Is it possible to conduct research outside of your speciality?

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I hope this is not a repeat but I can't find anything so here goes:

Is it possible to conduct research outside of your speciality? What I am thinking (random example) is a neurosurgeon who decides to pick up 12hrs/wk after 8 years devoted to, say, basic dengue research, a particular interest to him for some reason, with no overlap w/neurology?

Or, are there hurdles to something like this that not only make it uncommon but very very difficult to do (not counting he wouldn't have time or he wouldn't probably know enough to be useful. Counting things like absolutely unheard of to award a grant as soon as they look at your certification, etc etc).

Thank you very much!

I am not telling you that it is not possible to conduct research outside of your interest but I don't think so that it is good to do because if you have no interest then you can't do good research.

Originally Posted by joerenij

I am not telling you that it is not possible to conduct research outside of your interest but I don't think so that it is good to do because if you have no interest then you can't do good research.

I agree, it would be best to conduct research based on what you have mastered. In a way, the result will be at its best and reliable.

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Originally Posted by Spinietzschon

I hope this is not a repeat but I can't find anything so here goes:

Is it possible to conduct research outside of your speciality? What I am thinking (random example) is a neurosurgeon who decides to pick up 12hrs/wk after 8 years devoted to, say, basic dengue research, a particular interest to him for some reason, with no overlap w/neurology?

Or, are there hurdles to something like this that not only make it uncommon but very very difficult to do (not counting he wouldn't have time or he wouldn't probably know enough to be useful. Counting things like absolutely unheard of to award a grant as soon as they look at your certification, etc etc).

Thank you very much!

Yes, it is possible. I know of a psychiatrist who has published in HIV journals, economics journals, bioethics journals, emergency medicine journals, and obstetrics journals, all on topics unrelated to psychiatry. Although nothing prevents you from doing the research, it may be difficult for you to get funding. Review committees at the NIH tend to look at superficial things like clinical subspecialty and degree training as predictors of your ability to successfully implement the proposed research. But nothing prevents you from doing unfunded research (e.g., get your hands on data that someone else has collected, and analyze it yourself).

If you're really interested in a topic, I'd say go for it!

Logistically, it'd be a lot easier if you had a track record of published research in your specialty area, then you could branch out into a different area later. If you are pursuing a really novel topic, its amazing how quickly someone can go from a nobody to instant expert after you’ve published one or two papers .