Still worth reaching out for (computational) research?

[rebuilteva]

Hello everybody,

I'm an M1, and I was interested in working on a research project this summer. I understand that it's pretty late in the year, and COVID means that wet lab is probably out of the question (wasn't really interested in doing wet lab anyways), but was wondering if I would be wasting my time to ask for computational / remote positions at my home institution.

I have pretty extensive research experience from undergrad, with a gig doing computational work, so I probably wouldn't be completely useless, if that provides any context at all.

Much appreciated.

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[aSagacious]

You could absolutely reach out. The overwhelming majority of stuff could be done remotely. IRB, lit search, EMR access (if you don't already have it), lab meetings, web-based copies of software (MatLab, SPSS, etc if you need it).

 

[gtd1]

Would it not be considered inconsiderate considering the current situation? I have been really hesitant to reach out to attendings. Was hoping to do so when things get better around May.

 

[aSagacious]

1) One month won't make any difference in the grand scheme of things. 2) In every non-NY hospital in the country volume is way down and people have more free time than usual. 3) Emailing a potential mentor/PI and voicing interest would never be poorly received. At worst they would say that they're currently busy and would recommend a future date.

 

[aldol16]

This is the ideal time to get started/continue on research because you have the most free time. It's likely that the shutdown will continue for several more weeks at least and it's a good time to at least get a jump start on research projects. Once school starts up again (officially), you'll have less time.

 

[ace_inhibitor111]

I don’t know where people are getting research opportunities from. At my institution they aren’t even reviewing IRBs anymore, and most research mentors I talked to recommend systematic reviews since the process for onboarding students to the EMR is also delayed.

 

[rebuilteva]

Sounds good - I was mainly wondering if there would be a problem getting all the paperwork done for a research gig scheduled for this summer.

 

[mvenus929]

I don’t know where people are getting research opportunities from. At my institution they aren’t even reviewing IRBs anymore, and most research mentors I talked to recommend systematic reviews since the process for onboarding students to the EMR is also delayed.

My institution has stopped research onboarding courses for new investigators, but so far, I haven't heard of any shut down with the IRB. They're not doing any clinical trials that involve patient contact, and wet labs have been shut down, but people are still doing chart reviews and surveys and such. We just got an email last week about a grant opportunity for fellows that I'm working on a submission for as well, which is going to require putting some information into the system.