Collaborative Excellence at the McPartland Lab

The McPartland Lab endeavors to ensure that all people can benefit from our research. As researchers and clinicians, we recognize our responsibility to cultivate accessible and inclusive practices in science and in our community. Research shows that including people with diverse perspectives and experiences in our studies strengthens our science and expands the applicability of our findings to a wider population. Our team is committed to practices that support conditions in which all can thrive in the lab and through our work.

Our current efforts and future plans toward fostering a sense of community and following best practices for outreach and clinical trial recruitment in the McPartland Lab include:

1. Regularly invite lab members to attend relevant workshops and presentations to continue to educate ourselves. Hold regular lab-wide discussions of research articles and topics related to best practices for outreach and recruitment in autism and clinical neuroscience research. We commit to sharing and reflecting on what we learn to continuously inform our practices.
2. Work to center the voices of those who will be impacted and represented in our research through active engagement with community members. We will use these experiences to inform our research practices in order to facilitate positive experiences for our participants. This includes using language that reflects the preferences of the individuals with whom we work. We aim to produce high quality research that is relevant to the needs of the community.
3. Maintain an updated compilation of educational resources for lab members, including those that expand our knowledge of an array of communities.
4. Work to continually expand recruitment efforts for our research studies to ensure accurate representation of our findings. This includes meeting individuals and families through local events, accommodating our participants’ needs, and implementing suggestions from the advisory group.

For those interested in working in the McPartland Lab, we have made efforts to advertise our job opportunities to a wide applicant pool and are committed to recruiting a research team reflecting a range of experiences, perspectives, and levels of training.