Undergrad Research

[RackingHorse]

Does anyone on here have any experience with undergrad research? I would like to do this, because it would look great on my vet school app. I am not to familiar with what it takes to get into one of these programs. Can you go to another university that is not you're own and do one of these? I would like to do something animal science related.

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[Dsmoody23]

I'm doing some microbio research, currently.

The end result is hopefully a paper with my name on the #2 spot, and some experience presenting it at conferences. Which, I'm hoping, will look like serious business to the admissions boards.

That's the plus side, along with getting to study something I'm rather interested in. The down side is all of the extra work, in addition to my courses, as well as the endless draft, proposal and grant writing that will eat up your life and poop on your soul.

If you're looking to get involved in research, find a faculty member who's in the area you're interested in and let them know you'd like to do some work. I spent my first semester doing b*tch work, autoclaving and making media plates. Be ready for that. It's like hazing for nerds. Once you prove you're not just there for a lark, then they'll talk to you about further opportunities.

Some schools have some kind of independent study "Research in Biology" course at the 300-400 level, so you can get credits too. Otherwise, you can probably just submit something to your dean for independent study.

What's your area of interest, within animal science?

 

[RackingHorse]

Nothing specific really. If I find a research opportunity at my university though it will likely involve animal nutrition. The strange thing is I just really haven't heard of any of my professors doing research lately. Isn't it required that professors are doing research?

 

[breenie]

I spent my first semester doing b*tch work, autoclaving and making media plates. Be ready for that. It's like hazing for nerds. Once you prove you're not just there for a lark, then they'll talk to you about further opportunities.

This made me laugh. Totally true. One day one of the grad students said to me in my lab, "Breenie! You are no longer the new girl! We have new intern, Nicole! Now you can boss her around!" I did not boss around Nicole, but I totally could have.

 

[Dsmoody23]

This made me laugh. Totally true. One day one of the grad students said to me in my lab, "Breenie! You are no longer the new girl! We have new intern, Nicole! Now you can boss her around!" I did not boss around Nicole, but I totally could have.

You're a better person than I am.

I get two in the fall. I'm going to make them do jumping jacks in the morning.

 

[Dsmoody23]

Nothing specific really. If I find a research opportunity at my university though it will likely involve animal nutrition. The strange thing is I just really haven't heard of any of my professors doing research lately. Isn't it required that professors are doing research?

Make sure you pick something that you're ok devoting several hundred hours to. And make sure it loosely ties into something medical, ideally veterinary. If I didn't like my subject, this would be the most boring, mentally painful work ever.

At some of the lower to mid-level schools, it seems like the professors are just treading water, teaching classes. Mostly the students don't seem interested. The good ones will jump at the opportunity to do some actual academic work.

Equally, it's a great trade off for them. You do all the work, and they get the lion's share of the credit. Even if your professor has absolutely nothing to do with your experiment, beyond some vague consulting, he/she will still get top billing if you do the work in their lab. And publishing something in their department, under their supervision, is how they get access to more funding, space and end up with a more impressive CV for later jobs.

Long story short, if the professor's eyes don't light up when you mention student research, move on to someone else.

 

[NStarz]

I was really lucky to be approached by my adviser during my second semester of UG and was asked to do research. So I honestly don't really know how you go about finding a research lab; I'll leave others to help you with that.

I would caution you, though. Research is not for everybody. You should definitely try it out to see if you like it, but please don't do it merely because it will "look great on your vet school app."

I also started out doing menial stuff, but then was given the unique opportunity to design and implement my own project, hopefully leading up to a pub within the next year (my PI is really slooooooooooow).

I think it would be easier for you to find a research opportunity within your own school, because they often take up long periods of time, and I found it was best if I could pop in right after or before class to run stats or perform behavior trials.

Good luck!

P.S. I could never do a lot of what people did on here in terms of research. Running gels is not interesting to me, no matter the subject matter. I did research regarding behavior and found it fascinating, even moreso when the results did not turn out the way I expected So shop around and don't be afraid to seek an opportunity you can really be passionate about.

 

[breenie]

You're a better person than I am.

