How to know who are bigwigs/who to do research with at home institution?

[thegreatungreats]

I'm an incoming first year to a medical school with a derm department. How do I find out which attendings are "big wigs" and will provide opportunities to get published so I can do research/create connections with them? Do I just email ALL of them? It seems a bit disingenuous to email all of them...

I've looked through the dermatology faculty on the school's website and they all seem to have publications from this year. What counts as someone that "publishes a lot"? What if it happens to be with a PhD rather than an MD/PhD or MD?

And how can I tell if they are someone who would put med students on their publications? (Many PIs are reluctant to do so in undergrad).

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[asmallchild]

I'm an incoming first year to a medical school with a derm department. How do I find out which attendings are "big wigs" and will provide opportunities to get published so I can do research/create connections with them? Do I just email ALL of them? It seems a bit disingenuous to email all of them...

I've looked through the dermatology faculty on the school's website and they all seem to have publications from this year. What counts as someone that "publishes a lot"? What if it happens to be with a PhD rather than an MD/PhD or MD?

And how can I tell if they are someone who would put med students on their publications? (Many PIs are reluctant to do so in undergrad).

You definitely do NOT want to email all of them.

It will take some time and research. If you are lucky enough where there are that many well-published dermatology faculty members, start reading up on their publications. How often do they publish? What is the impact factor of the journal in which they publish? Is it clinical research? Basic science research? Do their interests align with your interests?

In general, I would pick an MD over a PhD. Check the authors to see if medical students have been given credit for their work. In general, if you are going to put forth the effort, most PIs (hopefully) will reward you.

 

[thegreatungreats]

You definitely do NOT want to email all of them.

It will take some time and research. If you are lucky enough where there are that many well-published dermatology faculty members, start reading up on their publications. How often do they publish? What is the impact factor of the journal in which they publish? Is it clinical research? Basic science research? Do their interests align with your interests?

In general, I would pick an MD over a PhD. Check the authors to see if medical students have been given credit for their work. In general, if you are going to put forth the effort, most PIs (hopefully) will reward you.

Thanks for the tips. How soon after starting school do you recommend emailing faculty for research? Would doing it in the first month be premature?

 

[asmallchild]

Thanks for the tips. How soon after starting school do you recommend emailing faculty for research? Would doing it in the first month be premature?

It depends from person to person.

For most medical students, I recommend waiting at least 6 months to see how you can handle the workload. One mistake I've seen quite often is that students will reach out to faculty members in the first month, realize they can't handle the school workload and the research workload, and are forced to scale back on research. That is not a good look. (I didn't start with any research until the first summer AFTER MS1. I was able to balance research throughout all of MS2. During that MS2 year, I was joined in the lab by a fellow MS2 who dropped his lab responsibilities within a couple of weeks because of an inability to juggle classwork with labwork. Needless to say, the PI was not pleased. He also happened to be chairman of the dermatology department at our school.....)

You are better off making sure you can handle the workload before biting off more than you can chew.

On the other hand, there are plenty of stellar students who hit the ground running and aren't stressed in the least by med school. If you are one of those students and feel up to the challenge of tackling a research project, then feel free to reach out whenever you are ready to get started.

 

[PatsyStone]

I echo the "wait at least 6 months" advice. Med school is a huge adjustment for everyone. You want to make a good impression, so I'd wait until you have your stuff together

 

[doctalaughs]

I'm an incoming first year to a medical school with a derm department. How do I find out which attendings are "big wigs" and will provide opportunities to get published so I can do research/create connections with them? Do I just email ALL of them? It seems a bit disingenuous to email all of them...

I've looked through the dermatology faculty on the school's website and they all seem to have publications from this year. What counts as someone that "publishes a lot"? What if it happens to be with a PhD rather than an MD/PhD or MD?

And how can I tell if they are someone who would put med students on their publications? (Many PIs are reluctant to do so in undergrad).

If you post which department to an anonymous board like this one, most residents/attending generally know who those influential people are. Often (not always) the chair is one of them. Also in general those who have real major research will have people working for them (grad students, research assistants, etc), and multiple grants.


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[thegreatungreats]

Thanks for the tips again, everyone. I don't have any family in medicine so I'm a bit lost on the basics other than what I research on SDN. This is very helpful for me.

@doctalaughs Awesome! Would you mind recommending a few people that I could reach out to if I posted here/PMed the school to you? I refrained from naming the school because I feared it would be bad etiquette to request your help and have users post faculty's names here on the public boards.

 

[doctalaughs]

Thanks for the tips again, everyone. I don't have any family in medicine so I'm a bit lost on the basics other than what I research on SDN. This is very helpful for me.

@doctalaughs Awesome! Would you mind recommending a few people that I could reach out to if I posted here/PMed the school to you? I refrained from naming the school because I feared it would be bad etiquette to request your help and have users post faculty's names here on the public boards.

It's up to you. If you PM me and I know about your institution I will share. I dont see any problem with asking generalities about a program on a public anonymous thread either and you'll increase the odds someone actually knows specifics.


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[thegreatungreats]

It's up to you. If you PM me and I know about your institution I will share. I dont see any problem with asking generalities about a program on a public anonymous thread either and you'll increase the odds someone actually knows specifics.


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Thanks. I've sent you a PM and I will post on here too, on the off chance that someone else may be knowledgeable and willing to help out. I will be attending NYU. If anyone else knows anything it would be greatly appreciated if I get some advice on faculty!

 

[blackblue]

NYU is one of the biggest derm departments with lots of big names there. You'll be in good hands with most of the people there. I would say that you want to make sure you can handle coursework before jumping on a research project. You want to be able to complete research efficiently to impress the faculty, but do so without sacrificing your grades. Once you feel like you're ready, I would personally recommend emailing ~3 (may be more or less depending on how you feel) attendings whose interests aligned with your own, and see how those meetings go. See who you mesh with and out of those who you feel like will result in the most pubs quickly. Don't leave whichever faculty member you end up working with hanging, and don't agree to another project unless you know you can handle it. Congrats and good luck!