Too many labs??

[Neuralicious]

Hello all,

I am currently faced with a situation (maybe?).

So far I am going into my 3rd year as a biochemistry major.
I am trying to double as a neuroscience major.

The problem is that both of these majors require research to graduate.
I have already done a 1 semester rotation in a chemistry lab (only for 1 credit) my freshman spring semester, and am now in a biochemistry lab.

Now I have been in this biochemistry lab for a while now. Worked there last summer, all academic year (4 credits each semester = ~20 hrs/wk), and worked there this summer. I plan on staying in this biochemistry lab for this academic year as well.

Now this is the problem, the neuroscience major also requires research. I must get 6 credits of neuro research in somehow.
I would like to do an REU next summer too...

SO. My question now:
Would it be bad to work in this lab for 2 summers + 2 academic years, possibly get nothing published (my experiments have been having some road bumps...), do a summer REU at another university, and then do research in another lab? Will ADCOM see that as an inability to commit to a single lab?

I have no problem staying in the same lab, but I really want to try neuro research before I get to grad school/MSTP and realize whether or not I like it.

I have been thinking maybe just taking all the neuro coursework, and not doing the research (meaning graduate only with a biochemistry degree), but I'm not a big fan of this idea...

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[Anandamide]

I don't think you'll have a huge problem. Plenty of people go through different labs. As long as one of your research experiences is sustained, you should be OK. Also, you'd still be fine if you didn't graduate with an official neuroscience major.

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Have you tried talked to your advisor(s) about this? What about the department heads? See if you can petition to have the same research project count toward both majors. Can you use some of the biochem techniques that you have learned to develop a project that would also have strong ties to neuroscience?

I was in a similar situation when I finished undergrad. I did an interdisciplinary area in neuroscience, but my major was biochemistry. (My school didn't have a neuroscience major). I needed to present a senior research project for my biochemistry major. The problem - all my research was in a neuroscience lab. The biochemistry department had no issue with me presenting my neuroscience research for my senior biochem project. My project didn't even have strong ties to biochemistry; it was mainly neuroelectrophysiology.

 

[Piper9132]

I worked in five different labs as an undergraduate... I was a psychology and biology double major and did two honor theses (worked in the two labs for 3+ years, often at the same time). Also I worked for a semester in an XRay crystallography lab and then did two summer REU programs.

Did I get some questions during interviews as to why I did so many research projects? Yes, of course. But I would not have traded the experiences I had in each lab for four years in a single lab.

If you write your research essay well and tell the interviewers exactly what you just told us ("I really want to try neuro research before I get to grad school/MSTP and realize whether or not I like it"), I think these extra research experiences (the neuroscience and REU) can only help you show that you are committed and interested in exploring research. Plus it will get you two more recommendation letters from PIs who can comment on your ability to work as an independent researcher.

Talk with your advisor, but I would say try and do the Neuroscience, REU, and Biochem research. Just don't let your grades suffer or one lab take away significantly from the other.