MD/PhD Program Advice

[JMan33]

I am currently a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Science and Laboratory sciences (also contemplating a minor in computer science). I was previously a double major in Medical Laboratory Sciences, however I switched due to a course load that would not be completed before admissions into a medical laboratory science program (most of the local programs would not accept a student still taking courses at their home university). I have very little research experience (maybe 20-30 hrs. with no publications). I was planning to take my MCAT at the end of my junior year and apply for medical programs at the end of my senior year. My dream is to be admitted to a MSTP program (not necessarily top tier, just one that fits well with what I would like to do/accomplish). I plan on continuing as a research assistant and completing coursework. My cGPA: 3.6 and sGPA:3.9, cGPA took a sharp dive my freshman semester as I began to believe my life was falling apart..
Any advice on which step I should take from my current situation?
I am currently applying for multiple lab assistant positions and studying new material in classes as well as reviewing old information present in MCAT study books.
I also work two part time jobs to pay rent/ misc. bills (which I have done since the end of my freshman year).
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

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[Lubdub223]

I really think your first priority would be to beef up your research experience before applying. Maybe through summer programs or a gap year or two of working as a research tech?

 

[infectiousdisease101]

Not just any research. Make sure it's a field you're interested in. Unlike MD's, you are committing 3-5 years of your life. Therefore, you can't do marine biology research and then tell adcoms you want to do your PhD in cell biology. If you are truly interested in a field, impressing a PI will be a cakewalk. I found one whose lab is expanding and would be hiring new workers and he agreed to hire me when that expansion happens and I did not even need to go through the application/interview process because we talked about his work and it was exactly what I was looking to explore for my thesis.

 

[eteshoe]

Not just any research. Make sure it's a field you're interested in. Unlike MD's, you are committing 3-5 years of your life. Therefore, you can't do marine biology research and then tell adcoms you want to do your PhD in cell biology. If you are truly interested in a field, impressing a PI will be a cakewalk. I found one whose lab is expanding and would be hiring new workers and he agreed to hire me when that expansion happens and I did not even need to go through the application/interview process because we talked about his work and it was exactly what I was looking to explore for my thesis.

What are you talking about? As an UG interested in doing an MD/PhD, the research experience should help one realize what they like or not, whether they can commit to a project, and the logical design of experiments. Sure if one has an idea of what they want to do then they should try to get relevant research experience, but some schools may not have the resources - making that type of research difficult to come by. A student has to be able to speak about their research in an intelligent manner and discuss their contributions and insights gained. If marine biology got the student interested in biomedical research, as long as they can logically walk the interviewer from where they were (marine bio) to where they want to be (cell bio), that will not negatively affect their chances.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

What are you talking about? As an UG interested in doing an MD/PhD, the research experience should help one realize what they like or not, whether they can commit to a project, and the logical design of experiments. Sure if one has an idea of what they want to do then they should try to get relevant research experience, but some schools may not have the resources - making that type of research difficult to come by. A student has to be able to speak about their research in an intelligent manner and discuss their contributions and insights gained. If marine biology got the student interested in biomedical research, as long as they can logically walk the interviewer from where they were (marine bio) to where they want to be (cell bio), that will not negatively affect their chances.

You know the saying "research is research". It's true for MDs because it shows you explored research and didn't like it. I know a pre-med that's doing marine bio research. He can't apply to MD-PhD and say he wants to do microbiology. The difference is too great. Just because he enjoyed marine bio research, does not mean he will enjoy microbiology. I walked into a physiology lab really excited and I loved the cell-based work, but I realized physiology research is not my thing because I only liked certain aspects of it and decided to explore a microbiology lab next.

Although, the first 1-2 years of your PhD (3-4rd year into the program) you do rotate into labs of PIs you met with during your interview to ensure their work fits your interest. So as long as the jump isn't too big such as micro to cell, it'll be fine. But ecology to cell or microbiology is just too big of a jump.

If you can't access that research in your school, look elsewhere. I contacted PIs researching in antibiotic resistance and took me months before I found something. A PI I recently made contact with told me his lab is expanding and he would need to hire new workers. Thanks to that, I got hired without even going through the application process.

 

[s_med]

beef up your research experience

Second this. I would suggest aiming for at least 1000 hours of research before applying. That comes out to ~15 hours/week if you plan to apply before your senior year. If that's infeasible, consider a gap year.

Regarding the discussion about UG research experiences -- I'm with eteshoe. I'd focus on understanding the design and execution of scientific experiments, the lab atmosphere & work ethic, and what it's like to get neck deep in a research problem in a damn hurry. Not as important that the research aligns with your eventual PhD work.