Ten principles for research, mentorship, and the people behind scientific discovery.

How we do science matters as much as what we discover.

Science is a human endeavor. Behind every publication, dataset, discovery, and technological advance are people who think, question, create, struggle, collaborate, and grow.

I believe that the pursuit of scientific excellence must go hand in hand with intellectual integrity, human dignity, fairness, and mutual respect. A successful research environment should not be measured solely by what it produces, but also by how it treats the people who make those achievements possible.

The following ten principles express the values I seek to uphold in my group's research, collaborations, and professional relationships.

1. People Before Metrics

Researchers are human beings before they are authors, employees, students, or measures of institutional productivity. Their worth cannot be reduced to publication counts, citation metrics, grants, or performance indicators. Scientific achievement matters, but never at the expense of human dignity.

2. Scientific Integrity Above All

We pursue knowledge with honesty, rigor, curiosity, and intellectual humility. We value reproducibility, transparency, responsible research practices, and the courage to acknowledge uncertainty or correct mistakes. Scientific integrity must never be compromised for prestige, recognition, or competitive advantage.

3. Mentorship Is a Shared Commitment

Good mentorship requires time, patience, intellectual generosity, honest feedback, and genuine investment in another person's development. It also requires initiative, responsibility, openness, and mutual respect from those being mentored. Mentorship is neither unquestioning authority nor unconditional accommodation. It is a professional relationship in which everyone has responsibilities, even when those responsibilities differ.

4. Respect Must Extend in Every Direction

Respect is not a privilege attached to seniority, status, or institutional position. Students, doctoral researchers, postdoctoral researchers, supervisors, professors, technical staff, and administrators all deserve dignity and a fair hearing. Differences in authority must never justify intimidation, exploitation, humiliation, discrimination, or retaliation. Equally, professional expertise, judgment, and legitimate responsibilities deserve recognition and respect.

5. Accountability Without Scapegoating

Difficulties, disagreements, and unsuccessful working relationships are part of human collaboration. They should be addressed seriously, fairly, and constructively, with attention to evidence, context, power differences, and the perspectives of everyone involved. Accountability must not become a search for someone to blame, nor should isolated difficulties erase a broader record of meaningful contributions. We believe in learning, proportionality, and fair processes rather than automatic assumptions of guilt or fault.

6. Recognition for Visible and Invisible Work

Scientific success is rarely the achievement of one individual. Behind research outputs are countless hours of mentoring, reviewing, debugging, coordinating, supporting, encouraging, and building the conditions in which others can succeed. We believe that intellectual contributions, emotional labour, technical expertise, and sustained mentorship deserve fair acknowledgment. Recognition should reflect contributions, not merely visibility, hierarchy, or the ability to advocate for oneself.

7. The Freedom to Question, Disagree, and Grow

Science advances through questioning accepted ideas, challenging assumptions, and exploring unfamiliar directions. We value constructive disagreement and intellectual independence. Researchers must be able to express reasoned concerns, challenge scientific arguments, admit mistakes, and pursue new ideas without fear of humiliation or retaliation. We expect rigorous criticism of ideas without attacks on the people expressing them.

8. Sustainable Science Requires Humane Working Conditions

Dedication to science should not require sacrificing physical health, mental well-being, personal relationships, or life outside work. We reject the glorification of overwork, chronic exhaustion, and unnecessary urgency as measures of commitment. We support realistic expectations, transparent responsibilities, reasonable boundaries, and the right to rest. Sustainable working conditions are essential to sustainable scientific excellence.

9. Fairness, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity Require Action

Talent, ambition, and scientific potential exist across genders, cultures, backgrounds, identities, and career stages. Yet opportunities, recognition, and credibility are not always distributed equally. We commit to recognizing structural inequalities, questioning unconscious biases, and promoting fair access to opportunities and advancement. No one should have to diminish their achievements, repeatedly apologize for exercising professional judgment, or remain silent to be accepted.

10. Science Should Help People Flourish

The ultimate purpose of research is not simply to generate knowledge, secure funding, or advance careers. It is to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the world and, wherever possible, improve it. We strive to create an environment in which people can become better scientists without losing their humanity, where ambition coexists with kindness, and where individual achievement strengthens collective progress.

Our guiding conviction ...

Excellence without integrity is hollow. Achievement without fairness is incomplete. Leadership without respect is unsustainable. And science without humanity loses sight of why it matters.