Scope: The papers selected for each session are related to our work  Look for the connection if it’s not obvious!

Time: The goal should be to limit journal club to 1 hr (never more than 1.5 hrs). This means that there isn’t time to present or discuss every figure from each paper. Presenters will need to evaluate what is most critical. This type of curating is an important skill and, ideally, should improve over time. The session theme should be one guide to content selection.

Preparation: Everyone is expected to read and think about the two assigned papers. Most zip files also contain a supplemental folder with related papers. These are optional, but the presnter should read at least a few of these so that they can add depth to their presentation.

Format: We will use the dry-erase board without Powerpoint slides. This will be simplified because all who attend will, at minimum, have a general understanding of the papers and have their own copies of the papers. The goal is to allow the discussions to move beyond concrete data presentations. This should include integration with information that is not in the papers.

Participation: Everyone should contribute to the conversation. Please leave cell phones and any other communication devices in the lab. If you need to make a call or check an email, please do, but leave the room.

• Chalk-talks are standard practice in interviews for faculty and other positions. The oral version is a central part of every graduate/medical school/residency interview, where the question “what did you do in the lab?” will always be asked. Just saying, I worked on claudin-2/MLCK/microscopy in the Turner lab does not communicate any understanding of the work. Such an answer will therefore devalue your lab experience as a factor in the admissions process. The same applies to poster presentations at meetings.
• All of the articles are also available in the lab Endnote library (e.g., if links don’t work).