I get two in the fall. I'm going to make them do jumping jacks in the morning.

I mean, I may have made significantly less media while she was in the lab... Coincidentally...

 

[Minnerbelle]

Can you go to another university that is not you're own and do one of these?

Yes, you most certainly can! There are actually a lot of summer research opportunities at many universities/hospitals/etc... that will take students from other institutions. There are other ways to get involved (e.g. just emailing prof you're interested in working for), but if you're looking into a different university, this might be an easier way in since a lot of these programs have an actual application process. You should probably make contact with particular profs you want to work with anyway (since you'll be more likely to get accepted that way), but sometimes it's easier for some professors to accept students when there are official channels for you to go through. Not sure how hard it is to get something specifically in animal sciences though...

 

[Minnerbelle]

The strange thing is I just really haven't heard of any of my professors doing research lately. Isn't it required that professors are doing research?

Have you looked at their faculty profiles online? It could also just be that they don't talk about their research in class... I don't remember too many professors who would blab on about their own research all the time during class. Esp during intro/lower level classes, the course content doesn't have much to do with what the prof researches so there aren't all that many opportunities for them to talk about it anyhow.

 

[Prospectivevet]

I had a great experience with research with a professor at my school. He let me pursue my own project and trained me in various laboratory techniques. He also allowed me to come with him to collect samples, giving me LA research experience. He also helped me get a paper published and present my research competitively. He always encouraged me about vet school and never hesitated to give me advice. I also received course credit for my endeavors.

If you have a professor that you respect and they research in an area of interest to you, then ask them about becoming involved! It is a wonderful experience and they can become an excellent mentor.

 

[SocialStigma]

I've been working in a pathology and molecular medicine lab in the hospital at my university since the beginning of my 3rd year (of undergrad). I emailed a bunch of profs saying that I'm interested in their research, gave a bit of background info about myself/any experience I have with their area, and I read a couple of their publications. I had some interviews and ended up here (chose it because I really wanted to do wet lab stuff - Western blots, plasmid minipreps, bacterial transformations, tissue cultures etc; the other labs were more clinical research).

I got my own project right away because it was actually for course credit, in my program you have to do a 3rd year "thesis project" where you have to submit a paper at the end (basically a practice for 4th year thesis).

 

[bbeventer]

The down side is all of the extra work, in addition to my courses, as well as the endless draft, proposal and grant writing that will eat up your life and poop on your soul.

Wait you still have a soul when you get done?

Undergrad research is an undertaking. The main way to get involved in research is to seek out a professor with interest similar to yours and see if they have room/funding for you in their lab.

I was interested in parasites so I went and asked the only parasitologist at our school for a position in his lab. He happened to be new to the school, needed a student and had funding for a project so I got the job. Yeah!

I will be leaving the lab with 3 papers that I will be first author on, and will have presented in several conferences many of them being national. Research is a great experience but like Dsmoody said, it poops on your soul, or eats it (the debate is out on that one). It is hard work and very time consuming so be prepared! Make sure you get the right adviser as well, ask the grad students in the lab if they like their adviser before you even approach the professor for a position, bad advisers make for a crummy time, great advisers want you to learn.

 

[shm2985]

During my undergrad experience I wasn't convinced that vet school was right for me, but I knew I had an interest in aquatics. During an internship at an ecology field station I met an aquatic pathologist who was doing very interesting field-related pathology work. I had no idea you could combine field research with veterinary science and I approached him with many many questions about his work. I guess my candor impressed him (it helps to be honest about your interests) and he offered me a job the following school year in his lab. I can say now that it was one of the most rewarding experiences I had at school and really put me on the right track. I still go out of my way to visit the professor and his lab staff when I am near the University and think their support has put me on the direct path I am on today.

I guess where I am going with this is: if you have an interest, share it with your prospective research advisor! Look for people who do things that get your cranks turning and it doesn't always have to be traditional vet-type things. They will not turn you away if you show genuine interest in learning what they do and gaining new skills. I think many professors, especially in the vet and med worlds, are jaded by people obsessed with gaining experience for their apps (beyond all other reasons researchers are jaded of course) but if you show an honest interest they can't really turn you down. Unless they have NO research funds and hate their lives of course.

