Contacting prof about research--tips?

[Xcited392]

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Here's the deal: I want to ask this professor at my school if I can do research in the fall with him. His research is in micro/immunology, and I will be taking his immuno class in the fall.

Am I at a disadvantage since I haven't taken his class yet? It's like doing biochem research, even though you're taking biochem concurrently. Is this situation common? He doesn't know me at all, as I have never had a class with him yet. Also, since the research will start in the fall, if I e-mail him now, is that too early? Or should I wait until the start of the fall semester to ask him? I'm just afraid that if I tell him later, the funding deadlines will pass. I hope he doesn't think that it's weird for a stranger to e-mail him so soon.

Any advice?

 

[DrFishy]

I would say go ahead and email him. No harm in it. If it's actually too early for him to be thinking about, then he'll probably tell you that and ask you to contact him again as fall approaches.

As for not having taken his class yet, I suggest that you apprise him of your situation upfront; tell him you're willing to read up on whatever is necessary and let him decide if it's appropriate for you to work in his lab while taking his class.

As a general tip, if you haven't already, I think it's helpful to read up on the PIs current work before contacting him. Even if you're not versed in the subject well enough to have a profound conversation about it, just mentioning that you've read some of the work coming out of the lab beforehand is a sign of your genuine interest in the lab and your willingness to educate yourself so that you can make a more meaningful contribution to the research.

Good luck!

 

[Xcited392]

Thanks.

I've drafted an e-mail and I said that I've been reading abstracts on PubMed that are relevant to his research topic (which is true). Hopefully, he'll see that I'm interested.

 

[ThaliaNox]

I would hesitate to take on a student who hadn't taken a microbiology class to work in my microbiology lab (If I had one!). Have you taken other classes which involve work with microorganisms, like cell bio or molecular bio? Maybe you can demonstrate skills with things like culture, PCR or electrophoresis? That being said, there is no harm in asking. Your best bet is to find more than abstracts and study up on it before talking to the prof. You need to sound like HIS research topic is your holy grail.

 

[Xcited392]

I would hesitate to take on a student who hadn't taken a microbiology class to work in my microbiology lab (If I had one!). Have you taken other classes which involve work with microorganisms, like cell bio or molecular bio? Maybe you can demonstrate skills with things like culture, PCR or electrophoresis? That being said, there is no harm in asking. Your best bet is to find more than abstracts and study up on it before talking to the prof. You need to sound like HIS research topic is your holy grail.

Well, I'm enrolled for Microbiology this summer, so if I can start research in the fall, I will have experience with micro lab techniques. I've already taken cell bio, but the class didn't have a lab. His class that I will be taking is an advanced micro class.

In my draft e-mail, I made this clear for him.

 

[Xinlitik]

For me, I just emailed a bunch of professors whose research sounded interesting. I joined a cell bio lab, not having taken the cell bio class he taught. It shouldn't be a problem: just show up and make sure you let him know that you're actually interested and that you're competent.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

For me, I just emailed a bunch of professors whose research sounded interesting. I joined a cell bio lab, not having taken the cell bio class he taught. It shouldn't be a problem: just show up and make sure you let him know that you're actually interested and that you're competent.

I also did this, a few emailed be back saying they would have open positions, a few emailed me back saying they didnt and the others never got back to me. I met with the ones who did and decided which one i would like most.

I dont think it is too early at all. You wanna get to him before all his spots are gone for next sem if he has any available.

 

[JJMrK]

Don't ask him this directly at first, but find out 1) if he publishes often and how often undergrads are authors, 2) if you will be doing more than just washing dishes, and 3) if you'll be paid.

 

[ShinyDome19]

Don't ask him this directly at first, but find out 1) if he publishes often and how often undergrads are authors, 2) if you will be doing more than just washing dishes, and 3) if you'll be paid.

or, you can just be grateful you found a lab that will take you on...do what they ask of you...learn some stuff while your there...then once you've learned and earned the trust of the PI/Graduate students, look into getting your own project.

You know...earn you way in to getting publications and getting paid.

 

[Xinlitik]

Don't ask him this directly at first, but find out 1) if he publishes often and how often undergrads are authors, 2) if you will be doing more than just washing dishes, and 3) if you'll be paid.

