Digital Tools

The lab relies on a small set of shared digital systems for communication, scheduling, code, data, and record keeping. New members should get access to these tools early in onboarding.

Work Computer

Per UTSW policy, a personal work computer is not guaranteed in every situation. The lab often has shared workstations and other lab-managed computers available. If you plan to use your own computer for lab work, make sure it complies with UTSW information-resource policies.

Email and Outlook

Formal institutional communication is usually handled through your @utsouthwestern.edu email account.
Log in through Microsoft 365.
Outlook is used for email, shared calendars, room scheduling, and some equipment-booking workflows.

Slack

The lab primarily communicates through Slack at dean-lab-workspace.slack.com.
Contact Kevin for an invitation if you have not been added yet.
Shared channels and related workspaces may also be relevant depending on your project.

Calendars

The Dean Lab uses Microsoft Outlook for lab events and microscope scheduling.
Ask to be added to the Dean Lab calendar during onboarding.
If you work across shared efforts, add the relevant shared calendars in Outlook.

GitHub

The Dean Lab uses GitHub as its primary code repository.
Ask Kevin for the access level you need in the lab organization.
If GitHub is new to you, complete GitHub’s Hello World tutorial before requesting write access to shared repositories.

Lab Notebook

Lab members are expected to maintain digital experimental records in LabArchives.
Ask for access to the shared lab notebook space and create your own notebook for day-to-day work documentation.
Records should be clear enough that future lab members can understand and reproduce what was done.

BioHPC

BioHPC is the primary storage and compute environment for lab data.
Register during onboarding and make sure you understand the storage structure used by your projects.
See Data Management for storage expectations.