Anyway. my 2 cents based on my experience.. hope it helps a bit!

 

[LetItSnow]

Does anyone on here have any experience with undergrad research? I would like to do this, because it would look great on my vet school app. I am not to familiar with what it takes to get into one of these programs. Can you go to another university that is not you're own and do one of these? I would like to do something animal science related.

I might get spanked by a lot of people for this, but here's my $0.02: Don't spend your time doing research unless you have an actual interest in doing research.

In other words, if you're ONLY doing it to get into vet school, spend your time doing other things (that will be worthwhile to your application) instead.

 

[racccjlm]

For anyone that's an undergrad sophmore, the Hollings Program is a great chance to do research. It's definitely not vet specific, but you can choose the project/area you want to work in. There are projects related to oceanography, weather, geography, and biological sciences - whale acoustics, animal abundance surveys, etc. There are many opportunities to work with wildlife (though not in the medical sense). It's definitely easy to tie into a PS, depending on your goals in vet med. And, it's also a chance to develop connections with other professionals in the region you're working in. If anyone has questions, PM me. They'll make the applications available in October. Here's the link:

http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/Hollings_info.html

 

[shm2985]

I might get spanked by a lot of people for this, but here's my $0.02: Don't spend your time doing research unless you have an actual interest in doing research.

In other words, if you're ONLY doing it to get into vet school, spend your time doing other things (that will be worthwhile to your application) instead.

That's kind of where I was going with my post but not so bluntly! I agree though. On the other hand, someone (take for instance, a very motivated undergrad student) who goes into research just for resume padding may also end up being a genius at it. You never know. I guess it is just best to the be honest about your interests and accept that it is kind of crappy to do something outside of your interest zone to make yourself look better. I'm sure plenty of people have done this however - and not just in the research realm!

 

[Minnerbelle]

I might get spanked by a lot of people for this, but here's my $0.02: Don't spend your time doing research unless you have an actual interest in doing research.

Why would you get spanked for that advice?

 

[LetItSnow]

Why would you get spanked for that advice?

#1) I figured at least a few people would wrongly interpret it as me saying "research is bad." You know, knee-jerk defensiveness.

#2) I figured at least some people would (maybe correctly; I don't know) argue that research time is more valuable than other types of experience, which would suggest that it's worthwhile even if that's not the route you intend to go.

I think I had a #3, but ... that was a few beers back.

Thanks for the spanking, though. It's so hard to find someone who will do that for you.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Thanks for the spanking, though. It's so hard to find someone who will do that for you.

Perhaps you and your wife should have a little talk.

 

[jmo1012]

I might get spanked by a lot of people for this, but here's my $0.02: Don't spend your time doing research unless you have an actual interest in doing research.

In other words, if you're ONLY doing it to get into vet school, spend your time doing other things (that will be worthwhile to your application) instead.

unless you're applying to VMRCVM. then you'd best not leave that category blank because you'll get heavily penalized for it! i've heard that the only way to get full credit in that category is to either have a research phd or be heavily published (i worked in a lab for 2 years doing various stuff and was told that i was lacking in that category)

other than that, if it doesnt interest you, dont torture yourself!

2 things i learned from my undergraduate research experience: my backup plan to vet school and med school is not microbiological research and potatoes have fruit

 

[LetItSnow]

Perhaps you and your wife should have a little talk.

She just rolled her eyes. I'm not sure whether it was at me or at you.

 

[breenie]

She just rolled her eyes. I'm not sure whether it was at me or at you.

Eye rolling can be an early warning sign of an impending spanking. Probably not the fun kind, though.

 

[RackingHorse]

I emailed one of my professors. I am probably going to get to help with some research regarding carbohydrates in horses. Are these usually paid positions?

 

[Minnerbelle]

I emailed one of my professors. I am probably going to get to help with some research regarding carbohydrates in horses. Are these usually paid positions?

It really depends. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. A lot of times it's a volunteer at first and tag along, and if they like you, they'll let you stick around for a paid position or at least for course credit.

Don't go with any expectations, and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised!

