On research and how to find it

[Cassowary]

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Current US M2 (allo), recently found interest in a specific, narrow but growing field of medicine. Admittedly not too knowledgeable about this field.

How to go about getting connected to research in this field?

I found research as premed simply emailing 20 professors trying to get involved in their bench research projects until one let me on; is this process the same as a med student?

As premed, you mostly take what you can get in terms of research. Not much choice. As med student, do you get to be more picky and get more choice for field that interests you?

Difficult to balance med curriculum and research?

Any possibility to work remotely with researchers if cannot find local researchers in this specific field?

EDIT: Important to add: my school doesn't have a department or facutly associated with this field

 

[sovereign0]

If there's someone who has given a lecture in the field, email them.

Join the interest group.

Cold email faculty from your school in the field.

It's much easier than it was for pre-med.

 

[Cassowary]

If there's someone who has given a lecture in the field, email them.

Join the interest group.

Cold email faculty from your school in the field.

It's much easier than it was for pre-med.

Unfortunately very new and upcoming field so no intersst group. Very good to hear its easier than premed.

Thanks for response

 

[watermelon master]

Unfortunately very new and upcoming field so no intersst group. Very good to hear its easier than premed.

Thanks for response

Look at the PM&R faculty list for your school and send out some emails!

 

[mrbreakfast]

s med student, do you get to be more picky and get more choice for field that interests you?

Yea, in general, "research" isn't quite a boon unless you're planning on applying to the field in which you're doing research. If you think cholangitis is super interesting and want to do research on it, cool, but if you're applying, say, psych, don't expect anyone to ask more than a single question about it.

Difficult to balance med curriculum and research?

Not really, unless you're an M2 posting in the spring. Don't you have Step 1 coming up?
My general advice is research is like anything else. You can find time to go to bars on weekends or play IM basketball or whatever. You can also find time for research. Just realize your free time is going to decrease.

Any possibility to work remotely with researchers if cannot find local researchers in this specific field?

This is possible, and people do this, but is hard to find, hard to do, and may involve traveling. For more serious clinical research, attendance at research meetings is often expected.

Current US M2 (allo), recently found interest in a specific, narrow but growing field of medicine. Admittedly not too knowledgeable about this field

We would probably offer you more specific advice if you say specifically what you're interested in. If you want to do PM&R, for example, it's not a popular choice for med students to do research, so probably any faculty doing research will throw you a bone. If it's a competitive topic, you may have to prove yourself or compete with others.

 

[FutureEyeGuy]

There are a few routes to go about this (mind you, you're not being clear of your specialty interest). I think the best way is to contact residents in that specialty at your school to see if they are involved in research; generally speaking, those residents in the middle of their training (for example, 2nd year out of 3 years of residency) are the best to contact because many of them are gearing up for fellowship applications and need publications themselves.

The second, less desirable option, is to contact faculty cold to see if anyone bites. Likely, they'll connect you to a resident anyway.

The other option (which you can do concurrently with the above options) is to do research in a similar but different specialty. For example, if I was interested in ophthalmology, it is reasonable for me to pursue some neurology research (like multiple sclerosis, etc), because it is relevant to ophthalmology. Or, I'd maybe work with the emergency department to do some research about orbital traumas or retinal detachments.

Good luck!

 

[mvenus929]

Email professors in the area of interest to see if they have any research projects you could join. Apparently we have one faculty member in our division who works with multiple Med students despite having 21 faculty in our division, a good chunk of whom do research or are willing to do research in their area of clinical interest.

 

[Cassowary]

Look at the PM&R faculty list for your school and send out some emails!

ok close. two things though:
1. my school doesn't have a pmr department or pmr faculty
2. the area i'm interested isn't just "pmr" but a specific field within pmr.

No faculty in MY school, but theres faculty in ANOTHER MD school 30 mins away from me. Okay to meet with them?

Not really, unless you're an M2 posting in the spring. Don't you have Step 1 coming up?

Just started M2 technically

 

[Cassowary]

We would probably offer you more specific advice if you say specifically what you're interested in. If you want to do PM&R, for example, it's not a popular choice for med students to do research, so probably any faculty doing research will throw you a bone.

Yes PMR; regenerative medicine specifically

 

[watermelon master]

ok close. two things though:
1. my school doesn't have a pmr department or pmr faculty
2. the area i'm interested isn't just "pmr" but a specific field within pmr.

No faculty in MY school, but theres faculty in ANOTHER MD school 30 mins away from me. Okay to meet with them?



Just started M2 technically

Can't hurt to send out an email and try. What do you have to lose?

 

[AlteredScale]

Yes PMR; regenerative medicine specifically

Regenerative medicine as in stem cell research? Search "stem cell" in the directory of the page of the other MD school's website and you will hopefully have some results through which it contact these investigators.

 

[Cassowary]

Regenerative medicine as in stem cell research? Search "stem cell" in the directory of the page of the other MD school's website and you will hopefully have some results through which it contact these investigators.

Oh ok I see, it wouldn't be out of place for me to msg faculty from other med schools then?

Not really sure the etiquette behind this

 

[watermelon master]

Oh ok I see, it wouldn't be out of place for me to msg faculty from other med schools then?

Not really sure the etiquette behind this

No. Collaboration in the medical field is commonplace. Introduce yourself, be courteous, express your interest in the field and explain why you are reaching out to that person specifically. You may not get a response from them but you have to give it a shot