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EMBO Event

Starting Your Own Lab

28 – 30 October 2026 | Online, India

  • Virtual event icon
    Virtual event
2025-07/1751977357_dbt-logo.png
  • Application Deadline
  • 14 September 2026
  • Selected Participants Will Be Notified By
  • 28 September 2026

Apply now!

About the Event

Having managed the PhD and a postdoc, you are now facing a new and exciting challenge: setting up your own lab and leading your team. Moving from the bench to the PI desk is a steep learning curve and many of us are typically not prepared for this. To help you navigate this transition, we introduce you to basic concepts and ideas around setting up your first lab. Some topics deal with technicalities, for example, how to allocate resources effectively, other topics focus on managing people in the sense of how you want your lab and your team to be.
This workshop is very interactive and you get to practice what you learn already during the course.

The course is split into 3 afternoons.

Day 1 & 2 from 12:30 - 19:00 and Day 3 from 12:30 - 16:30 (IST).

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About the trainers:

Petra Pandur studied biology at the University of Ulm, Germany, where she obtained her diploma. For her PhD, she did the research work at George-Washington-University in Washington, D.C. and obtained her doctor's degree at the University of Ulm, Germany. Her postdoc project was on heart development in Xenopus laevis. Then she switched to Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism and continued to work on heart development. She established her own research group at the University of Ulm and was a group leader for about 11 years. While she was a group leader she did a 2-year training in coaching and started to coach people in academia. When she joined the team of Leadershipsculptor in 2016, she started teaching the EMBO Lab Leadership and Project Management courses. All of this made her realize her new passion for training people in the topics that we cover in these courses. Consequently, she quit her position as a group leader and is self-employed as a coach and trainer since 2020.

David Lescheid studied biology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada where he obtained a B.Sc. in Biology and a Diploma in Health and Fitness Studies. For his Ph.D. he did research at the University of Victoria, Canada. His research focus was Neuroscience, using molecular biology and protein chemistry techniques to characterize and study the evolution of the neuropeptides GnRH and GHRH/ PACAP in different vertebrate species. Following completion of his Ph.D. he finished a degree in integrative medicine at the CCNM in Toronto and then had a part time clinical practice as well as taught several courses at the medical school. He currently works part-time as a Medical Manager for a pharmaceutical company in Germany as well as consults for a nutraceutical company in Canada. When he joined the Leadership Sculptor team in 2015, he started teaching the EMBO Lab Leadership courses. He enjoys using the literature on good leadership, as well as his experience in science, medicine and industry, to develop and teach practical leadership models, tools and skills to the course participants.

 
 

Programme

  • Introduce you to key concepts around setting up your first lab
  • Equip you with key communication skills
  • Prepare you for your role as a PI
  • Explore your answers to strategic challenges
  • Add basic, important tools to your leadership toolkit
  • Expand your support network for scientific and leadership issues

45 minutes Welcome, Introduction, Warming-up Give you time “to arrive” at the workshop and introduce the topics for the course. Open the “Parking Lot” for your questions and issues.
90 minutes How do I want my lab to be? Having a clear idea of how you want your lab to work together is helpful to have before making the first hire. The first step towards this clarity is to identify the values you need for your lab. The second step is to be able to articulate a clear set of expectations. You can screen potential candidates against them during the hiring process.
45 minutes Finding Good Mentors Here we explore whether you need a mentor, how to identify a good one, and what you can expect from them.
75 minutes Allocating Resources Pragmatically Where do you need to focus more? How to weigh up between buying new or used equipment – and what can you share or borrow? What sharing mechanisms have you for consumables (e.g., reagents)? How much space do you need, now and in the future? We also discuss strategies for getting your lab members up to speed quickly.
60 minutes Project Portfolio Management It’s important to not overcommit and choose your initial projects carefully – less is
often more. In addition, what is your safe bet? What is your high rise / high reward
project? Which is your niche area?
A tool for evaluating the relative importance of projects in your portfolio.
90 minutes Making my first hire Getting your first hire right is critical. In this session, we discuss the key points in the process, from identifying which position to recruit first to shaping the ad and preparing your interview strategy. How can you identify who wants to commit?
45 minutes Effective Meetings We explore ideas with you on how to get more out of your meetings, e.g., lab meetings, discussions of scientific progress, and project progress.
90 minutes Growing your People You learn how to give appropriate feedback in the lab and how to formulate criticism
without hurting anybody. How do I discuss with the team member when things are
not getting done? How do you structure their development?
90 minutes Negotiation You have much to negotiate: How can you optimize your offer so that it orks for you
and your host? (Equipment, space and role)
75 minutes Empowering Your People You learn how to delegate effectively, including how to communicate this task clearly.
Also, you acquire a strategy so they can solve their own problems.
75 minutes Balancing Your Time You have many pulls on your attention. How do you balance time in the lab (own work
& supporting others), teaching and prep and leading (1:1-meetings, group meetings,
conference and visits, collaborations, writing grands and papers)
60 minutes Collaborations How to identify and develop good collaborations? How much should your project
depend on a collaboration, and what is your Plan B? How can you manage your
collaborations for success?
30 minutes Closing Open questions and wrap-up
 

Registration

  • Application Deadline
  • 14 September 2026
  • Selected Participants Will Be Notified By
  • 28 September 2026

 

Selected participants will be required to pay a registration fee, which will be collected by IndiaBioscience. Details regarding the fee will be shared with selected participants via email.

.Selection criteria

A total of 18 junior group leaders will be selected to attend this course.

Applicants will be selected by a panel of researchers and faculty based on the following criteria:

  • Current career stage - priority will be given to junior group leaders that are within their first five years of starting a new laboratory.

  • Motivation statement


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Important note:

To secure their place in the course, shortlisted applicants will be asked to present an endorsement letter from their supervisors (or equivalent) stating they will be freed from other responsibilities during the hours of the course (3 consecutive half-days).

Code of conduct

Anti-harassment and non-discrimination policy

At EMBO, we believe that harassment and discriminatory behaviour are unacceptable in any setting. EMBO's code of conduct is applicable for all participants of this course and can be found here.

 

Contact

EMBO Global Activities Office, global@embo.org

IndiaBioscience, manjula@indiabioscience.org

 

 

Venue

This course will be online from 28-29 October from 12:30 - 19:00 and 30 October from 12:30 - 16:30 (IST).

If selected, a link will be sent to access the course prior to the start date. Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder if you were selected and did not receive an email.