's reading challenge, we decided this year to push ourselves to define goals for our individual writing projects and commit to daily writing (minimum 15 minutes). Of course there is a prize(s) if everyone stays on track for the summer, so stay tuned.

The second half of lab retreat day was at postdoc Patrick's house, where we spent the afternoon eating and relaxing with two (!) types of taco dip (thanks to Lauren and Josh), delicious roast duck wraps from Xianghui, fresh fruit courtesy of Maiah, and 5 varieties of homemade madeleines thanks to Gabrielle. Louis provided his first attempt at homemade sangria, which was a big success. Thanks to Patrick for hosting and providing delicious grilled food! I provided  mac-n-cheese and baked beans to round out the feast.