Does it matter what kind of research you do?

[A7X]

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I have the opportunity to work in a psych lab which requires significant work, but I was wondering if Medical Schools care about what kind of research you do. Does it have to be Bio related, or is Psych fine? I'm also a Psych major.

 

[Ismet]

It doesn't matter. Psych is fine.

 

[Mel Belle]

What if you're going for PhD/MD? Would that make a difference? Obviously I can't choose my specialty now, but I know I need to decide on whether I wanna do PhD/MD or not soon.

 

[Amba]

I'm not an adcom member or anything, but I'd guess it's something like medical research > non-medical research >>> no research.

 

[Frazier]

I can attest to the fact that med schools will happily accept research from a breadth of fields. Psych included.

 

[Ismet]

What if you're going for PhD/MD? Would that make a difference? Obviously I can't choose my specialty now, but I know I need to decide on whether I wanna do PhD/MD or not soon.

First of all, it's technically MD/PhD.

As a freshman in college, you do not need to decide if you want to do MD/PhD "soon." You should try to get into meaningful scientific, hypothesis-driven research as soon as possible, make good connections with your mentors that will result in strong LORs, and potentially even get a publication. THEN you can decide, if you like research enough, to pursue MD/PhD.

Just from my observation from the MD/PhD program at my school, the majority of the candidates majored/did research in BioE or Bio/Molecular Bio. A few majored in Chem/ChemE/CS/EE (aka probably not medically-related at all). I can't speak to whether or not psych research would be beneficial for someone applying MD/PhD because I'm not extremely familiar with the admissions criteria, but just from one school, it seems like bio/medically-related research is most common.

 

[Mel Belle]

First of all, it's technically MD/PhD.

As a freshman in college, you do not need to decide if you want to do MD/PhD "soon." You should try to get into meaningful scientific, hypothesis-driven research as soon as possible, make good connections with your mentors that will result in strong LORs, and potentially even get a publication. THEN you can decide, if you like research enough, to pursue MD/PhD.

Just from my observation from the MD/PhD program at my school, the majority of the candidates majored/did research in BioE or Bio/Molecular Bio. A few majored in Chem/ChemE/CS/EE (aka probably not medically-related at all). I can't speak to whether or not psych research would be beneficial for someone applying MD/PhD because I'm not extremely familiar with the admissions criteria, but just from one school, it seems like bio/medically-related research is most common.

I'm not a psych major, lol. The other guy was. I should have been more specific, though. I am a biochemistry major. And to specify my question, I was wondering...

If I'm able to get into some research on say, gene expression altering production of certain neurotransmitters or the mechanisms of breathing in down syndrome (I know professors doing work like that), as opposed to just chemical, biochemical, or biology research... The "specialty" associated with the more "medical" research is irrelevant, right? But furthermore... Do I even have to do "medical" sort of research or would biochemical research be fine? Because I know it might be harder to get into the "medical" research since those are generally the most popular to go for and since I'm a freshman I may have a more difficult time getting into somewhere.

Idk why I keep calling it "medical" research. I guess it's more accurately A&P-related research. But at any rate...

What I meant by "soon" is that, regardless of whether I choose MD/PhD or not, if I might choose MD/PhD then I would need as much research as I can get prior to that. I know they say about two years is a good EC for pre-MDs. But more than that for pre-MD/PhD. So what I'm saying is... I would need to get into the research sooner rather than later.

 

[chillaxbro]

From what I've read on SDN, it doesn't matter but I've had 2 interviewers ask me why I didn't do more medically related research

 

[Ismet]

If I'm able to get into some research on say, gene expression altering production of certain neurotransmitters or the mechanisms of breathing in down syndrome (I know professors doing work like that), as opposed to just chemical, biochemical, or biology research... The "specialty" associated with the more "medical" research is irrelevant, right? But furthermore... Do I even have to do "medical" sort of research or would biochemical research be fine? Because I know it might be harder to get into the "medical" research since those are generally the most popular to go for and since I'm a freshman I may have a more difficult time getting into somewhere.

Idk why I keep calling it "medical" research. I guess it's more accurately A&P-related research. But at any rate...

The specialty doesn't matter. Just do whatever you're interested in and in a lab with a good mentor. Biochem research is fine. I think (?) you are referring to clinical vs. bench research when you say "medical" and "just science," and either is fine.

 

[Mel Belle]

From what I've read on SDN, it doesn't matter but I've had 2 interviewers ask me why I didn't do more medically related research

The specialty doesn't matter. Just do whatever you're interested in and in a lab with a good mentor. Biochem research is fine. I think (?) you are referring to clinical vs. bench research when you say "medical" and "just science," and either is fine.

Alright, thanks! I'll see what I can do.

 

[nBeeDee]

If you want to gain research experience during undergrad, you should try to get involved in an area that genuinely interests you, rather than worrying about whether it will benefit you for medical school admissions. Research is a very time-consuming process and if you don't enjoy what you are investigating then you will absolutely hate it. I speak from experience in previous labs… Your major is psych so I'm guessing you enjoy it, so then go pursue the psych research. Any research will be a plus for your application. I think the time involvement, quality, and production (posters, abstracts, papers) of the experience is much more important. I don't think adcom's care at all what type it is, they are simply looking for real-life application of your scientific abilities which you would be able to apply in medical school and/or medical research down the line.

N=1 here, but my current and most substantial research gig is in analytical chemistry bench research. There are some similar concepts to medicine involved, but it is very far away from anything "medical." But for my application it's relation to medicine didn't matter at all, interviewers loved it. I don't think I was ever the one to bring up my research experience, because they always asked questions about it first. Maybe you will come across an arrogant, egotistic interviewer that will grill you on having "less important" research, but I think the majority of interviewers will be curious about your experience and will look at it as a major plus, as long as you can communicate it to them effectively.

Btw this input is for MD programs. I did not apply MD/PhD and I'm not sure if relation to medicine matters for those programs. I would imagine research is definitely necessary for getting into a MD/PhD program and production is more important than "area", just an educated guess.