 

[PetPony]

I'm interested in nutrition and behavior. But (I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but I really don't know..) what kind of research do you do related to behavior? I don't really know what to imagine there..

 

[RackingHorse]

Im sure there are various topics you could research in behavior. An example of research regarding behavior in horses might be; The effects of training methods on horse behavior., or something like that.

 

[NStarz]

My undergrad thesis was on larval fish behavior, so it's definitely possible. PM me if you want details

 

[PetPony]

What I'd be mostly interested in (for both nutrition and behavior) is LA, equine and exotics/wildlife. But the larger type, not little stuff. Cats and dogs would be cool, too.

 

[breenie]

What I'd be mostly interested in (for both nutrition and behavior) is LA, equine and exotics/wildlife. But the larger type, not little stuff. Cats and dogs would be cool, too.

We can't always be so picky.

I was lucky enough to participate in mastitis research, which obviously relates to cows. It was mostly microbiology bench work for me, though. Even though our subject was general bovine health and disease, my day-to-day experience was with raging colonies of staph aureus and e. coli.

Keep an open mind. From what I've seen of NStarz's posts, she enjoyed her undergraduate research experience. Don't dismiss the small model systems and things that seem irrelevant to vet med. You'd be surprised what interests you and what is important in research!

 

[PetPony]

I understand why little things are relevant to Vet med. And I'd go for other things, too, and see how I like them. I'm just saying that that's what I'd prefer.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Careful what you wish for too... cause I got really excited once to do a behavioral study on squirrel monkeys. But when most of that data is gathered through behavioral scoring, it gets old really fast (at least for me).Before that, I thought it would be awesome to go into primate linguistics research. That experience definitely woke me up from that dream real fast. I vowed, never again.

But being the sucker I was, decided to do a research project at a high volume shelter looking at cage rage and whatnot. That sealed the deal for me. NEVER AGAIN. Just not my type of thing. I'm sure there are fun projects out there that some people would enjoy, but I don't think I could ever stomach scoring behavior ever again, no matter how fascinating the topic is. When I heard that my sister's UG thesis was on how temperature affects the feeding behavior of two species of snails... I barfed a little inside. She really enjoyed it though. And she thinks that my molecular bio research is the most boring thing ever, so it goes both ways. Different strokes for different folks (?) I guess.

 

[RackingHorse]

My friends are laughing at me because I am excited about doing research on carbohydrates in horses lol. They say that would have to be the most boring thing ever. They think I am a nerd. But, I guess really I am. LOL

 

[Dsmoody23]

My friends are laughing at me because I am excited about doing research on carbohydrates in horses lol. They say that would have to be the most boring thing ever. They think I am a nerd. But, I guess really I am. LOL

You're in good nerd company, at least.

 

[lostbunny]

Rackinghorse- I've worked on two research projects and neither of them were paid, BUT my accommodation and food was all paid for and so I basically spent 6 months in Australia for free!

 

[bre8162]

I did two types of reserach in my undergrad.

The first was at the local humane society where I did work with management of URI in felines and did pcr with swabs and all that good stuff. Loved it.

The other was with mice and fertility research. I maintained the mice colony trying to breed knockouts and did genotyping and what not. I absolutely loved it. I also got to help with the studies on the various knockout types. I liked the research aspect and I felt like during my interviews the panels were very intrigued to hear about all this.

If you are at a research institution (ours was land grant) go for it. It also helped me with having close bonds with the professors I worked with and getting excellent LOR writers.

 

[bbeventer]

I'm interested in nutrition and behavior. But (I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but I really don't know..) what kind of research do you do related to behavior? I don't really know what to imagine there..

I just got done listening to a presentation on two types of weaning effects in cattle to reduce stress in weanlings and the effects of that on coccidiosis. So I think if you use your imagination you can come up with many behavior experiments.

 

[LetItSnow]

And she thinks that my molecular bio research is the most boring thing ever, so it goes both ways.

My eyes just glazed over.

Serious question: Why is behavior scoring so boring? (I've never really been involved in research beyond reading results.)

