Question on Research

[Albino Dino]

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Do medical school admissions care if the research that you participate in as an undergraduate is medically related or not?

 

[Goro]

Nope.

 

[LizzyM]

Do medical school admissions care if the research that you participate in as an undergraduate is medically related or not?

Life science based (biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, environmental science) or bioengineering or behavioral psychology will take you further than economics or petrochemical engineering or astrophysics.

 

[Rocher]

I'd hazard a guess that science-related research would be best, but showing an interest in research is going to make you look good regardless of what it is.

 

[sunflower18]

The wisdom that I've heard is that the discipline doesn't matter -- what's relevant is whether or not you engaged in the scientific process (i.e. participating in hypothesis development, analysing results, evaluating outcomes). Thus, my advice would be to take a position that will allow you autonomy and longevity with a project. I would think it'd be much more valuable to be intellectually involved with a project, regardless of field, than be stuck washing dishes in a "medically related" lab.

Good luck! I have participated in three labs during undergrad -- chemistry, psychology, neurobiology -- so if you have additional questions about how experiences vary based on discipline, I'd be happy to help 🙂

 

[Albino Dino]

Life science based (biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, environmental science) or bioengineering or behavioral psychology will take you further than economics or petrochemical engineering or astrophysics.

Ok - maybe I should be specific. I work in a lab with some computer science graduate students trying to design a software that can recognize individual wood frogs only by the sound of their mating calls. The CS students have designed a bunch of prototypes and I do data analysis with the prototypes to see which are most effective. Basically a lot of Excel spreadsheets.

I have a hard time considering this "biology" research, even though I technically work in a biology lab.

Thoughts?

 

[Albino Dino]

Also, I have the opportunity in this next semester to move to a more medically related, drug discovery lab. However, it's much bigger (like 25 UGs + graduate students, compared to 1 UG and 3 grad students currently) and because of this I feel like I will have less autonomy, and my opportunities for publications and advancement will be limited.

 

[LizzyM]

If it is a biology lab, then it is biology. It doesn't have much relevance to medicine unless I'm too dense to see it. That said, it seems that you are in a low level technical position at this time. That's ok if you are just starting out but you should work up to the point where you are doing more of the science (hypothesis generation and/or hypothesis testing).

 

[Albino Dino]

I think the small size of this lab gives me a greater chance to move up, but I could be wrong. I have a meeting with the PI on Monday to talk about his plans for this semester.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

If it is a biology lab, then it is biology. It doesn't have much relevance to medicine unless I'm too dense to see it. That said, it seems that you are in a low level technical position at this time. That's ok if you are just starting out but you should work up to the point where you are doing more of the science (hypothesis generation and/or hypothesis testing).

what about research in a specific speciality? in my case, my research is in the plastic/reconstructive surgery department at a medical school. Would adcom's assume I'm interested in surgery?

 

[LizzyM]

what about research in a specific speciality? in my case, my research is in the plastic/reconstructive surgery department at a medical school. Would adcom's assume I'm interested in surgery?

No. Not all research in that field is surgical or it can have relevance to non-surgical specialties. The point of research experience is to get a taste for it and decide whether you like it and to at least appreciate the work and be capable of being a wise consumer of research results if not a producer.

 

[chillinillinkillin007]

No. Not all research in that field is surgical or it can have relevance to non-surgical specialties. The point of research experience is to get a taste for it and decide whether you like it and to at least appreciate the work and be capable of being a wise consumer of research results if not a producer.

thanks for response. my only question is why do non-top tier schools like applicants with research? Most of these applicants are not going to be doing research during their career. Is it because it indicates interests in research during medical school therefore grants and better residency matching?

 

[Albino Dino]

Another question I have, is how would I approach my PI about potentially getting my name on a publication, if I feel like I have done the work to deserve it?

 

[LizzyM]

thanks for response. my only question is why do non-top tier schools like applicants with research? Most of these applicants are not going to be doing research during their career. Is it because it indicates interests in research during medical school therefore grants and better residency matching?

It is pretty difficult to find any applicant who hasn't had research experience so schools, even non-top tier schools, end up admitting many applicants who have research experience. They might ask well ask, "have you ever consumed orange juice?" It doesn't indicate that you'll be a better doctor but it would be hard to put together a class where the majority of students have never consumed orange juice.

 

[tima]

Another question I have, is how would I approach my PI about potentially getting my name on a publication, if I feel like I have done the work to deserve it?

It depends how much of your data will be used in the manuscript. It's best to ask if you will be an author or acknowledged when the project is finished and the manuscript is being written.