Tell me about your research experiences!

[Charlie Rollin]

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Hi everyone!

I am a junior pre-vet (DVM c/o 2031 hopeful) trying to understand the significant emphasis placed on research within the admissions process.

Could anyone who's done a research program of any kind...

• What made you say "yes" to a research project?
• Was there a moment you felt genuinely excited about it, or was it more of a slow burn?
• And maybe the real question: why would vet schools want to see applicants with research experience? Is it about the skills, the mindset, or something else entirely?

Thanks in advance!

 

[katiemcat]

I kind of stumbled into my undergrad research experience. It was with the biochemistry department, so not related to VetMed at all. It ended up being a very enjoyable experience, though I wouldn’t say I’m big into research. I was asked about it in interviews.

Vet schools place emphasis on research as we practice evidence based medicine, so current and evolving research is vital to our field.

 

[breezywonton]

Hi everyone!

I am a junior pre-vet (DVM c/o 2031 hopeful) trying to understand the significant emphasis placed on research within the admissions process.

Could anyone who's done a research program of any kind...

• What made you say "yes" to a research project?
• Was there a moment you felt genuinely excited about it, or was it more of a slow burn?
• And maybe the real question: why would vet schools want to see applicants with research experience? Is it about the skills, the mindset, or something else entirely?

Thanks in advance!

1) got denied from a few internships during the summer; my mom knew a guy that worked in a human pharmaceutical research lab... i reached out to the PI, and landed a job over the summer. it paid well and i didn't have anything lined up for the summer, so i went with it. i previously had no desire to get research experience.
2) it had its exciting moments, like when the experiment finally showed promising results, but it was a lot of failed efforts and waiting around sometimes (this def depends on what type of research you’re conducting). a lot of the research i did was cancer based so we had to wait a lot for stuff to grow. what made the experience exciting was my lab team, they were awesome and so funny lol i miss it sometimes solely because of the people i got to work with.
3) what katie said

 

[bottlenose]

Hey! I'm currently applying this cycle and have a pretty good amount of research experience on my back. To answer your questions:

I applied in undergrad to volunteer in a mol bio/ecology/evolutionary biology lab to do most of the grunt work (pipetting, gels, etc.). I ended up spending 2-3 days a week in the lab, and due to my interest/commitment ended up writing my own protocols/learning R/doing poster presentations/going to SICB. TBH, I took the first opportunity that came my way and it ended up being really satisfying and interesting for me, although I really didn't understand what our research even was or meant at first. I think that this feeling of having no clue what is going on is pretty expected, as your first foray into actually understanding scientific writing and the nuts and bolts of your lab focus is really overwhelming at first. Honestly, a PI doesn't expect you to know anything really about what you're working towards at first, and that's okay!

I think I really felt excited about it once I actually got results and was writing for publication. The time and effort it takes to get to that point makes it all worth it in the end! I also think the first few months of dipping your toes in is extremely exciting and it feels like a whole new world for a bit.

For your third question, I have a few answers for you:
1. This may be long winded, but the tl;dr is that accepting people with research interest brings money into the school (which is their top priority).
Essentially, research is highly coveted at universities because it is a pretty big stream of revenue for the school. PIs bring in grant money, of which a portion is allocated to the school for running the labs/paying staff, "keeping the lights on," essentially. In grant proposals, PIs state that they will be mentoring x amount of gradute/undergraduate students in this project, and they should keep this promise if they want to keep recieving grants. Second, undergrad students should do a good amount of the easy and repetitive lab work. My mind likes to work in arrow format so here is a little diagram for you of why:
Undergrads do lab work (and get class credit/resume credit/paid/etc.) --> grad students can use their newfound time to read/write manuscripts/etc --> PIs can then write grant proposals based on this work/proofread/act as a mentor for their grad students
This is a very simple little arrow path thing, but you get the idea. At the end of the day, the school needs to bring in money, and research is a part of that, among other things.

