Does type of research matter?

[american_mythos]

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I'm an undergrad and very interested in mstp programs. My current research is in an entomology lab, and I personally believe I'll have really high quality research (papers, LORs, etc) by the time I apply to programs. Should I be concerned about my research not being as "related" to medicine or is quality of research all that matters? I'm worried cause everybody online seems do be doing something related to biomedical sciences. I have good relationships with faculty in the entomology department and predict a lot of friction in switching research gears. Any and all advice is welcomed.

 

[Ms. miRNA]

I am an MD-PhD applicant in the current application cycle, and I have received several interview invites. I will give you my perspective and maybe others further along the path can chime in.

I think doing research in something you are passionate in, and in a lab where you will be able to conduct high quality in research resulting in a great letter of recommendation is key. Being able to go through a project from its start and continue working on it for as long as you can is very valuable, because you will be able to gain insight into all steps of the scientific method (formulating a research question, hypothesis, performing experimentation/analysis, etc.). I think this is more important than it being in a biomedical field, because many who aspire to become physician-scientists change their research interests over time, while their passion for research and inquiry is what drives them. My first research project in undergrad, and overall my most impactful was a basic biochemistry project that did not have a biomedical application. Ultimately I did decide to pivot a little bit and do more biomedical research (in the same lab), but most of what I learned about research was from that first project. Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any additional questions!

 

[VaultArmitage]

Current M2G1 who interviews applicants for our program. Personally, I would wonder how someone who only has entomology research could possibly know they want to commit to biomedical research for the rest of their careers. People's interests change a lot, but fundamentally biomedical and entymological are quite different.

Your goal as an applicant is to convince programs that you are willing to have biomedical research be a fundamental part of your career. How can you do that if you have no experience in biomedical research?

I started in a software development lab, but pivoted to biomedical research when I became interested in MDPhD programs. When I interviewed, no one talked about the software stuff. They were only interested in the biomedical research.

 

[yandorio]

I'm an undergrad and very interested in mstp programs. My current research is in an entomology lab, and I personally believe I'll have really high quality research (papers, LORs, etc) by the time I apply to programs. Should I be concerned about my research not being as "related" to medicine or is quality of research all that matters? I'm worried cause everybody online seems do be doing something related to biomedical sciences. I have good relationships with faculty in the entomology department and predict a lot of friction in switching research gears. Any and all advice is welcomed.

If you are publishing quality work, keep doing what you're doing. Also consider how much relevance there is to humans in insect research: a lot of the initial ion channel mutants were from Drosophila and these genes are also found in humans. TH Morgan's fruit fly work as well has huge relevance to medicine. Victor Ambros found some kooky RNAs in C elegans worms and they turned out getting him the Nobel prize. If you are doing good science, get some good papers and you will be in good shape.

 

[InternationalChaos]

I think putting something in your essays about what you learned in the field of entomology and how that applies to medicine would bridge the gap really well. Parasites, malaria vectors, etc. Let them know that you have thought about the connections.

 

[Fencer]

Admission committees and program directors are Humans, who have an innate desire to clone themselves. In general, clinical research is less formative because you only do enrolling rather than thinking on developing a protocol and testing a hypothesis. A basic science investigation tends to allow a greater training on critical thinking than what is available in clinical research. Nevertheless, in the spectrum of science, the complexity of clinical research has grown significantly requiring even PhD level of thinking for designing optimal studies. But it remains unlikely that the input of a post-bac trainee would alter the protocol or change the hypothesis testing. My 2 cents....