Ten simple rules for fostering creativity in research labs

Abstract

Research lab groups are hotspots for the education of the next generation of scientists, and making these units work as creatively as possible is essential for solving pressing issues in biology, the environment, and beyond. This article highlights 10 points that can help make labs as creative as possible. Several of these points are about setting up a creative lab culture; others are about fostering group-level creative output, some are more about encouraging creativity of individual team members, or both. While the head of a research group, the principal investigator, plays an important role, this can only be successful in healthy labs where everyone contributes.