Prerequisites

Permanent Staff

The general process for onboarding staff at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) can be found here: Onboard@Penn

This page is specifically for joining our lab as a researcher and catalogues any hitches that may not be explained through the above resource.

Virtual Tasks: Part 1

After signing your offer letter, have your reference send a recommendation letter on your behalf, as this may take some time depending on your references’ availability.

You will receive an email to approve a background check on you. If it takes more than a week to arrive, reach out to Dr. Cheng.

You will receive an email from noreply@upenn.edu to set up your PennKey (Penn username). Keep note of your Penn ID number featured at the end of the email.

Through the Penn Workday (https://www.workday.upenn.edu/) website, submit your SSN and birthdate. Within the day, you should have a list of virtual paperwork to complete through Workday:

  • Setting up my Pennkey
  • Demographic and Contact data
  • Part 1 of the I-9
  • Disability Self-Identification
  • Payment Election Enrollment Event
  • Payroll Payment Acknowledgement
  • Preferred Name Changes
  • Personal Info Changes
  • Veteran Status Identification

Workday will also present you with other documents enumerating your employee rights that require acknowledgment to proceed.

In-Person Task

Once the background check is complete, go to Onboard@Penn (https://www.onboard.upenn.edu/) to schedule an appointment to complete part 2 of the I-9 document. This appointment will require identifying documentation, but US citizens only require a passport as identification. The location is the second floor of the UPenn bookstore.

Virtual Tasks: Part 2

When your Penn Email is accessible, pennkey@upenn.edu, request a PMACS account to work on the High Throughput Computing (HPC) cluster. The instructions are on the HPC Wiki’s Main Page->Accounts section. You should also bookmark this wiki as a useful resource. Use the following information to complete the Manager Information section:

Yuyan Cheng
305-778-6357
yuyan.cheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
PennKey: ChengYu

You should also be able begin your virtual Workday onboarding lessons. For this lab, wet or dry, HIPAA and blood/sharp exposure are necessary. Each lesson could last up to 30 minutes.

Send an email with the following information to jeffrey.maurer@pennmedicine.upenn.edu and yuyan.cheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu:

  • Professional headshot
  • Penn email
  • Your personal gmail
  • Your github username
  • Your birthday

We will use this information to send you account invites for Github, the lab Google Calendar and Slack.

Slack is the lab’s primary form of communication. Sign into it using the following URL: yuyanchenglab.slack.com

Your next responsibilities will become available to you on your offer letter’s first day of employment.

First Day Tasks

Get your PennCard at the card office neighboring the Onboard@Penn office in the bookstore. Any unfinished tasks on Workday (besides the lessons) or issues with your paperwork will require handling before getting your card.

Email a photo of your PennCard to Dr. Cheng to grant you building and lab access.

Connect to the school wifi here: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/how-to/connect-airpennnet-and-joinnow

Penn Onboarding Tasks

Penn will assign you virtual onboarding lessons. There are quite a few of them and may last several hours, covering a wide variety of topics about Penn itself and responsible conduct. There will be several CITI-training lessons for you.

When you finish these, sign up for a mandatory, in-person onboarding session. It will last around 4 hours and you must attend within the first few months of hiring.

Temporary Staff

Send the following information to Dr. Cheng to initiate the temporary hiring process:

  • Social security number
  • Home address
  • Date of birth
  • Preferred email, gmail if possible
  • Preferred phone number
  • Professional headshot for our website

Virtual Tasks

You will receive an email from UPenn (noreply@upenn.edu) to set up your PennKey username and password. Follow the instructions and note your Penn ID number featured at the end of the email.

Slack is the lab’s primary form of communication. Create a Slack account using your new UPenn email address for yuyanchenglab.slack.com. Request an invite to the workspace from Jeff or Dr. Cheng.

Request a PMACS account to work on the High Throughput Computing (HPC) cluster. The instructions are on the HPC Wiki’s Main Page->Accounts section. You should also bookmark this wiki as a useful resource. Use the following information to complete the Manager Information section:

Yuyan Cheng
305-778-6357
yuyan.cheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
PennKey: ChengYu

PennCard

Dr. Cheng will need to submit a PennCard Request Form.

Apply for your first PennCard online. Then, make an appointment at the PennCard Office to pick up your card.

Paperwork

After receiving your PennKey, log onto Penn Workday (https://www.workday.upenn.edu/) and complete all dashboard tasks. This includes onboarding procedures such as Section 1 of the work authorization I-9 form.

Once your dashboard tasks are complete, go to Onboard@Penn (https://www.onboard.upenn.edu/) to schedule an appointment to complete part 2 of the I-9 document. This appointment will require identifying documentation, but US citizens only require a passport as identification. The location is the second floor of the UPenn bookstore, directly next to the PennCard office.

Training Modules

All staff are required to go through Protecting Patient Information (HIPAA) and blood/sharp exposure training modules through Workday. There are additional trainings required of wet lab members:

Access the learning tab in the Workday menu, and input the module name into the search bar. Click More Categories and then Learning, and open the training module.

Some training, such as the Hands-On Mouse training, will be an in-person course1. To schedule a training session, utilize the link at the end of the prerequisite digital module to choose a date.

You may receive a physical copy indicating the completion of the training. Provide it to Dr. Cheng, so she may add you to the appropriate protocols.

Postdocs

Postdocs share all the requirements needed by full-time staff. They are also required to upload proof of degree.

Postdocs will also receive an email from the Academics Programs Coordinator, currently Donna Crowley, about one required and one optional virtual orientation. They are hosted by The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) and the Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs (BPP). The formal orientation is held each January and August/September. You are required to go to one of them, preferably the earliest one post-hire.

Students

Onboarding will consist mainly of requesting access.

Email the following information to jeffrey.maurer@pennmedicine.upenn.edu and yuyan.cheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu:

  • Professional headshot
  • Penn email
  • Class schedule
  • Github username (if you have)
  • Personal gmail (if you have)
  • Birthday

We will use this information to send you account invites for Github, the lab Google calendar and Slack.

Slack is the lab’s primary form of communication. After you accept the invitation, sign in at the following URL: yuyanchenglab.slack.com

The floor outside of work hours, the building, and the lab each require card access. Email Dr. Cheng a photo of your PennCard with your PennID number to grant you this access.

Request a PMACS account to work on the High Throughput Computing (HPC) cluster. The instructions are on the HPC Wiki’s Main Page->Accounts section.

Use the following information to complete the Manager Information section:

Yuyan Cheng
305-778-6357
yuyan.cheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
PennKey: ChengYu

Once you’ve created an account, dry lab students should email psom-pmacshpc@pennmedicine.upenn.edu to politely ask for access to the GPU queues and the Rstudio/Posix server. The Posix server and off-campus server access require a VPN and the installation instructions can be found here.

Set up a biweekly 1-on-1 meeting with Dr. Cheng.

Follow up this section with “Lab Resources” and “Intro to…” your respective focus, wet or dry lab.

Fellowship Students

In addition to the previous instructions:

  • Complete the necessary forms regarding the fellowship.
  • Inform Dr. Cheng of the requirements of the fellowship.
  • Establish regular communication regarding timesheets/progress checks.

  1. The in-person training may take up to four hours. Plan accordingly. ↩