TBH, I disagree except about the washing dishes part. Research is an awesome experience regardless of pay or publish--those are things you need to earn.

But absolutely at all costs avoid labs where they just want you to wash dishes.

 

[wanderer]

Don't ask him this directly at first, but find out 1) if he publishes often and how often undergrads are authors, 2) if you will be doing more than just washing dishes, and 3) if you'll be paid.

+1. However it's okay to wash dishes if you get to help out with experiments and eventually move onto your own project.
You don't want to put in 20 hours a week for a full year only to realize you are at dead end.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

or, you can just be grateful you found a lab that will take you on...do what they ask of you...learn some stuff while your there...then once you've learned and earned the trust of the PI/Graduate students, look into getting your own project.

You know...earn you way in to getting publications and getting paid.

👍+1

At some schools there are practically no research positions available. Obviously everyone wants the best application and wants to get paid doing easy fun stuff and get a publication/author out of it, but in reality thats not gonna happen to everyone. Not without a few years of doing the grunt work. So find something that interest you, and be grateful for it. After all they are gracing you with experience, you are not gracing them with your pre-med presence.

 

[JJMrK]

or, you can just be grateful you found a lab that will take you on...do what they ask of you...learn some stuff while your there...then once you've learned and earned the trust of the PI/Graduate students, look into getting your own project.

You know...earn you way in to getting publications and getting paid.

Sure. But it's good to know what you're getting into and to shop around if a particular lab doesn't suit your needs.

 

[Xcited392]

Thanks for the advice.

The school I'm at is a predominantly undergraduate college. In fact the biology department only offers a bachelors and masters, and from my observations, there are very few masters students. Also, I found his profile on the school's undergraduate research page, and there was a description of his research interests, but no listing of publications--he just graduated with a PhD so I'm assuming that he's just starting.

Would it be forceful if I tell him in the e-mail that my goal is to eventually develop an individual project (under his guidance) that will contribute to his overall research? I told him that I'd be happy to just assist with things, but I want him to know what I want to do later on.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

Thanks for the advice.

The school I'm at is a predominantly undergraduate college. In fact the biology department only offers a bachelors and masters, and from my observations, there are very few masters students. Also, I found his profile on the school's undergraduate research page, and there was a description of his research interests, but no listing of publications--he just graduated with a PhD so I'm assuming that he's just starting.

Would it be forceful if I tell him in the e-mail that my goal is to eventually develop an individual project (under his guidance) that will contribute to his overall research? I told him that I'd be happy to just assist with things, but I want him to know what I want to do later on.

I think it might seem a little forward. Like telling a girl your asking out for the first time that you want to be married and have kids within the next few years. I would assume that the professor would like to get to know you and your work ethic/commitment to the lab before thinking about giving you any kind of authority. You dont want him to think " oh great, another pre-med who wants to boost his med school app who is just going to leave me when he gets what he needs."

 

[JJMrK]

Thanks for the advice.

The school I'm at is a predominantly undergraduate college. In fact the biology department only offers a bachelors and masters, and from my observations, there are very few masters students. Also, I found his profile on the school's undergraduate research page, and there was a description of his research interests, but no listing of publications--he just graduated with a PhD so I'm assuming that he's just starting.

This is a good thing and will probably mean you'll get to contribute right away. 👍

Would it be forceful if I tell him in the e-mail that my goal is to eventually develop an individual project (under his guidance) that will contribute to his overall research? I told him that I'd be happy to just assist with things, but I want him to know what I want to do later on.

Yeah, maybe. Just go meet with him and see what he'll have you doing.

 

[Xcited392]

Thank you.

Can I at least tell him that I would like to work for the entire school year?

Is that too forceful?

 

[JJMrK]

Thank you.

Can I at least tell him that I would like to work for the entire school year?

Is that too forceful?

I would probably say that you are available for the entire year.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

I would think that would be best, that way it would show that he wont be wasting time by training you for 1 semester

 

[ShinyDome19]

Thanks for the advice.
The school I'm at is a predominantly undergraduate college. In fact the biology department only offers a bachelors and masters, and from my observations, there are very few masters students.