An UG friend of mine did research in chemical signaling in schooling fish. If I recall, he used cameras to track their general movement in three axes, and compared normal movement to movement after he'd injure one of them, and did it with several species. I thought it seemed interesting and wished I had had time to get involved.

 

[Kmeid]

My friends are laughing at me because I am excited about doing research on carbohydrates in horses lol. They say that would have to be the most boring thing ever. They think I am a nerd. But, I guess really I am. LOL

That sounds awesome! I got to work on a equine research study at the beginning of this summer for a DVM PhD candidate at Va-MD. It was a ton of fun. She was doing a digestibility trial to study the differences in gut micobes between obese and lean horses. To make it a little more down to earth: we collected a ton of poop, put it in vials and took it to the lab to run a myriad of tests and DNA extraction. I absolutely loved it. Who knew playing with pony poop could be so interesting and so much fun?

I also work on ovarian cancer research for one of the prof at Virginia Tech. I'm currently in charge of running the BMI scans on the lab mice in the study. It's really interesting research and I like the mice so its been great for me. I was blessed and even as a newbie I get to do some pretty cool stuff (anddd I still do b**ch work too, haha)

If you have time and want a really cool undergrad research experience and don't mind traveling a bit, Virginia Tech has an AWESOME REU (research experience for undergrads) summer program. Anyone from any school can apply, they'll give you housing, a meal plan and pay you! (What a deal I know) My friend is doing it and its 10 weeks, $4500 (tax exempt! wootwoot), and he gets free food. He absolutely loves it and has the benefit of still getting the beginning and end of his summer off.

Also, depending on where you go to school. Shoot a few emails out to professors who are doing research that interests you. I got my research opportunities purely through tenacity. I sent out a lot of emails and followed up with the people who responded.

Just a few other ideas. Goodluck!

 

[lostbunny]

My eyes just glazed over.

Serious question: Why is behavior scoring so boring? (I've never really been involved in research beyond reading results.)

I had to do behavior scoring type stuff with bowerbirds, and it was incredibly boring after a few days because I had to sit in my 'office' for 3 hours... my 'office' was basically a 3' X 3' metal frame box with a big potato sac for the roof/walls. I had a page worth of 'behaviors' that the birds do and I had to tally which one I saw, how often and what time it was at. This became incredibly tedious because the birds would only do the same 3 or 4 'behaviors' and only be at their bowers for 4 or 5 seconds at a time, otherwise they'd be squawking for 40 minutes (tally for every squawk session....). It also rained every day here (erm.... I guess it *is* a rainforest- but to be fair, it was the rainiest wettest summer in 30 years and in fact massive detrimental flooding occurred!) so half the time the bird wasn't even in sight and I was tempted to put "bird likely died" lol on my sheet.

We often brought books to keep ourselves entertained, and I managed to make up some twisted christmas carols....

 

[RackingHorse]

That sounds awesome! I got to work on a equine research study at the beginning of this summer for a DVM PhD candidate at Va-MD. It was a ton of fun. She was doing a digestibility trial to study the differences in gut micobes between obese and lean horses. To make it a little more down to earth: we collected a ton of poop, put it in vials and took it to the lab to run a myriad of tests and DNA extraction. I absolutely loved it. Who knew playing with pony poop could be so interesting and so much fun?

I also work on ovarian cancer research for one of the prof at Virginia Tech. I'm currently in charge of running the BMI scans on the lab mice in the study. It's really interesting research and I like the mice so its been great for me. I was blessed and even as a newbie I get to do some pretty cool stuff (anddd I still do b**ch work too, haha)

If you have time and want a really cool undergrad research experience and don't mind traveling a bit, Virginia Tech has an AWESOME REU (research experience for undergrads) summer program. Anyone from any school can apply, they'll give you housing, a meal plan and pay you! (What a deal I know) My friend is doing it and its 10 weeks, $4500 (tax exempt! wootwoot), and he gets free food. He absolutely loves it and has the benefit of still getting the beginning and end of his summer off.

Also, depending on where you go to school. Shoot a few emails out to professors who are doing research that interests you. I got my research opportunities purely through tenacity. I sent out a lot of emails and followed up with the people who responded.

