General Logistics

Last updated August 21, 2026

Lab Hours

Our primary goal is productivity and reliability rather than strict hours. While specific schedules are flexible, regular presence in the lab is important for collaborative learning, effective mentorship, and successful experimentation. Full-time lab members typically dedicate at least 40 hours per week; undergraduate students commit a minimum of 8 hours weekly and should plan to stay with the lab for two academic years, or one year plus a summer full-time. Undergraduates may not work alone without prior approval from Mike.

Flexibility works both ways – experiments sometimes demand unusual schedules or extended hours, but occasional work-from-home days are acceptable when tasks are suitable. If you plan to work from home, notify Mike in advance via Slack or email and ensure it doesn’t conflict with meetings or collaborative activities.

Everyone should generally aim to be present during peak hours (~10 am - 4 pm), when possible, to facilitate interaction. Lab staff (technicians, managers) are expected to keep more regular hours (approximately 8 hours/day, 5 days/week), with limited exceptions approved by Mike. Graduate students and undergraduates must provide their class schedules to Mike (and mentors, if applicable) at the start of each term. Balancing coursework and research responsibilities effectively is expected.

General Points

• If you are sick, stay home, notify Mike, reschedule your commitments, and delegate essential tasks as needed.
• You aren’t expected to regularly work evenings, weekends, or holidays, but occasional exceptions may be necessary for experiments or deadlines.
• Mike may communicate outside regular hours; immediate responses aren’t expected unless specifically indicated for urgent deadlines.

Extreme Weather or Campus Closures

In case of campus closure or delays due to weather or other emergencies, prioritize safety and work from home as needed. Scheduled meetings will switch to Zoom unless otherwise indicated.

Lab Responsibilities & Maintenance

Sharing space means sharing responsibilities. Keeping the lab stocked, organized, and clean is everyone’s job. Responsibilities are outlined in our Responsibilities Document, which we review and rotate every six months to evenly distribute tasks and provide everyone with diverse lab experiences. Please regularly monitor your assigned tasks, frequently check common stocks, and proactively add items to the “jobs” board when running low. If you’re unsure how to perform a task, it’s your responsibility to request training from the previous person in charge.

Cleanliness is a shared priority. Always leave common spaces cleaner than you found them, and clean and store all equipment and reagents after use. While your individual workspace organization style is flexible, common reagents must never be left out overnight, and shared areas must always be cleared immediately after use.

Twice a year, we dedicate one lab meeting slot to a comprehensive deep-cleaning session. Full participation is expected, ensuring our workspace remains clean, functional, and safe for everyone.

Time Off

You have sick leave and vacation time – use it! You’re not expected to be in lab on University holidays, though experimental needs may occasionally require otherwise. If you observe religious holidays not recognized by the University calendar, please speak with Mike to arrange alternate time off.

For planned absences, email Mike as early as possible, ideally with at least three weeks’ notice. If you’ll be out for more than a couple of days, make a plan to cover your responsibilities and support any mentees. Your assigned lab chores remain your responsibility – coordinate coverage with lab mates before you leave.

For unplanned absences due to illness or emergencies, notify Mike via Slack or email as soon as you’re able and share an estimated return date. If you’re unable to arrange coverage yourself, let Mike or the lab know so we can step in. If it’s a true emergency and you’re unsure how long you’ll be out, that’s okay – just keep us in the loop.

Family leave is available for births, adoptions, serious illness, or deaths in your family. Let Mike know as early as you can so we can make a plan to support your projects and mentees during your leave.

• Staff Sick Leave policy
• Staff Vacation policy

Attire

Regular Lab Work

Casual outfits and an outrageous personal style can be a lot of fun, and I support dressing however you are comfortable for routine lab work! But I care about both your safety and the contamination of sensitive experiments.

Your safety requires that you always wear closed-toed shoes that cover the tops of your feet while in the lab. Shorts and skirts must cover your knees when sitting. You cannot wear shirts that expose your back or midriff in the laboratory (or throw on a lab coat or sweatshirt). Lab coats, gloves, protective eyewear, and other personal protective equipment should be worn as lab safety standards and SOPs require.

