Reviews
"I wish this book had been available when I was setting up my lab! Packed with tips on the practical aspects of getting a lab up and running, it also carefully considers all of the emotional and philosophical issues critical to managing a successful laboratory. From offering advice on how to configure lab computers and strategies for time management, to suggesting wise ways to select lab personnel and avoid lab conflicts, Kathy Barker has taken a no-nonsense approach to all of the issues facing the starting principal investigator. Although I've run a lab for 7 years, I found numerous points that could improve our existing organization. Barker's humourous, readable style made this book a pleasure to read; I found myself nodding in recognition at the multiple quotations from current principal investigators. For those starting a lab, hoping to improve their own lab management, or simply interested in hearing what others in their position have gone through, this book is a terrific resource."
—Sally Kornbluth, Duke University Medical Center
"This book is a terrific resource for those making the transition to running their own lab. While nothing can fully prepare the budding PI for these new challenges, this book is full of both practical advice from experienced investigators and more general information about the theory and practice of management. Written in a straightforward, no-nonsense style, it provides the vital information needed to avoid common mistakes and to get off to a running start. Even established managers will find much of value here to help keep their laboratories humming smoothly. The balance between a dysfunctional lab and one that is happy and productive can be alarmingly precarious, so a book like this fills a real need and has the potential to make a real difference."
—Bruce J. Mayer, University of Connecticut
"In her new book, At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator, Kathy Barker provides a handbook to guide new PI past some of the pitfalls and problems of starting and managing a research laboratory. She skillfully weaves material from interviews, scientific memoirs and management theory into a valuable and unique discourse on the many challenges facing the laboratory head, with practical guidance and suggestions for meeting these challenges.
...The major strength of the book lies in its near comprehensive treatment of the issues pertaining to laboratory personnel, and it is in these sections that the book should prove invaluable to inexperienced lab managers."
—Trends in Genetics
"This book clearly lays out guidelines for those making the transition from their training and bench work as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to running their own labs.
Written in a straightforward style, the book provides vital information needed to avoid common mistakes and get off to a good start. . . .
The chapter "Choose Your People" was particularly telling. Advice about the hiring process is covered comprehensively. . . .
What surprised me most about the book was that it was not just a list of basic management mantras. Each chapter in At the Helm includes anonymous voices from many researchers around the country expressing candid opinions, anecdotes and ideas. These quotes include real solutions to some of the unusual problems that one might encounter as a new principal investigator. . . . I believe experienced managers will also find some useful advice in it to help keep their labs running smoothly."
—Nature Medicine "The numerous practical ideas make At the Helm a valuable read for many scientists embarking on their careers. But Barker also offers, implicitly, a compelling argument that young researchers have the right—and, indeed, the responsibility—to chart their own course, deciding for themselves how to do good work while seeking rich and meaningful professional and personal lives."
—Science
"I fully recommend At the Helm, especially for people who have just started, or are planning to start, as a new PI. The major strength of the book lies in its near—comprehensive treatment of the issues pertaining to laboratory personnel, and it is in these sections that the book should prove invaluable to inexperienced lab managers."
—ASM News
In an article on Science’s career development website, Laura Bonetta describes how the books An Illustrated Chinese-English Guide for Biomedical Scientists, At the Bench, and At the Helm have helped foreign scientists adapt to working in the United States.
Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.315.5812.695
—Science
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