research?...help!

[jwtaylor]

i am going to school for psychology/neuroscience, i want to be go into neurology, perhaps an md/phd....i know thats 4 years away, but im reading about how neurologists need research to be competetive, i have to say i dont understand when im supposed to start doing research, or how i can get involved in it...can anyone fill me in....this whole research thing has been confusing me for a while....sorry if this a stupid question.

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[Bubchik]

If you have time to spare start looking for a research position asap (even if later you'll decide to go into grad school it will be a plus). The sooner you start the better chance you have to be published. I'm pretty sure that yr school has somekind of center that matches undegrads with research labs. I know there is one at UCLA. Good luck.

 

[superdevil]

well to answer "when im supposed to start doing research": as soon as possible. now, what you should do is go to your school's website and read up on the research abstracts of all the faculty who work in your area of interest. it may help if you've already had someone as a prof before you ask to work in their lab. then, if you've found a couple that sound cool, start emailing them explaining that you want to get research experience, why you want research experience, and why you're intrigued by their research.

some profs won't let you start as a freshman (you haven't had any basic science courses yet for background, etc.), some will let you in as a dishwasher and then give you a project after a couple of semesters, and some (especially newly hired profs in desperate need of personnel and publications) will get you going on bench work right away. you just have to make your moves wisely.

oh, and one last thing, don't go to the lab that can pay you the most, or even pay you at all--i, for instance, work in two labs. i get paid to be a mindless peon in one, and in the other, i'm totally autonomous, have publications/etc. but i pay as a student (independent study--every school has this).

good luck!

 

[leechy]

I agree with the post by superdevil. You may need to fish around a couple labs, for even a year or two, to find the appropriate lab to stick around for the long term. The research positions I've done have been more along the line of peonhood, but at least I've been learning some basic research techniques along the way.

Now, to find a lab where you might be fortunate enough to do an independent project or get a publication takes some searching and some luck. I'd advise thinking about whether the researcher / PI seems to take a mentorship interest in you... meet with a couple of them, try to assess whether they just want a peon or want to really give you true research experience. if you can find that, you're golden.

 

[jwtaylor]

thank you all for your responses, i get it now, im going to inquire about research asap....thanks!

 

[AznDoc]

You might also want to look into the possibility of doing research during the summer. I am currently finishing a summer research internship at Pfizer and my lab supe is an MD/PhD from Harvard. I had a blast just taking the theory in the classroom and then applying it to the benchtop. However, the applications start rolling in this Christmas for next summer. Not saying that you necessarily have to do research at Pfizer but that summer research programs fill quickly over the Christmas break period. Like you I am a psychology/biology major so there is definitely a lot of research to be done. Best of luck in your endeavors.