YouTube video series finds humour in lab work

Four women in science – including one Simon Fraser University alumna – are behind a YouTube comedy series that takes a humourous look at grad students working in a lab.

Suraaj Aulakh, who has a master's degree from SFU in molecular biology and biochemistry, is the writer, producer and director of The Lab, which features six episodes in its first season.

"Grad school can be a stressful time and we want students to know they're not going through it alone," says the New Westminster resident. "While we touch on some of the issues present in academia – funding, publications, career prospects, etc. – we are keeping the series a light-hearted comedy to help escape from their everyday lives.

"We also want to break the traditional stereotypes of how scientists are presented on screen – they are not all anti-social nerds or geniuses who know everything."

Aulakh co-created The Lab with Pam Lincez, Agatha Jassem and Theresa Liao, who are current and former University of B.C. students. The series is inspired by their own personal experiences of going through grad school.

They produced the first season on a "grad student budget" to get the episodes out as a proof of concept and hope to generate enough interest to have the project funded for the second season.

"This project is an example of how any scientist can be creative with their science communication efforts – if you have a passion for a particular project, do it!" says Aulakh. "Build a team and you can get it done even on a grad-student budget."

Provided by Simon Fraser University