The Full(er) Story

PEP Lab

Doing science should be fun

Sure sometimes there are stressful deadlines, disappointments and disagreements. But ultimately, being able to take a deep dive into learning about the world around you, asking and answering questions that haven't been asked before and doing your part to make our society a bit more wild and sustainable is a tremendous privilege.

To make sure we don't forget that, the PEP lab invites you to bring your whole self to your work and pursue your side passions. We value work/life balance, collaborating and having fun together , and working through any difficulties that arise with honest communication and deep respect.

Doing science should be ethical and equitable

Unfortunately, sometimes the pursuit of scientific knowledge has come at the expense of others. In the PEP lab we are committed to making sure science is a force for good in the world.

Some of that is about how we work; for example making our data public and working with a diverse group of collaborators and stakeholder groups.

Some of that is what we work on; we are always open and interested to finding was to make sure our plant science benefits as many people as possible, especially groups or communities that have historically been excluded from receiving some of those benefits.

Doing science should be useful

Of course we could "nerd out" all day developing theories and exciting experiments to test fundamental questions in ecology.... and yeah, we definitely do alot of that. But in the PEP lab our research doesn't usually just end with a scientific publication.

We are committed to taking that next step to figure out how our scientific discoveries are applicable in ecology-related fields and industries. That mean engaging in co-production of research for the very conception of a project, and listening to the advice and needs of growers and practitioners.

It means in this lab you don't just learn, biology, experimental design and statistics, but find opportunities to work on skills like science communication, tool development and facilitation too.