MD/PhD: PhD in Genetics/Genomics?

[clarkalim]

Is that a bad idea?

What are the pros and cons?

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[comedone]

It's a great field.

I would recommend either Pharmacology or Genetics. Both can be applied to most specialties for residency.

Is that a bad idea?

What are the pros and cons?

 

[gbwillner]

Is that a bad idea?

What are the pros and cons?

No, that is a freaking awesome idea.

I don't know what you mean to pros/cons. Genetics/genomics is hot and relevant to everything.

 

[solitude]

No, that is a freaking awesome idea.

I don't know what you mean to pros/cons. Genetics/genomics is hot and relevant to everything.

ditto. I'm doing it, it's awesome. Do you have any specific questions??

 

[clarkalim]

ditto. I'm doing it, it's awesome. Do you have any specific questions??

Hmm. Well, my interest lies in pediatrics (I want to conduct research on pediatric genetic, immune system, blood and/or neurological diseases, and then--HIV/AIDS, cancer, etc.). I'm wondering if getting my PhD in Genetics/Genomics will be the most relevant to my interests; if I could do better by getting my PhD in something else; and if a PhD in Genetics/Genomics is well respected at this time, in the medical world (are you gonna make money/get any recognition with that??)? ( I have about 10 or so years before I would graduate from any MD/PhD program though, as I am still in college).

I feel like so many things have something to do with genetics, anyway. I feel like as time goes on, a PhD in Genetics/Genomics would serve me better than anything else, when it comes to being part of advancing research in medicine. Am I right?

 

[clarkalim]

Genetics/genomics is hot and relevant to everything.

That's what I was thinking! My research interests are so broad, and always will be. And I feel like so many diseases just come down to faulty genetics...and those are the ones I'm interested in. So that's why I thought, "Well, why not get my PhD in Genetics/Genomics???"

 

[solitude]

Hmm. Well, my interest lies in pediatrics (I want to conduct research on pediatric genetic, immune system, blood and/or neurological diseases, and then--HIV/AIDS, cancer, etc.). I'm wondering if getting my PhD in Genetics/Genomics will be the most relevant to my interests; if I could do better by getting my PhD in something else; and if a PhD in Genetics/Genomics is well respected at this time, in the medical world (are you gonna make money/get any recognition with that??)? ( I have about 10 or so years before I would graduate from any MD/PhD program though, as I am still in college).

I feel like so many things have something to do with genetics, anyway. I feel like as time goes on, a PhD in Genetics/Genomics would serve me better than anything else, when it comes to being part of advancing research in medicine. Am I right?

I have similar clinical interests. I think genetics/genomics is a great field for you, for the reasons you listed. However, it's not going to help you make money or get recognition any more than getting your PhD in some other area. In general, peds doesn't pay very well, particularly the specialties you listed, and particularly if you're doing research. You're right that genetics underlies many other fields, but I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that it would serve you "better", just differently. You could definitely do your PhD in cancer biology, neuroscience, etc. and they would serve you well too.

I didn't really realize this until I started the MSTP, but the "focus" of your PhD (i.e. cancer biology, neuroscience, genetics) is not very important. The main importance to picking a grad program focus is the coursework that you will take--once you get past the courses, you can usually pick almost any lab available at the university. My advice is to pick the grad program that has interests as similar to yours and as little coursework requirements as possible, because most grad school courses are essentially worthless.

 

[clarkalim]

Hmm. So would you say that if I were to get my PhD in Genetics/Genomics, that later on I could pretty much do research into anything I wanted? Basically, that if you get your PhD in a certain field, it doesn't restrict you from doing research in other fields?

Because I really want to do research on pediatric diseases, but I also want to do research on other things, too. I don't want to be restricted in what I can do.

I have similar clinical interests. I think genetics/genomics is a great field for you, for the reasons you listed. However, it's not going to help you make money or get recognition any more than getting your PhD in some other area. In general, peds doesn't pay very well, particularly the specialties you listed, and particularly if you're doing research. You're right that genetics underlies many other fields, but I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that it would serve you "better", just differently. You could definitely do your PhD in cancer biology, neuroscience, etc. and they would serve you well too.

I didn't really realize this until I started the MSTP, but the "focus" of your PhD (i.e. cancer biology, neuroscience, genetics) is not very important. The main importance to picking a grad program focus is the coursework that you will take--once you get past the courses, you can usually pick almost any lab available at the university. My advice is to pick the grad program that has interests as similar to yours and as little coursework requirements as possible, because most grad school courses are essentially worthless.

 

[StIGMA]

While you conduct your PhD research on a highly specialized topic, it is the process of doing research that you are primarily strengthening. Your goal should be to work in a lab where you will be trained the best (or provides the best environment for your development), which may not be the lab that focuses on the research topic that currently excites you the most. Many labs are not 'genetics' labs but rather focus on projects where some of the investigation requires genetic techniques. Thus, it is quite the norm to change fields, because your foundation in research is what matters, not what you are specifically studying during your PhD. For instance, you could work in sea monkeys or arabidopsis, as long as you are learning science well, and you will be well set to compete for pediatric research grants as you continue along the career path (post-doc/fellowship, etc).