Getting Started

Welcome to the Rashid Lab!

Welcome to the Rashid Lab! This guide will help you get set up and productive in your first weeks.

Start here: Follow the First Two Weeks Checklist — it’s the canonical onboarding path with clear priorities for each day.

Need a printable one-pager instead? See Quick Start.

What to Do (In Order)

  1. Complete administrative tasks — HR paperwork, building access, Onyen credentials
  2. Set up your computing environment — See Tools Setup (request Longleaf access on Day 1)
  3. Join communication channels — Teams workspace and GitHub org
  4. Meet with Dr. Rashid — Project overview, reading list, and mentor assignment
  5. Learn GitHub basics — See GitHub Fundamentals
  6. Read the coding standards — Coding Standards (especially “Why Base R + data.table?”)
  7. Start your first project — Your First Project walks you through it

The First Two Weeks Checklist has all of this with day-by-day detail and clear “must do” vs. stretch goal markings.

Key Resources

Resource Purpose
Lab Teams Daily communication (invite sent by Dr. Rashid)
GitHub Organization All code repositories
Lab Meeting Discussions Biweekly agendas & notes
Meeting Schedule Rotation and calendar
Longleaf Docs UNC HPC cluster

What to Expect

Graduate students in the lab typically balance coursework and research. Here’s a rough sketch of what a typical week looks like:

  • Research time varies by year: during coursework semesters, expect ~10-15 hours/week on research, ramping up after comps
  • Lab meetings are every two weeks (Thursdays 9:30am) — attendance is expected
  • 1:1s with Dr. Rashid are biweekly (30 min) — come prepared with updates and questions
  • Core hours are roughly 10am-4pm for availability, but schedules are otherwise flexible
  • Remote work is fine — just communicate your availability on Teams
  • Vacation — take it! Coordinate with Dr. Rashid and let the team know

There’s no expectation to have everything figured out in your first month. The first few weeks are about getting set up and oriented; productive research ramps up gradually.

Questions?

I need help with… Where to go
Code error or computing issue #computing Teams channel
Research or project question 1:1 meeting or lab meeting
Administrative / HR Department staff
Something personal Dr. Rashid (confidentially)

Next: First Two Weeks Checklist →