Just a few other ideas. Goodluck!

The research program you mentioned at VT sounds great! I may look into that next summer, depending on what classes I end up taking next summer. $4500.00 would pay a lot of rent. LOL

 

[PetPony]

Once I get a job, my mom's making me open another bank account to save money for vet school. Which I guess is a good idea hahaha But that VT research program sounds good. I might look into it. And it would make my account look a little better than the $100 it has right now. hahaha

 

[Minnerbelle]

Once I get a job, my mom's making me open another bank account to save money for vet school. Which I guess is a good idea hahaha But that VT research program sounds good. I might look into it. And it would make my account look a little better than the $100 it has right now. hahaha

That VT research program does sound really awesome, esp because you can get involved in vet research. But also keep in mind that there are seriously hundreds of REU programs throughout the country that provides the same benefits so apply broadly. Some of those can be very competitive. A lot of these programs are open to undergrads from all institutions.

Serious question: Why is behavior scoring so boring? (I've never really been involved in research beyond reading results.)

Here, I'll give you one to try out yourself. A study on language ability vs. violence in young children. Take your three kids, and record them on video tape for a 1 hr play session with a limited number of fun toys (and have them do a couple of those sessions). Replay the tape gazillion times so that you can score every time each child does something violent (spits, punches, pushes, kicks, pinches, etc... you come up with the list). Also keep track of every time that child shares the toy, duration of time they shared the toy, and if they were the ones who had the toy to begin with. Not only that, keep track of everything they say. How many times they've spoken, and for each time, how many strings of words came out, whether they were positive or negative statements, whether they were directed at someone, and if it was, was it at the kid who had the toy or did this child have the toy? Do that with a few sets of other children around the same age too. Oooh, and also have trios of the same age (language ability) for all 3 age groups too.

Then put all of that into SPSS or a similar software and play around over and over and over until you find some significant correlation, taking into account a bunch of different covariates. and maaaybe you'll find that the children who are capable of fewer than 5 word sentences resort to violence more than others (where pinching and shoving are statistically significant, but kicking and punching are not). I dunno, maybe you like that kind of thing.

I swear, each one of those 1hr footages will take you many many hours to score, as you replay segments over and over and over.

 

[LetItSnow]

Take your three kids, and record them on video tape for a 1 hr play session

Hahahahahahahahahaha. You've never been around three of your own kids in the same room for an hour, have you? ;-)

But seriously, I get the idea now. Thanks for the explanation. Sounds ... like my eyes would bleed.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Hahahahahahahahahaha. You've never been around three of your own kids in the same room for an hour, have you? ;-)

oh no no no, you can't be in the same room with them. that's against the rules! just like i couldn't go in and play with the squirrel monkeys while they napped and played, you too cannot go play/referee with your kids.

But seriously, I get the idea now. Thanks for the explanation. Sounds ... like my eyes would bleed.

lol, i realized after i wrote it that one of your kids is an infant right? well, he/she's disqualified 'cause the children must be motile and must at least be able to say 2 word sentences. you'd need to find another one.

 

[RadRadTerp]

As someone who once was headed in the direction of a Phd in the life sciences before entering vet school, I also want to echo the advice that you should find something that interests you and also try to find something that will pay you for all the work you're putting in. If you're going to be cleaning glass and making gels for other people, you at least deserve minimum wage because in that case you're more of a lab tech than an intern and that deserves compensation. I grew up in Bethesda, MD, so I was lucky enough to do 2 stints at the NIH, but it's getting more competitive these days. Fortunately, as others have pointed out, you can do summer research programs at many other universities, too.

While research is not for everyone (after 6 years, it wasn't for me anymore either!), I think everyone should at least try it because it does give you practical experience in doing tedious, boring work, giving presentations/defending your methods, and there are a lot of perks (like free food and clothes) from conferences/lecture series. Getting a flight and stay in Montreal covered by the HHMI was definitely awesome and I got to see a new city, all expenses paid. There's plenty of swag in vet med, but none of the stuff I have gotten over the past year in my program compares to the free stuff I got in Bethesda. $$Swag... dig it.$$ (I'm a greedy bastard)