how to "do" research?

[reggiano]

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Hi,
Bear with me here. I'm a non-traditional student who decided to apply to medical school a few years after graduating from college with a degree in English. I was fortunate enough to be accepted to a US MD program, which I will start this August.

My science classes have piqued my interest in bench research, and I've heard that research can be helpful for residency applications. I found a PI who's allowed me to volunteer in her lab in the medical college (not the medical school I am going to, but a medical college in my state). I've been in the lab for 5 days, and I think I need a better sense of what to expect from my time in a lab this summer.

The lab is run by the PI (I never see her) and 4 doctoral students, who are all very busy (needless to say!). One of the senior doctoral students (a family friend) has taken me under his wing, but he's incredibly busy because his dissertation is due in a few weeks. The other PhD students spend 95% of their time in front of their computer, reading articles etc.

Since I have absolutely no experience with a lab, I don't know whether this is "normal" (the doctoral students spending nearly all of their time researching online). I spend a significant majority of my time at my computer research articles, but I'm beginning to worry whether I made the right choice of quitting my full-time job (I figured a little lab exposure would be better than nothing). I really, really do want to make the most of my summer and learn as much as possible, but it's starting to seem I don't/won't have that many learning opportunities.

I realize I should be grateful that I even have the chance to be in a lab, since I know it takes a lot of time and resources to train a volunteer. But the training aspect is not as structured or expansive as I expected. My short-term dream goal is to have a mini-project of my own, but I have no idea how to even formulate a hypothesis.

What sorts of things could I be doing on my own to become more comfortable with research, and formulating questions? Should I read a research methods textbook? (And what sorts of things should I absolutely avoid doing... like asking (bugging) the PI questions?)

 

[DAPI]

Hi,
Bear with me here. I'm a non-traditional student who decided to apply to medical school a few years after graduating from college with a degree in English. I was fortunate enough to be accepted to a US MD program, which I will start this August.

My science classes have piqued my interest in bench research, and I've heard that research can be helpful for residency applications. I found a PI who's allowed me to volunteer in her lab in the medical college (not the medical school I am going to, but a medical college in my state). I've been in the lab for 5 days, and I think I need a better sense of what to expect from my time in a lab this summer.

The lab is run by the PI (I never see her) and 4 doctoral students, who are all very busy (needless to say!). One of the senior doctoral students (a family friend) has taken me under his wing, but he's incredibly busy because his dissertation is due in a few weeks. The other PhD students spend 95% of their time in front of their computer, reading articles etc.

Since I have absolutely no experience with a lab, I don't know whether this is "normal" (the doctoral students spending nearly all of their time researching online). I spend a significant majority of my time at my computer research articles, but I'm beginning to worry whether I made the right choice of quitting my full-time job (I figured a little lab exposure would be better than nothing). I really, really do want to make the most of my summer and learn as much as possible, but it's starting to seem I don't/won't have that many learning opportunities.

I realize I should be grateful that I even have the chance to be in a lab, since I know it takes a lot of time and resources to train a volunteer. But the training aspect is not as structured or expansive as I expected. My short-term dream goal is to have a mini-project of my own, but I have no idea how to even formulate a hypothesis.

What sorts of things could I be doing on my own to become more comfortable with research, and formulating questions? Should I read a research methods textbook? (And what sorts of things should I absolutely avoid doing... like asking (bugging) the PI questions?)

Every lab is different, but the one thing I have learned is sometimes you just need to speak up or you will be sitting at your computer all the time doing absolutely nothing.

From your post it seems like you have no experience in a lab, so the reality is you'll likely get little out of this summer gig especially if the post-docs actually spend 95% of their time in front of a computer. What I would do is ask the post-docs to let you know anytime they are going to do an experiment or run a western or PCR or w/e your lab does. When they are doing it, ask them to explain what they are doing (nicely) and write down the steps if the lab doesn't already have saved protocols. Also write down where everything is so you can find it without asking them next time.

Maybe by the end of the summer your will have learned cell culture and done a few experiments and run a few westerns, but the post-docs are the ones going to be telling you what to do. There's likely going to be little independent thinking.

