I have several overlapping goals in starting a lab, and I am still figuring out how they fit together:

1. I want to have creative freedom, and create the conditions for others to experience creative freedom.

2. I want to do work that is irreplaceable, which I think means that I want to do work that no one else would think to do. A corollary of this is that I do not want to work in a field where my only key contribution is my time.

3. I want to work with mentees, mentors and peers who surprise me.

4. I want my mentees to discover and embrace their own instincts, rather than mimic mine.

5. Someday, I might like to help cure a disease or develop a biological product, but I’d prefer to do so by accident.

6. I want to protect time for my family.

In evaluating my progress towards these goals, I hope to measure my success over decades or years and not months or days.