Effective laboratory meetings can strengthen research collaboration, improve communication and build a supportive team culture. Regular meetings also give researchers a dedicated space to solve problems, share progress and learn from one another.
Every research group has its own meeting style, but lab meetings often include project presentations, journal-club discussions, troubleshooting sessions and institutional updates.
Lab meetings do not have to be strictly formal. To help make them more engaging and productive, researchers share these practical lab meeting ideas, recurring activities and team-building traditions.
Try an improv-style lab presentation
“We hold an improv-style lab meeting in which everyone prepares a few slides about their work. Another lab member then has to present those slides without seeing them in advance. It always generates plenty of laughter and reveals which colleagues are the most mischievous — usually those who prepare the most difficult slides. More importantly, the activity introduces lab members to one another’s projects and helps everyone practise speaking without extensive preparation.” — Holly Jones, restoration ecologist at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois
Start with a simple team ritual
“During our weekly lab meetings, we begin with a ‘flashlight’ round. Each person briefly shares something from the previous week or the week ahead, whether it is scientific, professional or personal. This gives everyone a voice, helps the group follow one another’s progress and creates opportunities to share challenges, celebrate small wins and thank colleagues for their support. Over time, the ritual has made our meetings more inclusive, empathetic and connected.” — Johanna Joyce, tumor immunologist at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Hold a lab meeting outdoors
“Once each term, we move our meeting outdoors to a local park, lakeside or hiking trail. We discuss research progress, career plans and personal goals while walking or sitting in nature. Being outside lightens the mood, encourages quieter members to speak and creates space for open conversations about work–life balance, future plans and family life.” — Ruijie Yang, chemical engineer at the University of Calgary, Canada
Offer asynchronous ways to contribute
“Asking lab members to post comments in an asynchronous discussion thread before a meeting — we use Basecamp and Bench — gives introverts, international trainees and anyone who is uncomfortable asking questions publicly a meaningful way to contribute. Our strongest scientific ideas consistently come from these comment threads rather than the live meeting. People have more time to think through their questions and formulate their ideas.” — Matthew Hirschey, cellular biologist at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina
Add a 10-minute teaching session
“We are a highly interdisciplinary lab, with cell biologists, software engineers, computer scientists and microbiologists. Every lab meeting begins with the main presenter teaching the group for 10 minutes about a topic from their area of expertise. Examples have included cell-culture techniques, Western blotting, molecular bonds, free energy, entropy and modular cloning. It is an excellent way to understand the different forms of expertise within the lab.” — Harriet Smith, cell biologist at the Francis Crick Institute in London
Share materials before the meeting
“Rather than asking each presenter to explain their work from the beginning, we review a detailed progress note in a shared document beforehand. The note describes what the researcher has found and where they are still encountering difficulties. Because everyone arrives having read it, the meeting can focus on meaningful discussion instead of passive listening. It also encourages students to engage with one another’s research, not only their own. Over time, the notes have become a searchable record that new lab members can use to learn about previous work.” — Zhang-Ren Chen, hospital pharmacist and researcher at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, China
Build connection by sharing food
“Our lab shares meeting space and equipment with the laboratory of the principal investigator’s spouse. A recurring tradition that strengthens the group’s connection is bringing cookies, nuts and bread to meetings. We begin by passing the food around. It is a small way to make the group feel more relaxed, and our meetings benefit from sharing food together.” — Benjamin Menarchek, electrophysiologist at West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, West Virginia
Use lab meetings to improve reproducibility
“Research teams bring together people with different backgrounds and levels of experience. We use some meetings to improve the detailed protocols for new experiments. Something that seems obvious to one lab member today might be unclear to that person or someone else later. Clear, step-by-step protocols make it easier to reproduce work accurately, even years after the original experiment. These protocols should be easy for everyone to refine and access, both inside and outside the lab.” — Mariana Souza da Silveira, neuroscientist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Create an open and accessible lab culture
“My PhD supervisor, Reshmi Das at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India, always kept her door open so that we could ask for guidance whenever we needed it. Whether the issue involved science, career decisions or personal challenges, she was available. This culture of accessibility made the lab feel less hierarchical and more like a community. Her ability to put people at ease, especially during lab meetings, helped even an introvert like me feel comfortable speaking up and sharing ideas without fear of judgement.” — Iravati Ray, geochemist at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Divide project updates among team members
“Instead of asking one student to present all of their work at the weekly meeting, each lab member shares a brief update using slides that show only the data collected that week. This creates an opportunity to request feedback on specific issues and provides a small, low-pressure deadline that helps maintain progress — something I think is especially important for PhD students.” — Mary Anna Ebbert, mechanical engineer at the University of Toronto, Canada
Include transparent laboratory updates
“Being transparent and straightforward with lab members is one way to show respect, give them ownership and help them understand the bigger picture of how the lab operates. I discuss issues such as finances, publication goals and how each person contributes to our collective success. What I am really saying is: ‘I trust you to understand the situation, what we are facing and what I am trying to achieve. I hope you will work with me.’” — David Fay, molecular biologist at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming
Give quieter colleagues time to respond
“As lab head, I do much of the talking during meetings, which can make it harder for quieter members to participate. To encourage more contributions, I am trying to use the ‘seven-second rule’ after asking a question. I count to seven before speaking again, giving other people time to fill the silence.” — Andrew Brown, biochemist and lipid researcher at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Refresh the journal club format
“We dedicate the final 30 minutes of our journal-club meeting to the question: ‘What was creative about this work, and how can we build on it?’ This encourages reflection on the paper’s strengths rather than focusing only on criticism. Over time, I have built a library of ideas that emerged from these discussions.” — Matthias Rillig, plant ecologist at the Free University of Berlin
Make it safe to discuss mistakes
“Tell trainees that even careful, well-trained researchers make mistakes. A culture of blame and shame does not reduce errors; it encourages people to hide them. Explain what to do when someone makes or nearly makes a mistake, and use these moments to improve laboratory protocols and prevent future problems.” — Julia Strand, psychologist at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota
Host a regular book discussion
“At each weekly meeting, one lab member takes a turn discussing a fiction or non-fiction book they have read or are reading. They briefly explain what attracted them to the book and why others might enjoy it, after which the lab discusses its subject. This gives members an opportunity to explore topics unrelated to their research and practise storytelling without slides.” — Jalees Rehman, cell biologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Add a real-world relevance check
“When a student presents promising results, we ask them to add a ‘reality check’ slide after explaining the originality of the work. They must describe how the material or technology could be used, identify a company that might adopt it or, if no such company exists, explain what is still needed before it can be applied in the real world. This simple exercise encourages the team to think beyond publications and consider practical applications.” — Xia Long, energy materials chemist at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Source: www.nature.com