Good idea to join a lab by a P.I. having just graduated last year?

[ely]

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i am quite curious what the general consensus on this would be regarding my situation. i'm still in undergrad and i'm interested in joining this lab under a doctor who is one year removed from just graduating with a md/phd. i'm assuming he didn't go through residency or even a postdoctoral fellowship as he has just joined the faculty at my institution (i know this is possible in some cases).

i was wondering if this would be somewhat of a problem considering the experience might be limited due to him just starting out. i was also hoping if you guys could shed some light on road blocks if any that i 'might' face when applying to MSTP programs in the coming years or even if working under a neo-PI would somehow hinder me in any way? he's the only one at my school doing this type of research and i can see myself working in his lab for a couple years as his work somewhat pertains to me in a personal matter. actually it's a field i'm very much wishing to continue even into my graduate years which is why i'm asking. thanks ahead to the responses.

 

[Habari]

it is probably a fantastic opportunity, considering that the pi will be much more involved in day-to-day experimental stuff. chances are that (s)he will be workign extremely hard to get those tenure-track publications in line, moreover, you will probably get on them especially if the lab is small (which it probably is). go with it.

with regards to the application process - if anything, the personal commentary the pi will be able to give from working with you will be valuable during the process. i know other applicants in this situation have also been able to convey a sense of understanding how difficult it is to start up a lab/reserach program from scratch to their benefit.

while people generally assume that letters from department chairs, lasker prize winners, NAS members etc... are better than others, remember that these people tend to be established, busy, and unless you know otherwise, spend much of their time away. though their name will carry weight, the insightful, personal commentary afforded by a closer relationship will be even more beneficial. if you can get both - go for it.

 

[Gfunk6]

I concur with Habari. This individual is probably a research superstar if he indeed procured a facutly position so soon after graduation. Good luck!

 

[utcrew]

i am quite curious what the general consensus on this would be regarding my situation. i'm still in undergrad and i'm interested in joining this lab under a doctor who is one year removed from just graduating with a md/phd. i'm assuming he didn't go through residency or even a postdoctoral fellowship as he has just joined the faculty at my institution (i know this is possible in some cases).

i was wondering if this would be somewhat of a problem considering the experience might be limited due to him just starting out. i was also hoping if you guys could shed some light on road blocks if any that i 'might' face when applying to MSTP programs in the coming years or even if working under a neo-PI would somehow hinder me in any way? he's the only one at my school doing this type of research and i can see myself working in his lab for a couple years as his work somewhat pertains to me in a personal matter. actually it's a field i'm very much wishing to continue even into my graduate years which is why i'm asking. thanks ahead to the responses.

I agree with the last two posters. I started in the lab of a new faculty member over a year ago as an undergraduate and am doing a year of research with him post-bachelors. The experience you'll get is unrivaled. I've helped write NIH grants, start new projects and first author a couple of good papers. I learned very fast how difficult it is to start a lab from scratch. For instance, could you imagine making all of the buffers, media, clones etc from scratch before you could do anything....pretty tough. Actually, I think I've gotten better training in this lab than I would have in a well established one. Also, I can't forget to say that in a new lab the PI and you are more like colleagues than in well established labs. Go for it 👍

 

[b&ierstiefel]

can't agree more with the above posters.

working in an up-and-coming lab can be very fun, fast-paced, and be a source of solid training.

 

[freddytn]

Personally, my PI was in his 3rd year having joined the faculty and is actually concurently doing his residency at the local hospital. I agree with all the previous posts. The only thing I would add which is generally true of any of the new faculty members is that beware that there is always the possibility that he/she may not get tenured at that institution (but if they're MD/PhD that's usually not a problem). Also beware that these labs will tend to be more fast-paced and demanding as the asst. profs usually are trying to crank out as much work and many publications as possible in order to gain tenure. Though the opportunity is definitely great. In comparison to a more established lab, I think you will have a much better opportunity in helping shape the lab and to a certain extent the research of the lab as well.

-Freddy

 

[tofurious]

What schools are these that are hiring MD PhDs straight out of med school to be "on faculty" without post-docs or even DURING residency? Most academic centers nowadays are short on $ and it's hard to imagine that limited $s would go to these folks who don't have enough experience with managing a lab and who also don't have enough time to give a high-yield return for either the institution's or the government's investment?

 

[ely]

What schools are these that are hiring MD PhDs straight out of med school to be "on faculty" without post-docs or even DURING residency? Most academic centers nowadays are short on $ and it's hard to imagine that limited $s would go to these folks who don't have enough experience with managing a lab and who also don't have enough time to give a high-yield return for either the institution's or the government's investment?

they're out there. in fact, someone here replied with the EXACT person i originally had questions about. it was rather funny how he drew a needle in a haystack so to speak. but i thank him for deleting his thread for personal reasons.

 

[Habari]

What schools are these that are hiring MD PhDs straight out of med school to be "on faculty" without post-docs or even DURING residency? Most academic centers nowadays are short on $ and it's hard to imagine that limited $s would go to these folks who don't have enough experience with managing a lab and who also don't have enough time to give a high-yield return for either the institution's or the government's investment?

there clearly aren't many of them, but as ely said, they definately do exist. i know of a couple people from my program who have had stellar enough records/references to land them these positions, and there are a few people in the tri-institutional area in this position who have graduated from other programs. those who become whitehead fellows (phd or mdphd) do essentially the same thing- the program exists to give those with extremely high potential an early start at independent faculty positions.

 

[freddytn]

Like the previous post mentioned my PI just happened to be highly qualified not only having completed his MD-PhD in a top program but finishing in 7 years and having published nearly 40+ papers during his graduate school career. It's simply a matter of what you bring to the table as to what you are able to negotiate for a position.