2. At an individual level, it shows that you are committed to something long term, are curious about the world around you (whether veterinary related or not), and can follow instructions lol. The skills can be applicable, but this is very lab dependent (if you're in an engineering lab, you won't be using micropipettes). Similar to skills, the concepts behind the actual lab work can be applicable, but is also dependent on what your lab researches. I think that a biology related lab is the best option for future vet students, mostly because the concepts will at least be somewhat applicable (you may benefit from learning skills/concepts in undergrad ahead of time). But for schools, IMO they shouldn't be placing weight on one type of research over another.

Hope this helps!

 

[beans2020]

I decided to try and get research experience the summer I applied to vet school (so between junior/senior year of undergrad) because I hadn't been able to get any during the school year and as aforementioned, vet school admissions committees like seeing research on your app. Plus I believe it's important to at least try research at some point because who knows? You may end up really enjoying it and realizing you want to pursue it as part of your career. (That did not happen to me lol but I'm glad I experienced it and now know it's not really my thing)!

My hometown is very close to a vet school (not Mizzou or my undergrad institution) so I reached out to faculty members at the vet school who had research interests that were similar to things I was interested in at the time to see if anyone would let me come in and volunteer over the summer. One agreed, and so I went in to the lab 4 times a week and learned all kinds of things. I never was in charge of developing a research project or presenting it but I learned proper lab techniques and got a general idea of how research works and what it looks like to be a research veterinarian. Like I said earlier, research isn't something I'm super passionate about, but getting experience in research was easily worth it to me so I could at least say "I've tried it and I understand why it is important". And to echo what others have said, yes this did come up in interviews.

I can't speak to all vet schools or all admissions committees but it seems to me that a good chunk of them want applicants with research experience because research is SUCH an important part of veterinary medicine or any science field for that matter and it is too easy to overlook that. They want to make sure future veterinarians understand why research matters and value it. Plus students who have spent time doing research have often developed good science skills that will only help them in vet school.

 

[apoptosis09]

Hi everyone!

I am a junior pre-vet (DVM c/o 2031 hopeful) trying to understand the significant emphasis placed on research within the admissions process.

Could anyone who's done a research program of any kind...

• What made you say "yes" to a research project?
• Was there a moment you felt genuinely excited about it, or was it more of a slow burn?
• And maybe the real question: why would vet schools want to see applicants with research experience? Is it about the skills, the mindset, or something else entirely?

Thanks in advance!

1. The answer to this depends on your career stage. As an undergrad, what made me say “yes” to a project was a) getting accepted to it and b) getting paid and c) being interested in that subject (in that order). As a graduate seeking career-path research, that order was reversed because being career-applicable was paramount. As an undergrad your goal is to gain experience and career exposure, so it can actually be beneficial to take temporary projects outside of your current field of interest. I ended up doing a hydrology summer project just because I had the opportunity and it paid me, and ended up loving the project, learning highly applicable skills, and making valuable connections that got me into my ideal graduate program later on.

2. This is a matter of what you make of it really. Some projects that sound really exciting and high-impact could end up being boring andd/or fruitless, while the project that sounds boring may end up being fun, valuable, and introduce you to a career interest you hadn’t considered. It’s a valuable skill to find passion in your subject versus only seeking your passion as a subject.

3. It’s been stated above in better detail, but since vet school are academic institutions and institutions value research, they value candidates with research experience. It is also important to have a strong understanding of the role that veterinarians play in research, and the role that research plays in veterinary medicine. Research also teaches critical thinking, independent problem solving, scientific communication, and collaboration in a way that coursework and clinical experiences might not.

Good luck! Although it didn’t end up being the career for me, I loved research and there are many opportunities for fun research in undergrad that you won’t get anywhere else.

