How did YOU start research?

[souslepont]

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Did you e-mail a professor, did your school set you up with a lab, or did you work with the people you met through work-study/employment?

I'm just curious to know how everyone started, especially the people who managed to work their way up to posters or publications!


PS - the search function sucks, so don't bit*h at me if there's a already a big old thread devoted to this...

 

[deleted103644]

Well, I first started research when my little brother was a toddler. I would take various insects form the backyard and see which ones he was willing to eat and if I could extrapolate a pattern. Ah.. the good old days. 😀

 

[seraph524]

i would say its a mix between opportunity/luck

i got into research because at my school (MSU) they let you research with a faculty member if ur ACT/SAT score was high enough

i went from washing dishes to collaborating with one of the biggest names in cancer biology all cuz my PI knew him

 

[bluesTank]

My first research was under a prof I had gotten to know well. I had her for a chemistry class, and I asked her afterwards if she, or anyone she knew had any research openings, and she said she wanted me.

After that it was a little easier to get a position.

 

[sehnsucht]

i started as an undergrad. i expressed an interest in doing an indepedent study/thesis option instead of the internship route to fulfill my bio-major requirement to graduate. i sat down with my 2 advisors, discussed what my interests where and what projects I could feasibly do in a year to fulfill my requirement. from there, i pursued research after graduating, got published a few times and developed a genuine enjoyment for doing lab work. i intend on supplementing my medical education with research work.

 

[armybound]

I was in my advisor's office getting advised for my next semester's schedule when I asked if professors mind having a student in their lab that has no plans on getting published or doing a thesis. He said nope, they don't mind.. want to work in mine? I said sure.. that was it.

 

[diosa428]

I emailed a couple of professors, mentioned that I was interested in starting some research the following semester, said what classes/labs I had taken, and asked if they had any room in their lab. One prof emailed me back and had me send her my grades (basically she said that she required a commitment of ~15 hours per week and so therefore only accepted students into the lab if they were already strong academic performers to ensure their grades wouldn't suffer) and then she liked what she saw, we discussed possible research topics, I picked one, and that was that.

 

[Abilene85]

I applied for a summer research fellowship in my hometown, just to get some lab experience under my belt. After those couple of months, I decided I wanted to explore it some more, so I asked a professor I had at the time if he could help me find someone at the med school with similar interests. Over the course of the semester, I became much more interested in the class he was teaching and in his work, so I ended up joining his lab. Since I had worked in a lab before, and had therefore been trained in things like sterile technique, he seemed much more comfortable bringing an undergrad into his lab.

 

[Bartelby]

I came up with a research idea in one of my classes, brought it up to the professor, and was referred to another professor who did more relevant research. I started working in the lab shortly thereafter as a RA (in my second year), worked up to greater responsibility in my third year, and did a senior thesis there in my fourth year. Now, in my interim year, I am a lab manager there continuing with projects stemming from my thesis full time. The takeaway message, I think, is just to pick a lab doing something that interests you and be willing to put in the time work your way up to doing more substantial work.