Research Opportunity

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boeing112

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Hello all, I am a long time lurker of SDN, and I have a question to ask the community. My father has just offered me an opportunity to work within his lab in a foreign country for the summer, and I am curious as to how that will look in terms of adcoms. Will adcoms look less upon my research if my father was the PI? I also have other research experience so this would not be my only research experience. Does the fact that the research was done in another country matter? Also, he would give me the opportunity to help work on projects, if that resulted in a paper, would the fact that both my father's last name and mine being on the paper diminish the value of it? Thank you for the input.

Sorry for the repost, but I have not gotten a response for a couple of days.

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Some of my friends, whose parents were PIs, worked in labs through their parental connections, but for some reason never worked in their parents' labs. It was always a question that I had. I did know, however, one person who worked in his mom's lab and got a pub out of it (in Nature).

We need some adcom members' to weigh in on this... @LizzyM / @Goro / @gyngyn
 
It sounds like a terrific opportunity (and being in another country makes it all the more interesting). For me personally, however, as an interviewer, it would give me pause. I like to see that people forge their own paths.
 
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I don't know a definitive answer, but it sounds like it would be a great opportunity. I'd say that since it isn't your only research experience, it could be a nice addition to your resume. Since it is an opportunity through your father, you may not want it to be a "most significant" experience, but I can't see an opportunity to do research abroad combined with publication potential as ever being a bad thing.
 
Maybe he knows a collaborator that you can work for instead...?
 
Hello all, I am a long time lurker of SDN, and I have a question to ask the community. My father has just offered me an opportunity to work within his lab in a foreign country for the summer, and I am curious as to how that will look in terms of adcoms. Will adcoms look less upon my research if my father was the PI? I also have other research experience so this would not be my only research experience. Does the fact that the research was done in another country matter? Also, he would give me the opportunity to help work on projects, if that resulted in a paper, would the fact that both my father's last name and mine being on the paper diminish the value of it? Thank you for the input.

Sorry for the repost, but I have not gotten a response for a couple of days.

I am an interviewer at one of the T20 schools. When I write up my review for the adcom, I don't care who your PI is (your first question), what country your research was conducted (your second question), or if your father's last name is on the publication (your third question).

What I care about is what you learned about the scientific method, what your responsibilities were, how you see your involvement in research going forward, and what you know about the project you were working on (ie can you explain the research in a clear and intelligent way).

If you get a pub out of the experience, congrats.
 
The powerful effect of parental prestige in the application process is an undeniable fact. It is the most common type of affirmative action in medicine. When the advantage conferred is this obvious it can be distasteful to many.

Insightful family members will leave enough distance between themselves and their child that there is at least the potential that the offspring's accomplishments are not stigmatized by obvious intervention.
 
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In some instances, a LOR from the PI carrys a lot of weight. On the other hand, a letter from your father carries no weight as there is too much bias in such a letter. Overall, I'd say working in Dad's lab, anywhere in the world, is a net negative.
 
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Nope

Will adcoms look less upon my research if my father was the PI?

Nope again.

I also have other research experience so this would not be my only research experience. Does the fact that the research was done in another country matter?

Nope! A paper is a paper. There are plenty of husband/wife scientific teams around.

Also, he would give me the opportunity to help work on projects, if that resulted in a paper, would the fact that both my father's last name and mine being on the paper diminish the value of it? Thank you for the input.
 
In some instances, a LOR from the PI carrys a lot of weight. On the other hand, a letter from your father carries no weight as there is too much bias in such a letter. Overall, I'd say working in Dad's lab, anywhere in the world, is a net negative.

So would you say that working in my dad's lab will actually decrease my chances of admission, or just not hold as much significance compared to working in a different PI's lab? I have a chance to work at my University's lab over the summer, would that be looked upon as a better plan? Thanks for the response.
 
So would you say that working in my dad's lab will actually decrease my chances of admission, or just not hold as much significance compared to working in a different PI's lab? I have a chance to work at my University's lab over the summer, would that be looked upon as a better plan? Thanks for the response.

Working in your dad's lab would be about as significant as attempting a world record for treading water. You'd be much better off in a lab at the University and getting a LOR from your supervisor or PI.
 
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Some of my friends, whose parents were PIs, worked in labs through their parental connections, but for some reason never worked in their parents' labs. It was always a question that I had. I did know, however, one person who worked in his mom's lab and got a pub out of it (in Nature).

We need some adcom members' to weigh in on this... @LizzyM / @Goro / @gyngyn

Oh cool, I didn't know @Goro was an ADCOM
 
Interesting how Goro's advice and LizzM's advice conflict.
 
Interesting how Goro's advice and LizzM's advice conflict.

top 20 MD school vs DO school.

There isn't nepotism in a husband-wife team who work together. There is a power gradient when a kid is in dad's lab. Even if a LOR comes from someone else in the lab, that person is working for Dad and really can't write an unbiased LOR about the PI's kid.
 
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So would you say that working in my dad's lab will actually decrease my chances of admission, or just not hold as much significance compared to working in a different PI's lab? I have a chance to work at my University's lab over the summer, would that be looked upon as a better plan? Thanks for the response.

I can't tell you what admissions committees in general think, because I am not one. But I have worked in academia for a while and there are a lot of people (I am one) who would instantly tank their opinions of you if they learned you worked in your parent's lab. First, because it makes it impossible to get an objective assessment of your work. Second, because if you spend any large amount of time in academia at all you encounter nepotism eventually and often that experience is unpleasant. Everyone understands that family connections can get you places. Being that obvious about it just means you're working those connections poorly. Someone could very well think 'is this person so incompetent that their father had to take them instead of pawning them off on one of his buddies?'.

Like LizzyM, I don't understand why Goro drew an analogy to husband-wife teams as that is a completely different situation.
 
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I was referring to the publication. Giving your kid a charity co-authorship on a paper for work not done could possibly lead to a journal banning publications from the PI if the editors ever found out about it. I've heard of this happening. J. Exp Med is really serious about it, for one.

I can't tell you what admissions committees in general think, because I am not one. But I have worked in academia for a while and there are a lot of people (I am one) who would instantly tank their opinions of you if they learned you worked in your parent's lab. First, because it makes it impossible to get an objective assessment of your work. Second, because if you spend any large amount of time in academia at all you encounter nepotism eventually and often that experience is unpleasant. Everyone understands that family connections can get you places. Being that obvious about it just means you're working those connections poorly. Someone could very well think 'is this person so incompetent that their father had to take them instead of pawning them off on one of his buddies?'.

Like LizzyM, I don't understand why Goro drew an analogy to husband-wife teams as that is a completely different situation.
 
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