For the most part, summer students learn new techniques if they have little experience in the lab and end up running a few experiments. For those that are experienced, they often just run experiments for post-docs to lighten their load a bit. Either way, most summer students don't end up getting their own project just because 3 months really isn't that long.

Maybe you will learn more about what you are doing when you have a lab meeting this week. If you don't have a lab meeting, see if you can set up a meeting with the PI and ask if she can go over the basics of what her lab does and what she expects from you this summer.

 

[red doctober]

Unfortunately, this lab experience most likely will not fulfill your expectations. Going in with zero prior research experience, a PI that you don't talk to, a grad student mentor who is going to be too busy to deal with you, and just over 2 months to do things, you really aren't going to get as much out of this as you might think. I will say, however, that you can get at least something out of it, but it's going to require you to put yourself out there. My suggestion is to talk to the PI personally about helping out one of the post-docs or grad students with their project. There's really no way that you can get a new project off the ground and running in such a short period of time with no experience. At this point, just learn as many different techniques as physically possible, so that if you decide to do research later, you won't have to spend as much time learning these. I don't know what this lab studies or how much benchwork is done, but I feel you are wasting your time just reading articles. Sure it helps to know what and why you are doing things, but in your situation, it will be more valuable for you to be doing actual hands-on work.

 

[DrEnderW]

Honestly... nothing.

For the short amount of time that you're there for, the only goal should be to learn some techniques. In all honestly, the only positive of a lab experience at this point is going to be so you can apply to a lab in medical school with some background experience and a past history of research. Try and pick up as many techniques and technical skills as you can -- these will come in handy in the future in different labs.

I'm working full-time in research for the year before I start med school in August and have worked in 2 previous labs so I have a lot of experience in this. Reading articles is great for your own personal interest, but the chance of you really needing that info or continuing that field of research in the future is minimal.

As bad as it is to say, the only thing that matters is getting pubs, presentations, experience to apply to other labs in med school. However, if you know this research field is your passion and future career, keep diving into the literature.

 

[reggiano]

Thank you for all your responses. I feel better knowing what I should expect from this summer (learning a few techniques well). I just feel so behind all the other traditional incoming first years who have already been oriented to lab research many years ago. And I feel worthless and dumb just hanging around the lab, haha.

The PI did warn me that two months is not enough time to learn that much, and she said if I did want to learn as much as possible, I need to dedicate a lot of time in the lab. So I am doing that, but I will definitely ask the grad students when they will be running experiments. It can be difficult at times for me to communicate with the grad students because they are all international students and they feel more comfortable speaking in their native tongue (they usually talk to each other that way). But I'll try to be more proactive.

I've watched two grad students do a cell culture, and they've let me practice on my own petri dish. We're subculturing tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to practice again.

Another PI I emailed (many months ago) mentioned that I should take a Research Methods class. Since I don't have the time or money to do that, does anybody recommend that I self-study research methods? Although it won't help me this summer, I'm guessing it might come in hand in the future?

 

[Aerus]

The thing about research is that, in order to get really good at it, you'll need a lot of mindless practice AND reading research papers.

When you read these papers, think about how these experiments are run. Why a certain technique was used. What is the purpose of each control? Ask questions when you don't understand something. Get your brain used to thinking this way.

It's very hard to immediately start your own independent project and be good at it when you have no prior research experience. These types of skills take time. Two months might be cutting it short.

 

[Gauss44]

Every lab is different, but the one thing I have learned is sometimes you just need to speak up or you will be sitting at your computer all the time doing absolutely nothing.

From your post it seems like you have no experience in a lab, so the reality is you'll likely get little out of this summer gig especially if the post-docs actually spend 95% of their time in front of a computer. What I would do is ask the post-docs to let you know anytime they are going to do an experiment or run a western or PCR or w/e your lab does. When they are doing it, ask them to explain what they are doing (nicely) and write down the steps if the lab doesn't already have saved protocols. Also write down where everything is so you can find it without asking them next time.

