Yes. Again, earlier is better - you’ll be a more valuable part of the lab’s team once you’ve got some experience. Research is a great experience for more than just MD admissions.
1. You should start shadowing physicians like yesterday (jk but like ASAP)... Not only for your app but to confirm this is the field of you. How do you know for sure if you want to do something without seeing a day in the life?
2. Research can and will help, especially for certain schools. Some schools aren't AS huge on it however it will never hurt.
Aside from these two things, I would recommend trying to get clinical experience too. Get your CNA/MA/EMT/something to get you into a facility working/getting a first hand experience in patient care.
Oh okay. So MD schools in general prefer it when their applicants have first hands experience with patients + shadowing? I was actually interested in scribing during summer but I'm not really sure whether that will help strengthen my apps?