Our valueS
Our mission in the Bhatia lab is to innovate, integrate, and impact
We believe in pursuing new ideas, in integrating science across disciplines, in working in teams, and in striving to expand the horizons of scientific knowledge and technical innovation. We measure our impact by the technologies we develop, the phenomena we discover, the patient lives we improve, and the scientific careers we cultivate. We are committed to creating an inclusive lab environment that is diverse and interdisciplinary, that supports all perspectives, and that prioritizes health and well-being.
As a group we strive:
To be fearless, curious, and kind
To be collaborative and generous with our time and resources
To pursue science that is excellent, rigorous, and true, while training the next generation of scientific leaders
To foster the personal, academic, and professional growth of our members while having fun
To be inclusive, respectful, and dedicated to continuous self-education and community action on diversity, inclusion, and racial justice in our communities
Our commitments
Image created by Niketa Nerurkar
Self-education and Reflection
A quarterly journal club on social justice and allyship, using the MIT-GSC Guidelines for Allyship as a starting point
Development of a curriculum for research labs around diversity and inclusion, to be implemented yearly at the lab retreat
Anonymous survey of lab climate to raise awareness of and counter microaggressions and other practices that are out of line with our lab values
Community Action
Annually host MITES (Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science) and MSRP (MIT Summer Research Program) summer students
Inform our alumni and close collaborators about our efforts on diversity, inclusion and racial justice
Invite seminar speakers from diverse backgrounds
Commitment to a certain number of hours per month (equivalent of 2 days per year) towards justice activities (volunteering, personal education, moving the needle at MIT)
Impactful, longitudinal mentorship of high school and undergraduate students
Promote increased diversity and representation within our affiliated departments
Text and ideas inspired by the Desai Lab at UCSF’s Statement of Values