To prevent experimental contamination, lab members with long hair should tie hair back and/or wear a disposable cap for sensitive experiments (e.g. tissue culture, RNA work). If wearing short sleeves, wear a lab coat for sensitive work. Work with eggs can also get messy and gloves and lab coats are great at keeping your clothing clean.

When Representing the Lab

Please be mindful that you are representing the lab when you attend meetings and present your work outside the lab! Professional attire can be confusing, and there is no “one right way” to present yourself professionally. I encourage you to find a style that allows you to feel comfortable and like yourself – no need to be a slacks-and-button-down person if that’s not your style.

Photos, Videos, and Social Media

Please respect your lab mates’ privacy – photos and videos should only be taken with their explicit verbal consent. Always ask before recording, and again before sharing any images on social media. Everyone has different comfort levels with being photographed or having their name and image posted online, and that’s okay.

If you’re excited to share a fun or candid lab moment, go for it – just be sure everyone in the photo is on board. When sharing lab life on social media, remember: you’re representing both the Piacentino Lab and Johns Hopkins. Share only appropriate, safe, and respectful content, and avoid posting anything that includes unpublished data. If you’re unsure, check with a colleague or Mike.

Want to contribute to the lab website? Upload your favorite lab photos to our shared Google Drive folder – we update the site periodically with images from the team!

Equipment

We use a lot of specialized equipment or shared work stations during the execution of experiments. These include embryology stations, microscopes, cryostats, centrifuges, thermocyclers, etc. We use a Google Calendar for each piece of equipment and ask that you sign up in advance by making an event on the appropriate calendar with your name in the title. Be respectful of others and only book the time you’ll need to complete your task, and honor that timeline to the best of your ability. If you are running late or finish early, communicate with folks before or after you to help them get the most out of their own experiments.

Organization

Calendars

We keep a few Google calendars to help stay organized with lab events, relevant seminars, one-on-one meetings with Mike, and equipment sign ups. Please see the onboarding checklist and request to be invited to the relevant calendars listed.

Please USE the calendars! When you’re planning an experiment, book an entry on each piece of equipment for the time you’ll need it. Please stick to that booking when possible or cancel/adjust in advance. Be respectful to other lab members who may want to use the instrument before or after you, and if something comes up and you can’t use your time, let the lab know so they can hop on instead!

Lab Stocks

We have many lab stocks – plasmid DNAs, primers, antibodies, enzymes, etc. These are meant to be shared amongst members of the lab and exist in centralized boxes in the freezer. It is EVERYONE’S responsibility to protect the integrity of these stocks and maintain our records and organization to enable rapid recovery of any of these items. With anything needing aliquoting (e.g. antibodies), please aliquot upon receiving, label, and store appropriately.

• Plasmid DNAs – plasmid stocks should be digitally logged in Benchling under our file named “Plasmid Stock Boxes.” This should link to the sequence map with appropriate nanopore sequence results. Maintain the Benchling entry to reflect the organization in the freezer, and tubes in this box are to preserve into the future. Do NOT use the stock as your working preparation for experiments – instead, take a small amount to transform and grow your own miniprep/maxiprep. If the stock is getting low, replace it with a fresh aliquot of your most recent prep after first confirming its sequence integrity. When generating a new plasmid, sequence it fully and make a well annotated map in Benchling. Then add the link to this map in the Plasmid Stock Boxes entry, and place an aliquot of the plasmid in the corresponding position for the future.
• Primers – centralized boxes hold our primer stock tubes and are maintained at 100 µM unless otherwise noted. Take a small aliquot to make a working dilution for your personal boxes and return the primers to their appropriate spots in these boxes. When receiving new primers, add them to the Benchling spreadsheet called “Primer Stock Boxes” and put the tubes in the corresponding cells in the freezer.