Letter of Recommendation from a professor with a reputation

[hubblewobble]

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Hi!

I wanted to ask a letter of recommendation from a professor. However, when I researched more information about the professor, I learned that the professor has a reputation in the scientific community.

In the past, the professor published a highly controversial paper and was accused of possible ethical issues. Because of the professor's stance, the professor was (still is) highly criticized and shunned by his peers and the scientific community.

However, before this incident, the professor was highly acclaimed in the field of cancer. Some even hailed the professor as the "Einstein of biology". Recently, scientific journals have published the professor's papers on cancer but not without an introduction to justify publishing the professor's paper.

The class I am taking currently in is all about cancer. Can I ask a letter of rec from this professor? Or would admission committee of medical school recognize the professor's name and possibly impact my application?

This is my last semester, and the said professor really is the best candidate to write my letter of rec but I am concerned that the professor's reputation will negatively impact my application. What are your thoughts?

Thank you!

*i would really like to keep the professor anonymous.

 

[maccu5000]

Very tough situation. I would only take advice of ad com members on SDN and especially your own pre med adviser.

 

[NeuResurgens]

^Agreed. @Goro, @gyngyn or @LizzyM should be able to give you a good take on this.

 

[Salt Salt]

You're taking a class with Peter Duesberg?! A letter from him would certainly... grab attention. Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

 

[Vain Brother]

yeah i assumed that's who it was too. i also assume he'd warn you about how a letter from him may be received....

to me it's too risky. you're trying to gain entrance to a profession on the recommendation of a guy who's a pariah in the field. it's not like he's andrew wakefield, but the risks seem to outweigh the benefits

 

[hubblewobble]

I tend to advise students from a risk/reward perspective as in many ways applying to medical school is a negative process (ie they are looking to weed applicants out of the pool).

Letters from PI's with strong reputations are not by themselves impressive. If you had worked with him/her on a really close level and/or been co-authored with them on an important paper, it would useful. Also, sometimes strong researchers spend half the letter talking about their research and not the candidate.

Having a letter from someone who can be controversial can be a big risk. If your file is reviewed or you are interviewed by someone who researches in the same field and knows about the controversy, it could color their opinion of your quite negatively. At an adcom meeting you could become the topic of conversation not because of your qualifications but of your connection with this figure. The dynamics of an adcom, with so many candidates, often come down "who are we talking about here? He's the one who worked for Professor X, you know the one that fudged the data"

My opinion is it is too big of a risk.

Thank you for your response!
It was really helpful.

Like I mentioned, this professor is the best candidate for my letter of rec, and I honestly cannot think of any other professors who could write me a good letter. I am studying abroad next fall, can I get a letter of rec from a professor at a university abroad? Would that be frowned upon?

 

[gyngyn]

I would avoid a letter of evaluation from someone who is famously regarded to be a wacko.
I cannot recommend LOE's from overseas either (except as "extras").

 

[NickNaylor]

Thank you for your response!
It was really helpful.

Like I mentioned, this professor is the best candidate for my letter of rec, and I honestly cannot think of any other professors who could write me a good letter. I am studying abroad next fall, can I get a letter of rec from a professor at a university abroad? Would that be frowned upon?

Perhaps I'm being naive here, but I wouldn't forgo what you think might be a strong letter just because of some ethical issues in the past. That doesn't really reflect on you and won't really impact what he says about you and how those things will be interpreted.

As long as the letter is from someone that knows you and it's a strong letter, getting someone from abroad to write one isn't problematic. I've seen a few but they're fairly rare.

 

[hubblewobble]

Perhaps I'm being naive here, but I wouldn't forgo what you think might be a strong letter just because of some ethical issues in the past. That doesn't really reflect on you and won't really impact what he says about you and how those things will be interpreted.

As long as the letter is from someone that knows you and it's a strong letter, getting someone from abroad to write one isn't problematic. I've seen a few but they're fairly rare.

I agree with you... but it seems like general consensus is, his character WILL reflect poorly on my application as well...

 

[NickNaylor]

I agree with you... but it seems like general consensus is, his character WILL reflect poorly on my application as well...

That does seem to be the case, and I would trust the likes of @gyngyn far above myself.

 

[hubblewobble]

That does seem to be the case, and I would trust the likes of @gyngyn far above myself.

thank you for your input nonetheless!

 

[hubblewobble]

The issue isnt the quality of the letter but they will remember him and not you.





Not typically but it depends on how well and under what circumstances you worked with the professor

I see. Thank you so much for all your help!

 

[LizzyM]

There has got to be a better alternative. I agree that the author of the letter will take the attention away from you and/or put your application in a strange light. I would not recommend taking a chance.

 

[Lawgiver]

we just recently found how HIV actually causes AIDS!

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2014/01/17/now-we-know-how-hiv-causes-aids/

So its not the virus but how our cells respond to it. I think this makes Dr. D partially right.

 

[Jay11jayjay]

I had a really powerful recommendation letter that I had strong reservations about for a slightly different reason. AMCAS allows you to choose the destination of each individual letter. I sent this specific letter to half of the 30 schools that I applied to. By the end, the letter did not seem to play a role in my application outcomes. I was accepted at similar rates from both categories.

However, I would still recommend sending the letters to half of the schools because if the letter is indeed harmful, you still have half of your schools that will not receive it.