Post-Bac Bioengineering Research & Schools

[RayitoLX]

Hi everyone! First post, hoping to feel welcome here.

I am currently a senior graduating with degrees in EE and physics, and I will be applying for MD/PhD programs this June. Because of the timeline, this means I will be looking and applying to year-long experiences in research for 2016-2017.

Within the past few years, I've had a spark of interest in bioengineering, in the development of medical devices, ranging from anything related to imaging (processing, algorithms, or design) and biophotonics, all the way to robotics, surgical tools, and artificial organs.

I would really appreciate it if any of you could help me with a few things:

1. I am currently filling out my NIH IRTA application, and there is a section that asks for 150 characters of keywords. I wasn't sure if bioengineering was a particular forté at the NIH, so I was wondering if there were people around SDN who knew of good bioengineering-related keywords to use for this box. I've read that putting in the right keywords can make it much easier for prospective PIs to have hits relevant to my research area of interest.
2. If you have done work in the NIH, are there any interesting PIs' work that I could look at? (i.e. if you know specific people, please name them / link them!) I have been browsing the IRTA faculty / lab directors pages but it really seems as though bioengineering is a much smaller subset, compared to basic scientists or people engaged in specific disease-related research.
   
3. Are there any other major bioengineering research programs that are paid (stipend / living expenses) that I could engage in during my year of MD/PhD applications? I really haven't been able to find research programs that financially support recent grads for a full year (no more, no less), other than the NIH.
4. I am personally favoring geographics (closer to family) and great research mentorship (just looking for warm mentor-student relations) for MD/PhD schools. Other preferences are semi/fully urban locations, familiarity with weather (adjusted to warm/dry or similar to NYC weather). Below are schools I've chosen based on preliminary thoughts, if you have any suggestions for good BE/BME programs, please do name them.

• UC Davis SoM
• UC Irvine SoM
• UCLA SoM + Caltech
• USC SoM + Caltech
• Stanford U SoM
• UCSD SoM
• UCSF SoM
• Yale U SoM
• Boston U SoM
• Harvard(-MIT) SoM (HST)
  
• Johns Hopkins U SoM
• U Maryland Baltimore SoM
• Washington U St. Louis SoM
• Duke U SoM
• Columbia U College of Physicians and Surgeons
• Mt Sinai SoM
• NYU SoM
• U Penn SoM
• U Washington SoM

(Is it possible to cross-post to the Post-Bac forums as well? I have a feeling the people browsing there could help as well.)

Here are some stats about myself that might give you a glance into my background (based on WAMC rules):

1. cGPA: 3.86 without including 2015-2016
   
2. sGPA: 3.87 without including 2015-2016
3. Two undergraduate degrees: BA Physics, BS EE
   
4. MCAT: will be taking this Jan 23 (last AAMC sample test: 515) - currently studying hard to get higher score!
   
5. Permanent Resident, in process of naturalization.
6. State of residence: NY (currently attending school here; grew up in foreign country) or CT (also attended school here, filed state tax returns back then)
   
7. Ethnicity: Hispanic; Race: Asian
8. Schools: Top 20 engineering, top 50 liberal arts.
   
9. Clinical: 120+ hrs medical interpretation
   
10. Research: 2.5+ yrs research in atomic/molecular and computational physics, 1 summer in accelerator physics, 1 summer in bioengineering (drug delivery) research. No publications. 5 poster presentations, 1-2 conferences, mentored 3 other undergrads in same lab.
11. Rec Letters: 3 (main physics research PI, 2 from REUs).
    
12. ECs: 3 yrs IT classroom support and events training manager, founder and current officer of taiko club (4-6 hrs/wk), past experience (2 yr physics education outreach (SPS), board of ethnic student group, FSAE racecar team).
13. Motivation for MD: love of patient-provider interactions and desire to abridge sociocultural gaps, especially within Hispanic and/or AAPI communities (both thanks to interpreter experience), gratification from patient well-being, desire to directly apply translational work (bench-to-bedside).
    
14. Motivation for PhD: love of research (work atmosphere, mentor-student interactions), enjoy discussion in research seminars, boundless curiosity in bio/physical phenomena, enjoy tinkering/DIY.

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[Lucca]

Welcome!

With the info here it looks like you are set for having a successful cycle. Your list is pretty top heavy but it does have some diversity to it. Remember to apply as early as possible. Other than that, you seem like you have hit every box. Please read the "what are my chances" sticky at the top of this forum for more admissions related info.

 

[Fencer]

If you get a 515 (as in your practice) or higher, you should be fine. Your list is top heavy, but as an URM applicant, you should be fine. Consider adding Emory, Vandy, and UTSW.
PM me if you need.

 

[RayitoLX]

Welcome!

With the info here it looks like you are set for having a successful cycle. Your list is pretty top heavy but it does have some diversity to it. Remember to apply as early as possible. Other than that, you seem like you have hit every box. Please read the "what are my chances" sticky at the top of this forum for more admissions related info.

Thanks for the welcome. I am aware that the list is a little top-heavy, but it seems as though based on my geographical and setting preferences, it came out to be as such. I suppose I will be betting my chances, as is indicated by the "What are my chances" sticky. Thanks for that information.

On the other hand, I really hope someone could provide some advice with the questions I have asked above; I trust that there must be some bioengineering focused physician-scientists out there in SDN who might have a word on either the gap/glide year (post-bac research experience) or the BE/BME experience in general as an MD/PhD. I'm looking forward to gaining more insight. Thanks again.