Maybe by the end of the summer your will have learned cell culture and done a few experiments and run a few westerns, but the post-docs are the ones going to be telling you what to do. There's likely going to be little independent thinking.

For the most part, summer students learn new techniques if they have little experience in the lab and end up running a few experiments. For those that are experienced, they often just run experiments for post-docs to lighten their load a bit. Either way, most summer students don't end up getting their own project just because 3 months really isn't that long.

Maybe you will learn more about what you are doing when you have a lab meeting this week. If you don't have a lab meeting, see if you can set up a meeting with the PI and ask if she can go over the basics of what her lab does and what she expects from you this summer.

I wonder if it's feasible to volunteer in a lab in exchange for shadowing a post-doc? Is shadowing a post-doc the best way to see the big picture of how research is done and what goes on in a lab? Alternatively, I have tried to find classes that teach research, but don't think they're available... Does anyone know?

 

[Josh7]

It's unfortunate that you were placed under a mentor that is about to graduate. That seems like a contradiction to me. If the graduate student you're working with is stressing over his/her dissertation then what is his motivation to have a mentee? In the lab group I work in the entire point of the mentor/mentee scenario is so both parties benefit. The mentor will spend less time on data acquisition, fabrication, etc. and the mentee gets the opportunity to learn important lab skills and insight into the academic world. In your situation it seems like neither of these roles are being used properly...

 

[LizzyM]

Let me use a little analogy here.
Imagine the lab is like a bakery. A publication is like developing a new recipe and having it added to the menu. Obviously it takes a lot of work and most often requires some collaboration.

As you are just starting out, you need to learn how to do the various techniques that the lab uses. If you were in a bakery you might be learning about sponges (only to find that the vocabulary doesn't mean what you think it means -- same as in the lab) and buttercream and something that sounds like shoe paste. 😕 So at first you are learning the vocabulary and learning some of the procedures that become the building blocks for elaborate creations. Sometimes something won't work and you'll need to troubleshoot the reagents (like your ingredients) and the equipment.

At this point, your goal should be to learn some of those building blocks (PCR, Western blots) so that you can walk into a lab next summer and know some stuff and have a desire to learn some new things while you use what you learned this summer.

It may be a while before you know enough about a topic area to say, "the unanswered question is x and what we need to do now to answer the questions is...."

 

[reggiano]

Hey Josh, the doctoral student who is training me is doing this as a favor, he's not getting anything out of it, and I really appreciate it. His defense is in a few weeks, and he will be able to dedicate more time to teaching me afterwards.

You may be wondering why I can't just find another trainer in another lab, but most undergrads/traditional students don't really understand how difficult it is for non-traditional students who have been out of school to find bench research experience. I know it's almost cake to find it in college as a science major--I went to a large research university so I know how plentiful those opportunities are for those looking for it. But, without a science degree and the "UG" status, amongst more qualified pre-meds clamoring to get into a lab, it's actually dang near impossible. Or it has been for me, anyway. I might have been able to find an unpaid position a year ago, but I needed to work full-time.

Lizzy, I like your analogy 👍 Thank you everybody for your responses... I feel much better knowing what my goal for this summer is.

 

[Josh7]

Hey Josh, the doctoral student who is training me is doing this as a favor, he's not getting anything out of it, and I really appreciate it. His defense is in a few weeks, and he will be able to dedicate more time to teaching me afterwards.

You may be wondering why I can't just find another trainer in another lab, but most undergrads/traditional students don't really understand how difficult it is for non-traditional students who have been out of school to find bench research experience. I know it's almost cake to find it in college as a science major--I went to a large research university so I know how plentiful those opportunities are for those looking for it. But, without a science degree and the "UG" status, amongst more qualified pre-meds clamoring to get into a lab, it's actually dang near impossible. Or it has been for me, anyway. I might have been able to find an unpaid position a year ago, but I needed to work full-time.

Lizzy, I like your analogy 👍 Thank you everybody for your responses... I feel much better knowing what my goal for this summer is.

That's a good point and I didn't think about it from that angle. Are you planning to continue to do research after the PhD candidate graduates? If so maybe he'll recommend you to another graduate student. Good luck!