In our joint lab meeting, the members of the Reichert lab and the McCullagh lab discussed how to make our lab groups more supportive places and make ourselves more aware of DEJI issues (not the most important thing I learned, but I did discover that DEJI is an acronym). With a shoutout to Dr. McCullagh for the original compilation, here are the statements that different lab members contributed to summarize our labs’ philosophy. It seems in the spirit of DEJI to have many statements, where all contributed, so rather than pick one I’ll share them all!

Our mission is to learn more about the natural world and help others to do the same, by being supportive of each other, active in our community, and always working to make a more inclusive science for everyone.

Our mission is to make science approachable to anyone who is interested by being open and understanding of the diversity of people (in thought, interests, background, etc.)

Our mission is to include all members regardless of background and commit to working in a diverse setting. All groups should have an equal opportunity to learn and bring forward meaningful science. 

Our mission is to foster scientific opportunity within and outside academia through inclusion, equal representation, and accessibility. 

Our mission is to create an accessible and inclusive lab environment by valuing members’ varying backgrounds, experiences, and opinions.

Our mission is to cultivate scientific thinking and research for a better good beyond and to inculcate these ideas beyond cultural and linguistic boundaries 

Our mission is to perform robust scientific research by encouraging people of diverse opinions, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds to bring their whole identities to the lab.