Need Help Deciding Between Two Research Labs

[GoodMD]

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Hello guys,

I am currently debating between joining one of the two labs that offered me a position for master's research. Just a little about myself: I am currently pursuing a master's degree in engineering, and I expect the graduate in Spring 2020. I am currently applying for medical schools, but this research project is merely for my personal interest and to complete a non-thesis capstone project for graduation requirement.

The first one is within the college of medicine, and I think it is classified as clinical research. The research project is a retrospective study with a Neuro-ICU physician to explore the connection between sleep therapy and strokes. I will learn to review patient charts, analyze data, and do statistical work on excel or MatLab. The PI expects me to learn to write research grants and proposals as well as a publishable paper. I think I really like the topic, and I believe patient chart reviewing is a very necessary skill to have in medical school.

The second one is within the engineering department, and it is classified as academic research. For this project, I will conduct independent experiments within topics of cell & tissue engineering such as microcirculation, angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and even neurogenesis. The PI expects me to complete a publishable paper by the end of next semester. I really like this topic as well, and I love the style of this PI. It is a smaller lab with 2 PhD students, which also means the PI can dedicate more time to the lab and students.

TL;DR: should I join a retrospective clinical research study in the college of medicine or work in an academic wet lab in the college of engineering?

Please let me know if you need more information! and thank you so much for helping me out. I would like to decide by the end of this weekend.

 

[Moko]

TL;DR: should I join a retrospective clinical research study in the college of medicine or work in an academic wet lab in the college of engineering?

My thoughts:
- Both of these seem like good opportunities. Questions to ask yourself: how prolific are the PIs? You want someone who publishes regularly. Have they worked with premeds before who have successfully gone onto medical school? Do you already have clinical research / wet lab experience? If so, pursuing something that you haven't done before might be helpful. What do you plan on doing in the future? Do you see yourself more likely to engage in medical engineering or clinical research in the future? Starting to gain skills in that area might not be a bad idea. How much autonomy/decision making will you have in the wet lab? You don't want to be just the scut monkey. Is there a significant pay difference between the two?
- Main benefits of the clinical research study: closer mentorship from a physician, which may open up shadowing opportunities, and the project seems more likely to result in a publication. However, be mindful that PIs are naturally overly optimistic with timelines and journals, and that what may be billed as a 'year-long project' with a 'guaranteed publication' can still easily drag out beyond that time frame (especially so if you are collecting/organizing the data from scratch).
- Main benefits of the wet lab: the research is more interesting to me and the skill sets that you'll gain from this would come in handy if you plan on pursuing medical engineering in the future. However, depending on the results that you get, you may not end up with anything publishable. The skills that you gain in this lab would also be less transferable if you plan on doing primarily clinical research / data analysis in the future. Just my thoughts.

 

[GoodMD]

My thoughts:
- Both of these seem like good opportunities. Questions to ask yourself: how prolific are the PIs? You want someone who publishes regularly. Have they worked with premeds before who have successfully gone onto medical school? Do you already have clinical research / wet lab experience? If so, pursuing something that you haven't done before might be helpful. What do you plan on doing in the future? Do you see yourself more likely to engage in medical engineering or clinical research in the future? Starting to gain skills in that area might not be a bad idea. How much autonomy/decision making will you have in the wet lab? You don't want to be just the scut monkey. Is there a significant pay difference between the two?
- Main benefits of the clinical research study: closer mentorship from a physician, which may open up shadowing opportunities, and the project seems more likely to result in a publication. However, be mindful that PIs are naturally overly optimistic with timelines and journals, and that what may be billed as a 'year-long project' with a 'guaranteed publication' can still easily drag out beyond that time frame (especially so if you are collecting/organizing the data from scratch).
- Main benefits of the wet lab: the research is more interesting to me and the skill sets that you'll gain from this would come in handy if you plan on pursuing medical engineering in the future. However, depending on the results that you get, you may not end up with anything publishable. The skills that you gain in this lab would also be less transferable if you plan on doing primarily clinical research / data analysis in the future. Just my thoughts.

Hey Doctor,

Thanks again for putting in your thoughts. I have a little experience in a wet lab but none in clinical research. I just talked to the PI for academic research, and he told me I would be working independently or with another PhD student as a team. The project would be on the shear stress of blood vessels, and he expects me to complete a publishable paper as well. This PI is fairly new comparing to the clinical research PI, who is currently holding multiple reputable titles in the college of medicine although he is not an MD. The academic research PI is an assistant professor, but he is the last author for a few publications last year. I see myself doing more work with the clinical research PI, because I would be working with a neuro-ICU physician as well, and more importantly, he knows so much about the med school application process. He wants me to excel and stand out in my med school interviews, that's why he gave me this specific clinical research project.