Exercise, Technology, & Cognition Lab

Moving Minds for Healthier Lives

Student Advising

Table of Contents




Graduate Student Advising Statement

Exercise, Technology, and Cognition Laboratory
Dr. Sean Mullen, Lab Director

This document outlines my approach to graduate mentorship. It is designed to promote transparency and open communication—not as a rigid contract, but as a living guide that evolves over time. My goal is to help you develop your strengths, broaden your skills, and prepare for a fulfilling career, wherever it may lead.

Guiding Philosophy & Career Pathways

My role is to help you thrive in the career of your choice. To do that, I need to understand your career goals early and revisit them often. I take a comprehensive approach to mentoring, offering experiences in research, teaching, service, and leadership so you’re equipped for multiple paths.

Although our graduate program emphasizes academic research, I support students interested in teaching-focused positions, industry roles, community engagement, policy, or tech entrepreneurship. We’ll revisit your goals regularly—during annual reviews, individual meetings, or anytime you’d like.

Diversity, Equity & Positionality

I work with students from a wide range of racial, cultural, socioeconomic, and international backgrounds. One of our lab’s goals is to examine how social and cognitive processes intersect with identity, health, and opportunity.

As your advisor, I will strive to understand your perspective while encouraging you to explore how your experiences shape your research and collaborations. We will also discuss how our positionality affects the way we conduct and communicate science.

Personal Life & Work-Life Balance

I value productivity, but not at the expense of your well-being. I expect you to make time for rest, relationships, and reflection. I take breaks and disconnect regularly—and I encourage you to do the same.

My general work hours:
Monday–Friday, 7am–3pm and 7–9pm. I typically do not work on weekends. If urgent matters arise, we’ll find a way to communicate.

Lab Culture & Expectations

  • Open science: Pre-registering studies, using transparent code, and avoiding questionable research practices.
  • Time management: Staying organized and efficient. I’m happy to recommend strategies or tools.
  • Collaboration: Supporting one another. Senior students mentor juniors, and we all benefit from shared learning.
  • Ethics & compliance: Abiding by university and federal guidelines for research involving human subjects.

For full details, see our ETC Lab Manual.

Meetings & Communication

Full Lab Administrative Meetings (FLAM)

Weekly all-hands meetings to discuss project progress, share updates, and plan lab operations.

All But Sean (ABS) Meetings

Student-only weekly meetings to coordinate on shared projects, offer peer support, and build leadership. These are essential for team development and transparency.

Focus Area Meetings

Weekly interdisciplinary meetings with guest speakers and for presenting work-in-progress, learning to give/receive feedback, and exploring new ideas. Open to all interested students.

One-on-One Meetings

I expect weekly 30-minute check-ins. No agenda is required, but please send drafts or materials 24 hours in advance if you’d like feedback.

Communication Guidelines

Email is preferred. I’ll aim to respond within 24 hours. GroupMe or text only for urgent matters. We use the Remind app for participant communication—this is not a platform for advisor-student chats.

Independence & Professionalism

While we meet regularly, I expect you to take initiative. You’re not expected to know everything, but you are expected to seek out solutions. Over time, you’ll become more autonomous and confident in leading research, mentoring others, and contributing to the field.

Authorship & Publishing

Publishing is essential. My goal is for you to have multiple publications by graduation, ideally one first-authored paper per year. That’s ambitious, but achievable.

Authorship Guidelines

We clarify roles early in the process. Authorship order may shift based on contribution over time. I expect to be listed as an author when I contribute significantly to a project (funding, design, oversight, writing). If you step away from a paper, your contributions will be acknowledged, but leadership may be reassigned.

We use the CRediT taxonomy to track roles and contributions.

Conferences & Networking

Professional meetings are critical for your growth. I encourage you to attend at least one national or international conference per year (funding permitting) and to present your work. We’ll strategize together about abstracts, panels, and networking goals.

Funding & Grant Writing

Funding is a shared responsibility. I support you in securing:

  • Departmental assistantships (TA/RA)
  • External fellowships (e.g., NSF, NIH, AHA)
  • Internal grants (summer, travel, research)
  • Experience co-writing federal grants and reports

By the time you graduate, you should feel confident writing a compelling grant or fellowship proposal.

Dissertation & Program Milestones

Your dissertation should reflect your emerging expertise and build on your prior work. Ideally:

  • End of Year 2: Clear research focus
  • Year 3: Proposal initiated and committee formed (or preliminary exam completed, i.e., first three dissertation chapters completed + proposal defended) 
  • Years 4-5: Proposal Completed and/or Final defense

We use a staged approach with World View documents that outline your expertise areas and literature foundations.

World View (WV) Document

The WV is your intellectual blueprint—a curated, cited synthesis of what you’ve read, where the field is going, and how you’ll contribute. Typically:

  • 8–10 pages of narrative
  • 200+ references as an annotated bibliography or organized database

It helps shape your prelim questions and dissertation ideas. You’ll reuse much of the writing in your final dissertation.

Coursework & Research Skills

Beyond program requirements, I encourage students to pursue training in:

  • Quantitative methods (Mplus, R, SPSS)
  • Mixed-methods research
  • Website design
  • Digital health technologies (e.g., ‘vibe coding’ with AI)

Ask me about upcoming opportunities.

Teaching & Communication

Teaching helps you sharpen your ideas and connect with diverse learners. I encourage all students to:

  • TA for multiple courses across formats
  • Guest lecture in my or others’ courses
  • Balance teaching with research and service

These skills are valuable for academic and non-academic careers alike.

Working in Other Labs & Advisor Changes

I encourage students to explore other labs or collaborations if time and funding permit. Just be clear about commitments and priorities.

Changing advisors is allowed within our department, though it should be done thoughtfully and collaboratively. Adding a secondary advisor is also an option, especially for interdisciplinary work.

Final Thoughts

Graduate training is a journey of exploration, growth, and increasing independence. I view my role as a guide, sounding board, and collaborator. You are the expert in your own goals—I’m here to help you reach them.

If you have questions about anything in this document—or want to talk through how it applies to your situation—just ask. Let’s work together to create a training experience that is challenging, meaningful, and aligned with your future.