This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I wouldnt go in to a lab at a Liberal Arts school or small university where theres no major graduate program expecting to get tons of publications or poster presentation oppertunities. However, this will probably be an excellent place to learn the basics of research. This is largely because a lot of people who finish their PhDs and are more interested in teaching, rather than doing research, work in to these types of schools because the schools do not put heavy requirements on the professor to maintain a laboratory. They also dont necessarily require the professor to do a Post-Doc, which would mean they dont have a lot of funding potential. Large Research Universities often have requirements of professors to put out 3-4 papers a year and also maintain X-amount of grant income in order for them to maintain their tenure track. These smaller schools might require 1 paper from a professor per year...might; but a lot of times, since they do not require heavy research from their professors and as such, the ability of the professors to find grant funding is extremely small, the school itself will often provide them some funding so they can still generate some lab output and teach undergrads basic research principles. So, since their funding isnt largely going to be used to maintain graduate research, I would say that it is likely that they should be able to allocate money to a good undergraduate research project at some point in time.

Also, I found his profile on the school's undergraduate research page, and there was a description of his research interests, but no listing of publications--he just graduated with a PhD so I'm assuming that he's just starting.

Try a PubMed or GoogleScholar search for any of his graduate school publications: www.pubmedcentral.gov or www.Googlescholar.com

Would it be forceful if I tell him in the e-mail that my goal is to eventually develop an individual project (under his guidance) that will contribute to his overall research? I told him that I'd be happy to just assist with things, but I want him to know what I want to do later on.

I wouldnt be so forward with it, because as I stated above, his overall research goals probably wont be too much. I would just show interest in research in general, and if you can pull up some of his grad school publications, you might find something specifically that interests you that you can mention. A good thing about a small lab, especially one without a ton of graduate students, is that the number of dirty dishware being generated will be small...(that should make all you anti-dishwashers happy). At the same time though, the number of individual projects that are being run in a lab will also be small, and these are where good undergrad projects springboard from...Just give it some time and learn the basics as you go; you never know where the professor left off in his graduate research or if he even plans on pursuing the same topics he did in graduate school, so it may take a new professor some time to find a topic that he's even capable of pursuing.

 

[Xcited392]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I sent him a very nice e-mail (basically an informal cover letter) earlier this morning, and I just got a reply--it was a simple, "come talk to me." Just that one sentence!! It was weird getting that, since I put in considerable time into the e-mail.

Now, I'm trying to dissect what he means by that--I don't know if it's a good or bad sign.

 

[CapnCrunch]

It should be a good sign. They probably just want to talk to you personally since it's faster, you get a more honest view, and they can ask general questions.

Be yourself, show genuine interest in the lab (you should of had this prior), and be sure you've thought about the time commitment.

 

[Procyon]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I sent him a very nice e-mail (basically an informal cover letter) earlier this morning, and I just got a reply--it was a simple, "come talk to me." Just that one sentence!! It was weird getting that, since I put in considerable time into the e-mail.

Now, I'm trying to dissect what he means by that--I don't know if it's a good or bad sign.

Let us know how it goes. I'm still trying to find my way into a lab, so I hope it works for you.

 

[JJMrK]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I sent him a very nice e-mail (basically an informal cover letter) earlier this morning, and I just got a reply--it was a simple, "come talk to me." Just that one sentence!! It was weird getting that, since I put in considerable time into the e-mail.

Now, I'm trying to dissect what he means by that--I don't know if it's a good or bad sign.

Doesn't mean anything bad or good. Just go talk to him and see what he does.

 

[Xcited392]

UPDATE:

I just had my meeting with him, and it went really well!

Despite his terse response to my e-mail, he told me today that he was very impressed with the e-mail.

He then asked me what I knew about his research, and thanks to reading PubMed, I gave some good responses.

He said that he's in the process of getting grants from NIH and other sources. Depending on the grant awards, he said he's hoping to get me paid for my work. Of course, I said I'd be happy to work paid or un-paid (although some $ is pretty cool). He's allowing me to shadow him at the lab during the summer to see the techniques before I get to do stuff in the Fall. As far as my duties, he's allowing me to participate in significant projects (no dish washing haha).

Overall, it went really well. I guess I'm lucky because the school is small, and I happened to find a serious research-oriented professor (which is hard to find at smaller UG colleges).

Thanks to everyone for their help throughout this.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

Congratulations!