 

[kitzsuna]

Idk how much you will value my input since this is my first application cycle! I’m non trad, have quite a bit of research experience, and 90% of my vet hours are from research

In undergrad did a semester working with snake locomotion. Goal was studying brown tree snakes in an effort to help decimation of native Guam species. I mostly did snake husbandry, it wasn’t for me, I didn’t love being struck at by slightly venomous snakes. PI was my vertebrate zoology prof and I just asked.

I also did a summer internship at my university’s medical campus in a lab studying neural regeneration using magnesium conduits. I just cold emailed a ton of professors asking to met me volunteer. Again, this was not for me. Nearly passed out during a rat surgery lol and the euthanasia and the way they used guillotines to chop off the legs to access muscles disturbed me, but this was also my first experience handing dead animals.

Fast forward about 10 years, i started my first research job doing contract ophthalmology research. Surprisingly, i ended up loving it and found out i especially enjoy imaging. Put me in a dark room with a ton of rats and some headphones and i will do ERGs all day. I liked this since we were constantly doing different studies and it was interesting learning new techniques and seeing if new drugs would have any effects. I did learn a lot about lab animal welfare in this position and experienced my boss (veterinary ophthalmologist) use her credentials as a vet to terminate a study early when it went really unexpectedly wrong. It really showed me how euthanasia is a tool of compassion. I unfortunately also had to deal with quite the ethical dilemma as well due to change in leadership, but it gives me good talking points (actually used this instance in my auburn supplemental about ethics) and shows how i kept my integrity even when it cost me my job ultimately .

Now i work for the same university under a different PI doing drug discrimination in rats and locomotor activity in mice. Tbh i hate it and it doesnt serve me for future goals, but it brings a good paycheck. Hopefully I will have my name on publications when NIDA or DEA publishes some of our results since I am contracted through them.

Hope this helps haha. In school i am interested in specific diseases afflicting companion psittacines so if there is a way to do research on that i’m interested, but i don’t want research to be my entire career.

 

[HorseObsessed]

Hi! I work as a research assistant in an infectious disease biology lab and am currently applying.
I knew I wanted to be involved in research because I am interested in contributing to the advancement of knowledge. I considered applying for a DVM/ PhD but decided against it as I dont want to make research a career.
1) I've been involved in several. My main one, I took a class with an awesome professor and just knew I was interested in working with him and his field of study. I started as an undergrad and then got hired after I graduated. I didn't have much choice in what I actually do in the lab, but I have been given my own project that will lead to a publication and I get to make a lot of the scientific decisions.
2) Both. With real science, there is a lot of frustration and a lot of things that don't work, but it's super exciting when it does.
3) I think it's about the mindset. Knowing what evidence to trust and how all the knowledge we have came about is super important. Doing intense research is very different than learning about science in class. Having students interested in research also makes them more competitive for residency down the line.

 

[Tech_Penguin]

I did a NCI SURF at a cancer center 2 years ago. It was one of the best decisions I made because it led to me discovering my passion for medical imaging and translational cancer research. Plus I made some great friends.

I don't think research is required and it isn't as important as vet hours for vet schools but it is a cherry on top. It isn't absolutely necessary unless you indicate you plan to become a scientist or go into academia, and you shouldn't do it just to get into vet school. Still, it shows you can critically evaluate information, understand high-level scientific concepts, and communicate well in oral/written form.

Personally, I benefitted from unique vet experiences and a strong LORs The best thing is to find an area you are passionate about, pick a lab that is a good fit (talk to previous students), and branch out.

 

[FrenchArmyKnife]

Hi everyone!

I am a junior pre-vet (DVM c/o 2031 hopeful) trying to understand the significant emphasis placed on research within the admissions process.

Could anyone who's done a research program of any kind...

• What made you say "yes" to a research project?
• Was there a moment you felt genuinely excited about it, or was it more of a slow burn?
• And maybe the real question: why would vet schools want to see applicants with research experience? Is it about the skills, the mindset, or something else entirely?

Thanks in advance!

Sorry for the 5 paragraph essay of an answer, but I have really enjoyed my research experience and currently still am!

