General Manual — Document 09
Leaving the Lab
How to leave well: what is expected, how to close out your work responsibly, and how your relationship with the lab continues after you go.
01 A Milestone, Not an Ending
Leaving the lab is a milestone. It means you have grown into the next phase of your career, and that is something to be proud of. The work you did here, the skills you built, and the relationships you formed will carry forward with you. The lab's relationship with you does not end at departure.
What is expected when you leave is that the team you leave behind is well-positioned to continue. The data you collected, the code you wrote, the protocols you developed, the knowledge you carry: all of it needs to be handed off cleanly before you go. It is a professional responsibility, and it is one of the most meaningful things you can do for the colleagues who remain.
02 Notice and Timeline
Give the PI at least three months' notice before your departure date. Three months is what it takes to hand off projects responsibly, to complete or transfer ongoing experiments, to get publications to a good stopping point, and to transfer institutional knowledge to another lab member.
Begin the exit process early, even if your departure feels far away. The checklist at the end of this document is easier to complete in stages over several months than in a rush at the end. Treat your exit as a project with a deadline, and plan accordingly.
03 Publications in Progress
If you are a first author on a manuscript, the goal is to have it submitted before you leave, and ideally carried all the way through peer review. First authorship carries responsibilities that do not end with a change of institution or role. If you wish to remain first author, you are expected to see the manuscript through revision and publication, wherever you are in your career at the time.
If circumstances make this impossible, tell the PI as early as you can. The lab will restructure authorship and responsibilities accordingly. What the lab cannot accommodate is a manuscript abandoned mid-process without communication.
For manuscripts where you are not a lead author, the primary responsibility for seeing the work through publication rests with the lead authors. You are always welcome to continue contributing after you leave, and that participation is appreciated. But it is not required.
04 Letters of Recommendation
If you need a letter of recommendation, ask the PI. Ask early: at least several months before any deadline, with the deadlines stated clearly at the time of asking. Do not assume the PI knows what you need or when you need it by. Tell them directly, in writing, with specific dates.
Think ahead. Fellowship applications, residency programs, faculty searches, and industry positions all have deadlines that arrive faster than expected. Build in time for the PI to write something strong, which requires time to reflect on your work. Last-minute requests produce last-minute letters. You deserve better than that, and so does the person reading the letter.
05 Staying in Touch
Leave a forwarding email address with the PI before you go, and keep it current. After departure, questions about your work will arise: data queries, authorship clarifications, methodology questions from new lab members. Being reachable for these is part of leaving responsibly.
Respond to these queries when you can, at a pace that fits your current obligations. You are not expected to drop everything, but you are expected to remain accessible. The lab operated around your work. Your continued availability, even in a limited way, helps it continue to operate well.
Alumni relationships are valued here. The PI is glad to serve as a resource, a reference, and a colleague long after you have moved on. That relationship is built on a foundation of leaving well.
06 Unexpected Departures
Sometimes life moves faster than a three-month timeline allows. If you need to leave suddenly, do what you can. Organize your files. Write up the status of your work. Transfer your knowledge and skills to at least one remaining lab member before you go, even if that transfer is incomplete.
The best protection against a disruptive sudden departure is preparation that begins long before departure is on the horizon. Keep your work in a state that someone else could pick up. Document as you go. The exit checklist below is not only for your last weeks; it describes a standard of organization that should be maintained throughout your time in the lab.
07 Exit Checklist
The following checklist must be completed prior to your final departure date and co-signed by the PI. Work through it in stages over the final months of your time in the lab, not all at once at the end.
1. Data Organization & Server Transfer
- Organize all project data into clearly labeled folders on the shared lab server before departure.
- Use standard directory structure:
/ProjectName/raw/,/processed/,/figures/,/scripts/,/docs/. - Confirm all raw data files are present, unmodified, and accompanied by a README describing file contents, formats, and acquisition dates.
- Transfer any data from personal computers, external drives, or personal cloud accounts to the lab server.
- Remove personal copies of lab data from non-lab storage after confirmed transfer and PI sign-off.
- Notify the relevant lab member of any computational datasets, pipeline outputs, or large analysis objects requiring handoff.
- Confirm with PI that all project directories are fully accessible and complete on the server before departing.
2. Code & Computational Resources
- Push all finalized scripts and analysis code to the appropriate RaredonLab GitHub repository with a descriptive commit message.
- Ensure any in-progress or private repositories have PI added as owner before departure.
- Document software environments and package dependencies (e.g.,
sessionInfo()in R;requirements.txtor conda environment file in Python). - Transfer or close any YCRC/HPC allocations tied to personal accounts; confirm with PI which compute allocations should persist under lab credentials.
- Remove unpublished data from personal HPC directories only after confirming lab-server backups are complete.
3. Lab Notebooks
- All physical lab notebooks remain property of the lab and must be left behind.
- Complete all open entries; unfinished experiments should include a summary note describing current status and next steps.
- Ensure each notebook is labeled with your name, project title, and date range on the cover and spine.
- For electronic lab notebooks or digital protocols, confirm the PI has full access credentials or transfer ownership of all relevant entries.
- Photocopies or scans of notebook pages for personal reference are permitted with PI approval.
4. Animals, Reagents, Samples & Consumables
- Inventory all animals, reagents, antibodies, primers, and cell lines you have maintained; update the lab inventory database or spreadsheet.
- Label all aliquots clearly: reagent name, concentration, lot number, preparation date, and expiration date.
- Flag any reagents or materials that are low stock, degraded, or nearing expiration for PI and relevant lab members.
- Transfer custody of all cell lines, tissue samples, and biobanked specimens to the PI or to a designated lab member in writing.
- Dispose of expired or unlabeled materials per Yale EHS guidelines; do not leave unidentified materials in storage.
- Return any reagents or equipment borrowed from collaborating labs; document all transfers.
5. Equipment & Shared Spaces
- Remove all personal items from benches, desks, cold storage, and shared equipment areas.
- Return all keys, key cards, and access badges to the PI or lab administrator.
- Log off and deactivate personal accounts on shared instruments (microscopes, flow cytometers, sequencers, etc.).
- Ensure equipment you regularly used is clean, calibrated, and ready for handoff; flag any maintenance issues to the PI.
- Cancel or reassign any outstanding reservations on shared core instruments.
6. Administrative & Access
- Leave a current forwarding email address with the PI for future correspondence regarding publications, references, and data queries.
- Confirm authorship discussions are resolved for any manuscripts in preparation or under review.
- Ensure all purchasing card reconciliations and expense reports are finalized and submitted.
- Return any lab credit cards, procurement accounts, or purchasing access assigned to you.
- Notify Yale IT and relevant core facilities of your departure date so accounts can be appropriately closed or transferred.
7. Exit Interview
- Schedule a final meeting with the PI to discuss all of the above, as well as ongoing projects, collaborations, and career next steps.