Is computational research looked down upon in biomedical field?

[Alakazam123]

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If I am very experienced in PK/PD modeling for drug design, statistical analysis, etc. will the wet-lab scientists look down upon me in medical school or in the admissions committee?

Are computational scientists seen as those who failed at "real lab science," and took the "easy" way out?

 

[theKingLT]

If I am very experienced in PK/PD modeling for drug design, statistical analysis, etc. will the wet-lab scientists look down upon me in medical school or in the admissions committee?

Are computational scientists seen as those who failed at "real lab science," and took the "easy" way out?

As far as I've heard adcoms look for 2 things from someone's research experience, experience in hypothesis driven research and a personal scientific curiosity. If you can show that you understood and ideally contributed to the process of developing and testing a hypothesis, all the while being passionate about the content then it will look favorably

 

[Alakazam123]

As far as I've heard adcoms look for 2 things from someone's research experience, experience in hypothesis driven research and a personal scientific curiosity. If you can show that you understood and ideally contributed to the process of developing and testing a hypothesis, all the while being passionate about the content then it will look favorably

Okay, that's good. Is computational biology a growing and respected field? I know that in pharmaceutical companies computational scientists are becoming more and more popular for drug design. However, in academia, is computational biology really all that prestigious?

 

[theKingLT]

Okay, that's good. Is computational biology a growing and respected field? I know that in pharmaceutical companies computational scientists are becoming more and more popular for drug design. However, in academia, is computational biology really all that prestigious?

I haven't a clue about prestige but why do you care? If you're talking in terms of medical school admissions, prestige doesn't matter. What matters is how you can talk about your experiences and passion for the subject and of course pubs along the way can help

 

[Alakazam123]

I haven't a clue about prestige but why do you care? If you're talking in terms of medical school admissions, prestige doesn't matter. What matters is how you can talk about your experiences and passion for the subject and of course pubs along the way can help

I guess, what I mean is the following:

1. If things go hell in a handbasket and I don't get into medical school, can I get a job as a computational biologist, or in pharma?

2. After doing my residency, if I want to transition out into finance, software engineering, etc. is this possible too?

 

[theKingLT]

I guess, what I mean is the following:

1. If things go hell in a handbasket and I don't get into medical school, can I get a job as a computational biologist, or in pharma?

2. After doing my residency, if I want to transition out into finance, software engineering, etc. is this possible too?

I'm not qualified to answer that and I'm not sure this is the right website for such a question. You may be better off finding a forum dedicated to the field. However, I will add that medical school and residency involves a whole lot of hard work and debt and should not be considered if you just want to leave medicine after residency. That's just not a smart plan

 

[Goro]

If I am very experienced in PK/PD modeling for drug design, statistical analysis, etc. will the wet-lab scientists look down upon me in medical school or in the admissions committee?

Are computational scientists seen as those who failed at "real lab science," and took the "easy" way out?

No, not at all.

 

[rasputinc]

hey I currently work in computational chemistry optimizing molecular geometries in gas phase reactions. Pretty chill job and lucky to get it but there certainly isn't a lot of demand for it outside of academia. If you end up trying to get into the field as a plan B don't expect much work in industry unless you have a degree higher than a bachelors! Take that with a grain of salt and ask around, but I am the only non-PhD in my group and have by far the lowest position/pay- and I was still beyond lucky to get that!

 

[swali]

My research has been almost exclusively computational in nature and I am having a successful cycle (just got accepted today!). I've talked a lot about my research and people are typically curious because they don't know much about it and often are very impressed. A lot of "traditional" wet lab science is increasingly incorporating computational methods as technology continues to improve and expand what we can do/know so I definitely don't think anyone will look down on it. If anything, these skills are becoming more in demand.

In terms of getting a job with this degree, that's harder to say. I definitely found my gap year job due to my experience in a relatively niche computational field, but for almost everything basic science/biologically related, there's very little you can do sustainably with only a bachelors (unless you have a degree in engineering).

 

[skk_]

Mostly just reiterating what @swali said, but things are so blurred these days that the line between computational science and bench research almost doesn't exist anymore. For all intents and purposes, it is "real lab science" and you absolutely won't be looked down in any way. If anything, having that skillset (in coding/computer science/statistics/etc.) as a medical student becomes extremely valuable in locking down high profile/competitive research gigs (doubly so if you're capable of doing both it and bench research). No mystery as to why... just do a quick google and look how many traditional labs have major machine learning/deep learning-based projects going on.

All the research I did prior to medical school would have fallen under "computational research", and my cycle was extremely successful. My research experience was only ever viewed as a positive during interviews.

 

[leonardoson]

Computational sciences are growing in importance and should not be looked down upon. I had a physics professor that focused on computational research and is recently coordinating with biologists for biological applications of her computational methods. We are building our fundamental understanding of the physics and chemistry behind complex biological systems work and are able to model and acquire information about their processes through mass computation. I personally regret not doing more computational work since that field is growing and I would love to bring some of that knowledge into the medical field (not saying it isn't there already)

I would say if anyone questions your research you should use this as a chance to sell your passion and teach them how important computational methods are to emerging science.