My research experience: I am currently part of an avian virology lab at my university and was part of an NSF project working on disease dynamics in wild Egyptian fruit bats, which spanned a few months. I absolutely love research and working with the lab animals, in my virology lab I do a bunch of different general tasks and other more specific ones like RNA extractions, embryo extractions, tissue cutting, a large amount of microscopy work, and inoculations (embryo, chick, and grown chickens). I would say my personal favorite parts of my lab are necropsy days (I know I am probably weird for enjoying them, but I want to do anatomical path anyways so it tracks) and "chick checks" as I basically just get to go hang out with chickens for a bit while checking on them. I've been able to help with multiple different experiments and projects, and I, starting next month, will be helping to run an interesting project, that I unfortunately cannot talk about, with the opportunity to get potentially published alongside my lab! My NSF project experience was also very fun, it was a mix of class and research, I was able to work with a small interdisciplinary cohort of undergrads from around the country and we had to, in teams of 2, create a unique hypothesis based on some given data and present it to a board of PIs and post-docs. We also got to learn a lot of new skills and had lectures from experts in many different fields. Kind of unique, but I want to mention it here, my avian virology lab also allowed me to euthanize animals using gas as my first ever experience actually euthanizing animals myself, up until then I only had experience observing euthanasia at my small animal/shelter experiences).

Question 1ish: For me, I was in a weird spot where I was stuck choosing between a DVM and PhD (I know there are combo degrees and that was on the table for a bit for me) so research allowed me to see the PhD/research side of things, which helped me figure out what I want to do. I was and am able to have honest and direct conversations with my PI, PhD students, Post-doc, and other lab members about myself and them to figure out what paths would be best for me. One PhD student is a DVM already and the other is DVM/PhD student, so I was able to get a lot of interesting advice and experience from them! My interest in disease is funny in that it mainly stems from COVID as I never really knew much about disease before it. COVID was a jumping off point that got me super interested in disease leading down way too many rabbit holes of personal research and many different classes relating to disease and immunology, all of which led to my current interests in pathology, zoonotic disease/spillover, and One Health.

Question 2: My experiences in research bolstered my interest in those topics and allowed me to hone in to what I currently want to pursue! I enjoy the teamwork aspect and connecting the dots from classes and outside reading into my research. As for the specific moments I would say the aforementioned "chick checks" and necropsy days. I enjoy doing the PCRs, ELISAs, etc, that my lab does, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they are my favorite things in the world. My research experience has allowed me to meet a lot of great people and work under and with some brilliant and amazing PIs. For matters pertaining to vet school admissions, my research experiences netted me 3 LOR writers so take that as you will. I would absolutely at least try it to see if it sticks, I got my avian virology lab spot by cold emailing and I learned about the NSF project from a class and then had to apply and interview for it.

Question 3: I absolutely think vet schools want to see applicants with research, I agree with what others said about this question. I think it is a solid combination of mindset and skills, a lot of lab skills are easy to learn, sometimes hard to master (imo), and easy to mess up so I personally think that skills are important in the sense that it teaches you to learn to do repetitive and complicated tasks with 100% concentration. Mindset is also important as you will fail, it is inevitable that something at some point can and will go wrong so its important to learn how to be reflective and open minded in the face of failure so that you can go back and improve.

I'll stop here because I can rant forever on this and disease stuff, but let me know if you have any questions or anything!

 

[_rae_]

Just want to offer an entirely different perspective; I was a non-trad with a music degree and I did zero research before vet school. Three acceptances (two in the US, one abroad), one waitlist, one rejection. I decided to do summer scholars my first year of school to get some research under my belt for my CV and to see if I liked it. I do not feel my lack of undergrad research hindered my application at all.

Having said that, research is a massive part of medicine and if you have the opportunity to try it out now and get those skills under your belt, it will not hurt you at all. I just wouldn’t stretch myself too thin for research just to have it, yknow?