Research

[avinash]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Im about to email some professers to see if i can do something in thier lab, but im afraid that i wont know what im doing when im in the lab beacause this whole research thing seems complicated, i think mainly beacuase when i see research i think of the big pharm companies doing break through research and im not entirly show that i know what to do when im in the lab with a professor. What do you do exactly in the research labs? Just read thermomoters and weigh things? If its that, i can do those. Also is the "lab technician" the one who cleans up the lab. I am thinking i should do this for a while, but does it count as research?

Thanks

 

[BigLazy]

They probably won't let you do anything cool when you first start. The trick is actually pick a lab in a less studied field (like botany or animal science or something), these labs lack the money to hire people, so they rely more on volunteers, so you get the chance to actually do experiments when you first start. The bigger, more well funded labs usually are more picky and even if you are brought in, you will be washing dishs for a year. Oh yeah, washing labware does not count as research.

 

[avinash]

They probably won't let you do anything cool when you first start. The trick is actually pick a lab in a less studied field (like botany or animal science or something), these labs lack the money to hire people, so they rely more on volunteers, so you get the chance to actually do experiments when you first start. The bigger, more well funded labs usually are more picky and even if you are brought in, you will be washing dishs for a year. Oh yeah, washing labware does not count as research.

what exactly do you do? i know it varies from lab to lab but in a general sense, how in depth do you need to know things. Do you need to know learn things beyond the classroom?

 

[BigLazy]

what exactly do you do? i know it varies from lab to lab but in a general sense, how in depth do you need to know things. Do you need to know learn things beyond the classroom?

I wouldn't worry about not knowing enough before you enter a lab. They should teach you everything since every lab has different variations of how to do things. Don't feel like an idiot if you don't know something, researchers don't expect alot from volunteers.

 

[logos]

The most important thing to do is to respect their time. PIs (Phd) often dont like premeds because they want to do research solely to improve their resume. What ends up happening is that the lab, the PI, the grad students, or whoever end up spending way more time teaching you how to do the research than you spend doing it.

Make your goal to truely understand the work, read tons of articles pertaining to the work, be able to write your own protocols, make your own reagents, etc. and then use those skills to generate your PI some real data.

Generating these skills takes some major time. If youre willing to put in the work, including the huge amounts of time sometimes necessary to generate good data, then i'm sure it will be worth it. Good Luck!

 

[avinash]

The most important thing to do is to respect their time. PIs (Phd) often dont like premeds because they want to do research solely to improve their resume. What ends up happening is that the lab, the PI, the grad students, or whoever end up spending way more time teaching you how to do the research than you spend doing it.

Make your goal to truely understand the work, read tons of articles pertaining to the work, be able to write your own protocols, make your own reagents, etc. and then use those skills to generate your PI some real data.

Generating these skills takes some major time. If youre willing to put in the work, including the huge amounts of time sometimes necessary to generate good data, then i'm sure it will be worth it. Good Luck!

ohhhhhh ohhh im in trouble already..hahaha whats this protcol and reagent stuff? im intimidated.....

and is the person who cleans up called the "lab techinician"?

 

[watiswati]

the summer of my freshman year in high school i applied to this "summer fellowship research program" at vcu/mcv which takes high school and college volunteers to work in a lab and get some experience and thats jsut what i did for 4 years. lab work, not paid. as for knowing stuff, don't worry. what the hell did i know a freshman in high school about institution reserach? absolutely nothing. our teams reserach mainly had to do with mice cardiology, i wont go into great detail, but the point is that i knew nothing about it and 4 years later i knew more than i thought i would. the team was realy really good about explaining certain procedures and the reasoning behind each mechanism. so dont worry about not knowing much. i took the knowledge that i gained in the lab and entered science fairs in the "mentored" category, meaning i'd gotten extensive help from a higher scientist, and won at several regional and state levels. its never too late to start lab work.

but just something else, if you plan on getting just an MD and strictly practicing and seeing patients, then you should probably try to volunteer in health clinics or hospitals where you can get the hands on experience with acutal patients. if you plan on doing an md-phd program or anything that has to do with reserach in the future, then def get your volunteer experience in a lab. a lot depends on what you want to do later and what kind of prior experience you want.

 

[sintheta]

do you actually WANT to do research or are you just doing it to get into medical school? research is not a requirement to get into medical school, so if you're truly not interested, save yourself and your PI some grief and go do something you're truly passionate about

 

[avinash]

do you actually WANT to do research or are you just doing it to get into medical school? research is not a requirement to get into medical school, so if you're truly not interested, save yourself and your PI some grief and go do something you're truly passionate about

well i think i would like shadowing or volunteering at the hosptial more, but i think my chances are inceased if i have some research with me also

correct me if im wrong

 

[Sundarban1]

well i think i would like shadowing or volunteering at the hosptial more, but i think my chances are inceased if i have some research with me also correct me if im wrong

I say go for the research. You will not know if its for you unless you try. Do your own research (reading articles, etc.) on what your lab is doing so you don't enter blind. You will know quickly whether it's for you or not.