Researching Field

[Bowchickawowwow]

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Research is definitely something that's advised for Pre-Meds, and I know that! However, I'm not certain what field adcoms would prefer that undergraduates research in.

Right now, I have two positions that I've applied for, interviewed at, and received a significant amount of positive correspondence with.

One's at my university, researching in Anthropological topics like racial issues, medicine and society, and others. This program allows for several publications over the next three years in various topics that I find pretty cool and interesting. Also, I get to build relationships with professors that I will be studying under in school, and probably asking for reccomendations when I start to apply for Medical Schools.

The other one is at NIH doing Biomedical Research. I'd probably get one publication out of it, if I'm lucky, and then would have to re-apply and get on another project, and the competition in brutal! However, I greatly respect Dr. Collins and all the different Genome projects going on at NIH and would love to be a part of it.

Question is, which will serve me best when filling out applications?

 

[hoya09]

From my experience, your choice doesn't really matter. The important thing is that you're interested and highly involved in whatever research you do. I did social science and bench research as an undergrad. While I found the bench research interesting and got a pub out of it (which certainly doesn't hurt), I loved studying MD-PT communication. I loved it so much that I went on to pursue my PhD in it. When interviewing MD-PhD candidates, I look for the same passion. It's obviously different when you're applying MD only, but having genuine interest in your research always helps.

 

[chronicidal]

Certainly for MD-PhD programs and research-heavy MD programs (CCLCM, Harvard HST), biomedical research is expected.

Anthro research will stand out more. Just don't become cynical.

 

[Lil Mick]

No, MD/PhD doesn't require it in biomedical science unless you're planning to get your PhD in that field. I hadn't done that sort of research in over a decade when I applied--not a lab person--and still had some wonderful choices applying.

Do the research that interests you most--be it anthro, math, or history. You'll have a great experience that's meaningful to you and that you can talk about during interviews.

 

[kami333]

There are a couple schools such as UPenn and Emory that will let you do a MD/PhD in anthro.

 

[vc7777]

Certainly for MD-PhD programs and research-heavy MD programs (CCLCM, Harvard HST), biomedical research is expected.

+1 to what Lil Mick says. For CCLCM in particular - Not true. CCLCM considers applicants with diverse research backgrounds in many various fields. Furthermore, your background research in no way impacts your research choices in our medical school (you can choose a completely different research focus once you arrive).

I have a classmate with a background in Public Health research who had no biomedical research before attending, as an example.

Beyond meaningful and personally interesting, you should chose opportunities that allow you to be involved in the hypothesis generation or data-driven aspects of the research. The equivalent of "washing glassware" in ANY field is not going to help your application.

Furthermore, last Friday our Dean explicitly talked about the wide variety and types of research one can pursue while at CCLCM. He made a point to say that "research" was not narrowly define here. Rather, research into the business of medicine, public health, biomedical engineering, basic, translational, clinical, and healthcare delivery are all acceptable areas for our students to explore while here.

 

[rhesuspieces]

There are a few things to consider. First of all, what will your responsibilities be in each lab? Actually coming up with unique research and leading projects in anthro >>> washing glassware and watching your grad student run PCRs in a biomed lab.

Secondly, will your time and effort produce something meaningful? I'm definitely not telling you to chase the publications, a year spent researching without even a poster presentation to show for your efforts can be disheartening.

Finally, which field of research is more interesting to you? If you can't talk about your research in interviews without stifling a yawn, interviewers are not going to be impressed. On the other hand, a prospective student who can talk compellingly and passionately about his/her topic of research, whatever that topic may be, is a very attractive candidate.

The good thing here is that biomedical research often lends itself to summer programs, so you could potentially dedicate time during the school year to an anthro lab, then take ~8 weeks off in the summer to jet off to D.C. and do some snazzy NIH fellowship--if your anthro lab would let you take the time off, that is.

 

[chronicidal]

You're right. I don't mean that biomedical research is expected. Rather, it is the norm.

 

[raltima07]

Publications would help though. Just remember, if you do something you aren't interested in then you will burn out