How to get a research. Please help

[Abu Aljood]

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Hello everyone,

I'm a US citizen, foreign medical graduate. I'm applying for Immunology PhD program next year. I've been tying to volunteer in a research with no luck. I e-mailed around 80 professors asking to volunteer in their labs with no positive response. For each one, I had to read about his/her latest publication and mentioned that in my email. My lack of basic lab skills has been my biggest problem.

I'm not restricted to any geographical area or specialty. I only need to get a basic research/lab experience.


My questions are :

1- Is their any chance to get accepted with no research experience in my resume?
2- Would doing case reports and get them published help?
3- Any ideas of how to make them respond to me.

 

[Poisson]

Is their any chance to get accepted with no research experience in my resume?

This is going to be difficult, because you should have some kind of life experience which can direct you to a particular area of interest in immunology research. Doing a PhD in this study is serious business, and with the vastness of areas of specialization, how is a professor running a research laboratory going to know that you are interested in the work and have an aptitude for research? I would assume since you have a medical degree you are highly trained in the medical sciences, which is a plus, but clinical and basic science training is different than conducting research.

Would doing case reports and get them published help?

I would say any peer reviewed work of a high quality is going to help your admission to a PhD program. Over-publishing may not be a good idea, but publishing results from a strong research experience is going to be in your favor.

Any ideas of how to make them respond to me?

This is very important for your future career as some institutions may have the resources you need, and you can build mutually beneficial collaborations that can help your department. I would recommend being casual in an email or call, but respectful, using fewer words is always more impactful. Professors get a lot of emails, and some people may not want to read several paragraphs of information from a prospective student, or anybody. Making your message sound passionate, genuine, and to the point is a good idea. Make a comment about a journal paper they may have done which you think may catalyze your interests in her or his field. Make each note personal; don't send a carbon copy to 80 schools. Saying you want to be a volunteer in a lab is not the way to go, you need to know for a fact that the research they are doing is the exact research you want to do, or else how can you convince them you will be a strong researcher and make contribution to the team and the field? You have a medical degree, you are smart, you should sell yourself confidently.




Some questions I have for you are:

Are you doing a PhD in Immunology because you are interested in a physician scientist career?

Are you interested in doing this training to increase chances at a residency placement in the United States?

There are positions all over the place to apply to for post-doctoral and research associate / assistant positions which can jump start your research and clinical career, a PhD is not the only gateway.

 

[Abu Aljood]

Some questions I have for you are:

Are you doing a PhD in Immunology because you are interested in a physician scientist career?

Are you interested in doing this training to increase chances at a residency placement in the United States?

There are positions all over the place to apply to for post-doctoral and research associate / assistant positions which can jump start your research and clinical career, a PhD is not the only gateway.

Thank you for the detailed response.

I'm pursuing a PhD in Immunology because I'm interested in research. Physician scientist training residency is a great choice but very competitive for international graduates.

I'm preparing for the USMLEs but as a back up plan. I did one year of residency outside the states and didn't enjoy clinical work (too late awareness).

I applied for a few post-doctoral research positions and found myself discouraged since nobody accepted me for a volunteer position. I though it would be harder to get a paid position.

 

[debateg]

Trying to find a position by blindly e-mailing 80 people is going to be low yield. You need to find a resource at your institution, perhaps someone who has a solid track record of placing undergraduates into research labs. At most places, there are a set few of maybe 30-50 people who are perfectly willing to take someone totally clueless and train them. Someone in administration can help you find those people. Also, if you e-mailed recently, don't be entirely discouraged. From Christmas to New Years, no one replies to their e-mails.

 

[Abu Aljood]

Trying to find a position by blindly e-mailing 80 people is going to be low yield. You need to find a resource at your institution, perhaps someone who has a solid track record of placing undergraduates into research labs. At most places, there are a set few of maybe 30-50 people who are perfectly willing to take someone totally clueless and train them. Someone in administration can help you find those people. Also, if you e-mailed recently, don't be entirely discouraged. From Christmas to New Years, no one replies to their e-mails.

Thank you for the valuable advice. Actually, I think you are making a good point. I will try to contact anyone in administration to ask about that. I have some updates which I will post now. I hope you read my next post and continue to help.

 

[Abu Aljood]

For the first time, I received a positive repose. He is apologizing of not being able to help since his lab is full but he wants to meet with me tomorrow and try to place me in one of the labs. Now, this person is the chair department and I'm expecting him to ask me some questions to make sure that I'm really interested in research. Here are some questions I'm predicting. Please help me with answers and with expecting any other questions.


Why did you choose to leave the clinical work for research?

Why are you interested in this field ( Immunology)?

How many hours are you willing to work? ( I can't work full time with them since I'm doing something else to cover my expense and also studying for the GRE and the rest of USMLE. ) Do you think it's okay to ask them for 20 hours/ week only. Would that show me that I'm interested enough.

 

[Neuralicious]

Have you thought about doing a masters at a good research school?
It would cost quite a bit - but if you have good grades from your past school you will be able to get in.

Otherwise there are NIH / DoD / CDC labs you can apply to - though you may have trouble as an international.

Best of luck! If you really want it - you will get it!

20 hours / wk may be a bit low...
I have no idea though... I would think it might be better to commit to 2 semesters full time. This way the PI sees you're very committed.
You can casually study for GREs also this way.

 

[Abu Aljood]

Have you thought about doing a masters at a good research school?
It would cost quite a bit - but if you have good grades from your past school you will be able to get in.

Otherwise there are NIH / DoD / CDC labs you can apply to - though you may have trouble as an international.

Best of luck! If you really want it - you will get it!

20 hours / wk may be a bit low...
I have no idea though... I would think it might be better to commit to 2 semesters full time. This way the PI sees you're very committed.
You can casually study for GREs also this way.

Thank you for the response. I can't afford master. For the NIH, DoD labs, I didn't try to apply for them and I don't know if they will consider me as an international. I'm a US citizen but I took my school overseas.

 

[Abu Aljood]

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