SAFE Labs

BugeonLab_2025:

We encourage lab members to complete and publish research from their previous positions. To balance this with current project responsibilities, please follow these guidelines:

General Allocation: You may dedicate up to 25% of your working hours to finalizing prior commitments.

Deadline Exceptions: We understand that deadlines for paper resubmissions or conferences require intensive focus. During these critical periods, you may dedicate more time as needed. Please communicate with me in advance so we can plan accordingly.

CNIDevoLab_2025:

Team members joining the lab may have ongoing work from their previous position and we understand that they might need time to complete this work. Every new team member who needs to complete previous work needs to discuss the details with the PI and come to an agreement.

GalupaLab_2025:

This will apply mostly to postdoc researchers joining the lab. I do understand this situation – I had to finish my PhD manuscripts during the first year of my postdoc. I support postdocs taking time to complete their previous work, which should not exceed ~25% of their schedule. The period during which they will need to continue previous work is understandably hard to predict, but ideally it will not last longer than one year; the first year is also the best time to do this, while the postdoctoral project is taking shape and taking off. If finishing previous work is expected to last longer than one year, postdoctoral researchers should delay the start of their position in the lab whenever possible.

CzarkwianiLab_2026:

The PI expects the group member to responsibly dedicate as much time to finalizing previous commitments as they deem necessary as long as it does not interfere directly with essential lab-based activities and duties, or puts a disproportional strain on other members of the lab.

OttLab_2025:

The PI and new lab members discuss during onboarding timelines and work hours allocated to finish previous work.

ReinhardLab_2025:

It is common that one leaves a previous position before the final acceptance of a manuscript. Every new team member who needs to contribute to the completion of previous work needs to discuss the details with the PI and come to an agreement of the percentage of time and the duration of these contributions.

RossiLab_2025:

New lab recruits may have ongoing work from their previous position: I support committing time to complete this work, but the details of their contribution and time committment to external projects must be discussed and agreed with me. While the duration of these committments is understandably hard to predict, ideally it will not last longer than 6 months. If finishing previous work is expected to last longer than 6 months, researchers should delay the start of their position in the lab whenever possible. Finally, in no case time spent on previous work should exceed ~25%.

INSIGHTLab_2026:

In principle, starting a position at INSIGHT lab involves taking on specific responsibilities, which will fill the contractually agreed-upon hours. In practice, it may be possible to negotiate the completion of previous work. Here are some possible approaches: Starting with reduced hours; Connecting the previous work to your new tasks.

CoenLab_2025:

It is completely normal for researchers, particularly postdoctoral researchers, to join the lab while still having outstanding work from their previous position, and I support lab members taking time to complete this work. The period during which they will need to continue previous work is understandably hard to predict, but ideally it will not last more than 6 months. If finishing previous work is expected to last longer than this, it may be more sensible to delay the start of their position in the lab if possible. In general, time spent on previous work should not exceed 25% (although this will naturally vary over time).

MetaLab_2026:

One caveat to the above is that if a substantial time period passes without a paper being completed after someone leaves the lab (after 2-3 years of finishing data collection), then we may need to reassign the project to a new first author. The policy here is to prevent rare and useful data from remaining unpublished, while giving a healthy window for writing the paper to the person who initially led the project.

SuperLab_2026:

When people abandon projects that are subsequently re-opened, or when people come up with ideas during their time in the Superlab, but don’t carry those ideas to fruition until after they’ve left the lab, there is some inherent ambiguity about how to deal with authorship and collaboration.

Here are a few general guidelines about these situations:

• If someone takes on a project but subsequently hands it off to someone else, they will usually also give first authorship to that person, but can stay on the paper as a middle author (if they want to).
• If someone comes up with an idea for a research project while working in the lab and that idea benefits from lab resources, discussions with labmates and with Reshanne, etc, these constitute bona fide contributions to research. That means they must invite Reshanne and anyone else who contributed to collaborate on the project. Remember that ideas are the lifeblood of science: if someone contributed to the development of your idea, then you are ethically obligated to give that person credit when your idea comes to fruition (in many cases, this means authorship).

AeryJonesLab_2026:

You may need to dedicate work hours to completing work from your previous lab. It’s common to have papers still in revision when starting your next career chapter. Communicate your timeline for finishing prior work. Balance it with your current responsibilities. This work should ideally not extend beyond your first year in lab, but paper revision timelines can be unpredictable. I recommend dedicating focused time to paper revisions to turn them around faster, rather than trying to split your time between two projects. If you have a paper not yet finished, I ask that you delay your start date until that paper is submitted. You’re also welcome to travel to give invited posters and talks for your previous work, provided it is funded by your previous lab.

BerkeleyAgroecologyLab_2026:

You are likely bringing unfinished projects and manuscripts with you from your previous position(s). This is normal. I expect that you will spend a reasonable amount of time (around 20-25% for the first year or so) preparing, submitting, and revising these publications while you are in this position, and that is normal too. This works when we agree that you will finish the manuscripts coming out of your projects with me, even after you have left – no matter your career path. This is essential, not least because we owe it to the taxpayers of this state and country, and the stakeholders interested in our work, to deliver on what we said we would do when they gave us money to do it. I understand that sometimes your work on publications from prior positions will even be a substantial portion of your time, e.g. when you are revising a manuscript. This is ok too, at least for the first 6 – 12 months of your position. After that, I expect that you will spend most of your “business hours” working on projects related to your position in my lab.

CarpenterSinghLab_2026:

Allow you to spend some of your work time finishing up revisions of papers from your prior lab experience; however, unless you are funded by a fellowship, remember that you also have a full-time obligation to the funding source paying for your time so this should be kept reasonable; ask Anne for boundaries.