Clinical research involvement

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xnfs93hy

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Are any of you involved in clinical research as undergraduates? If yes, how did you go about getting your position as a clinical researcher? What I did was contact the M.D. head of clinical research at my university's academic medical center. Was this the wrong move? Should I have contacted somebody else?

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I've done clinical/outcomes research with a multidisciplinary team at an academic research institution for the last 3 years. The PI is a family friend. Started off doing very little and then worked my way up to writing manuscripts. You just need to get your foot in the door. The rest is entirely up to you.
 
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I've done some public health research that was clinical in nature. I did it for my MPH though, not as an undergrad, which may have helped the physicians I talked to be a lot more willing to have me do some free labor for them. I just used contacts in my department to recommend people in the med school/hospital associated with my school about projects going on in the area I was interested in. And a couple emails later, I had a project.

What you did sounds fine. He will at the very least, not respond. If he's nice, hell put you onto people doing projects in your area of interest.
 
I've done some public health research that was clinical in nature. I did it for my MPH though, not as an undergrad, which may have helped the physicians I talked to be a lot more willing to have me do some free labor for them. I just used contacts in my department to recommend people in the med school/hospital associated with my school about projects going on in the area I was interested in. And a couple emails later, I had a project.

What you did sounds fine. He will at the very least, not respond. If he's nice, hell put you onto people doing projects in your area of interest.

Keep in mind, the chairs and heads of departments are busy people. Some may not even read your email. Others will most likely ask for your CV, say they're going to circulate it, and "have those that are interested contact you", which ultimately leads to very little.

You need to find PI's that you're interested in working with (or have a connection) and email or contact them directly. Write a strong cover letter or email telling them WHY you're interested. WHY you want that position more than anything and what you can contribute to the team. You need to stand out from the crowd (i.e not just another premed looking for research experience).
 
I've done some public health research that was clinical in nature. I did it for my MPH though, not as an undergrad, which may have helped the physicians I talked to be a lot more willing to have me do some free labor for them. I just used contacts in my department to recommend people in the med school/hospital associated with my school about projects going on in the area I was interested in. And a couple emails later, I had a project.

What you did sounds fine. He will at the very least, not respond. If he's nice, hell put you onto people doing projects in your area of interest.

He actually responded and told me that he is going to forward the email to his staff about it and see if they can find me anything.
 
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