Communication

In-person meetings

Individual meetings

Every week, typically Mondays, scheduled via Outlook calendar
Prepare in advance:
- What are upcoming events (2-3 months; e.g. committee meeting, conference, meetings with collaborators)
- Progress and results
- Other activities (including non-scientific like courses attended, tutorials, infrastructure)
- Next goals (list next steps in research and what tasks are needed to accomplish them)
- Roadblocks/needs (list critical needs that are/you anticipate are blocking progress - especially things you need André to do. e.g. setup a VM, learn about a framework, download lots of data, more space in cluster)
- Literature (indicate a paper you found interesting/relevant that André should read or that should be discussed in a journal club)
- The above can be shared with André in advance (e.g. in a markdown file)
The meta layer / check-in:
- Talk about how you are doing, progress, frustration, goals beyond research
- Once per month, more often if needed
The scheduled meetings should not prevent you from reaching out to André at any time if needed (in person, via email, chat, phone)!

Lab meetings

Wednesdays at 09:00, meeting room at CeMM or LBI-NetMed - scheduled via Outlook calendar
Schedule:
- The schedule for the presentations is set by André and available here.
Format:
- Housekeeping (announcements, scheduling)
  - Any update relevant to the lab by anyone
- One scheduled presentation (30-45 min) including:
  - Scientific question/hypothesis
  - Background (what has been done/can we build on)
  - Approach/methodology
  - Results
  - Outlook/next steps
- Quick round reviewing week progress (20 min max, 3-5 min per person, optional):
  - What did you try to achieve? (broadly and specifically)
  - What were the challenges? How can we help?

Code review

Every 2 weeks (to begin, then maybe less frequent)
1h30 to 2h00 duration
The goal is to improve everyone's programming skills/process - not shaming!
Typical workflow:
- Nominate one script/function to study (e.g. caused problems or is inefficient, not Pythonic, etc...) OR ask André beforehand to look at a repository to select one piece of code to focus on.
- Ideally only 200-400 lines of code at one time
- Everyone studies the goals of the code and the implementation
- Together try to assess:
  1. Readability and documentation
  2. Architecture
  3. Re-usability
  4. Additional: packaging, speed, security, etc...
- End by highlighting one new GitHub repository that you find cool/useful for the group - everyone quickly installs and explores it
- Occasionally/alternatively we can talk about the meta part: cluster issues, installation, text editors, .bashrc setup, etc...

Strategic collaborative projects (SCPs)

Everyone is encouraged to participate in more than one depending on interest/relevance
SCP2: "Tissue biology in health, aging, and disease":
- One meeting per month
- Two organizers (generally from De Rooij and Rendeiro labs)
- Mailing list: scp2@cemmat.onmicrosoft.com
- Send papers with the usual format/tag in subject: [paper] <title>, and body: <title> \n <url> \n <comment>

Hackathons

One afternoon every 2-3 months
Goals:
- Learn something new
- Have fun
- Do something useful for the community (CeMM, Vienna, world)
Non-goals:
- Win
- Do everything
- Do something perfect

Yearly kick start/team building meeting

Topics:
- Values
- Personality
- Motivation
- Feedback
- Goals and expectations
- Research integrity
- Jointly revisit the code of conduct
Revisit yearly or when new members join

Messaging

Use the lab's mailing list (rendeirogroup@int.cemm.at) for searchable, archivable content (announcements, scheduling, papers).

Use Microsoft Teams for non-archival content (curiosities, non-urgent questions, fun stuff).

Use Signal's lab group for quick messages (coordinating movement, real-time info, urgent questions, fun stuff). To join, follow this link (requires admin approval).

Papers

Feel free to send around any paper you find interesting or relevant.

Send it via email (rendeirogroup@int.cemm.at) in the following format:

To: rendeirogroup@int.cemm.at
Subject: [paper] <title>
Body: <title> \n <url> \n <comment>

Fields with <> should be replaced with content.

Lab retreats

Once a year, usually in early September, the whole lab goes on a 2-3 day retreat outside Vienna (e.g. Gumpoldskirchen in 2025, Dürnstein in the Wachau in 2026), travelling together by train.

Organization:
- Lab members volunteer to organize the retreat: they choose the dates and venue a few months in advance and share a program with the sessions and schedule.
- Fill in the CeMM travel application form before the retreat.
- The venue needs a meeting room with a projector, internet and a whiteboard or flipchart.
Typical sessions:
- Funding update: the PI presents the lab's grants, what is on track, and where more focus is needed, followed by discussion.
- Presenting projects in new ways: e.g. swapping short presentations and giving each other's talk, or re-framing your own project for a different audience or story.
- Paper showdown: everyone brings 1-3 cutting-edge papers bringing new perspectives to the lab (1 min each).
- Creative ideation and project pitches: small teams develop wild new project ideas and pitch them to the group for feedback.
- New directions for the lab: discussion of themes, projects and technologies for the next 3-5 years, and organizational changes needed.
- Lab life: career development round table, sharing failure stories, and how to improve communication and productivity.
- Wrap-up: action points with owners and deadlines.
Social activities: dinners out, a hike, and evening games or music jam.

Prepare any presentations or papers requested in the program before the retreat.

Social meetings and celebrations

Social gatherings, for example in celebration of personal and professional achievements are welcome and encouraged.

They should however follow the guidelines and rules from CeMM.

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Rendeiro group

Lab manual