2 months of summer research - publication possible?

[nychila]

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I'm starting to look for research opportunities for my next summer after MS1. With only 2 months of break, would that be enough to publish anything in a journal? Maybe with case studies? I am currently looking to do research in a city that is far away from medical school so I may not be able to continue with the project after MS2 starts.

 

[Acetabulous]

Is it common? Absolutely not. Is it possible? Absolutely. I worked on a project this summer (for 9 weeks, to be exact) and have already presented a poster on the local and national level, published an abstract, and am listed as the second author on a manuscript that is in the process of being written.

Of course, this is very abnormal. It is a combination of having a PI that loves cranking out publications and also getting very lucky with the data that is collected.

 

[IonClaws]

It is a combination of having a PI that loves cranking out publications and also getting very lucky with the data that is collected.

[/researchpubs]

 

[ucbsmd]

Definitly possible depending on the type of project and its current state. If its basic science research, its less likely. If its a retrospective review or case studies, its much more likely.

 

[chronicidal]

It is a combination of having a PI that loves cranking out publications and also getting very lucky with the data that is collected.

Bingo.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Basic science? Very unlikely unless you're working in a lab that is on the edge of publishing some manuscripts.

Cliniical is more likely. If you can jump on a project that is already in progress and just needs some man hours, that is your best bet. Getting IACUC approval for even a retrospective review is a time-consuming process. After MS1 I did research for about 2 months, got a poster + 3rd author in a decent IF journal. A second project, a survey that I started from the ground up was presented (not by me) and is in the process of going into press (not as a journal article, just a random editorial kind of thing).

 

[redpanda]

Yes, it is possible, most likely with a clinical research project. The way you right-size the project into two solid months of work is you already have a dataset and the IRB consent for the original study allows secondary analysis of data, you ask a research question that you can answer with the data, do the analysis and write the paper. Also, it is nice to have a motivated PI too. I got a poster presentation at a national conference and a first author paper this way.

 

[Anastomoses]

Is there a list somewhere of these prolific PIs? 🙂

 

[yehhhboiii]

Is there a list somewhere of these prolific PIs? 🙂

pubmed

 

[mmmcdowe]

pubmed

and h index for good measure.

 

[KinasePro]

web of science >> pubmed for PI stalking. You can graph their pubs per year to assess recent productivity, and also sort their papers by #times cited to find what they're famous for.

 

[Anastomoses]

Ehh, I'm just emailing the researchers at my school. A kidney researcher already said no, but one doing something involving cvs, immunology and diabetes said he needs to meet with me first. Kind of excited as cvs and immunology are two of my favorites. 🙂

 

[KinasePro]

Ehh, I'm just emailing the researchers at my school. A kidney researcher already said no, but one doing something involving cvs, immunology and diabetes said he needs to meet with me first. Kind of excited as cvs and immunology are two of my favorites. 🙂

Just be careful you don't end up on a graveyard project. Some of the crappiest PI's are also the friendliest ones.

 

[NickNaylor]

Just be careful you don't end up on a graveyard project. Some of the crappiest PI's are also the friendliest ones.

Yup, absolutely true. If your goal is to publish something, go to a lab that is PRODUCTIVE and is actually putting out work. I didn't choose so wisely and ended up with a summer spent in the lab and nothing to show for it. Try and get a PI that you work well with, and try and get on a project that's interesting, but if you're going to put in the time and effort to work on a project you might as well get something out of it. I'd much rather be able to put "abstract submitted," "presented at _____," or "currently under review" about some research work than something along the lines of "participated."