what is bench research?

[orangeblossom]

I apologize for what may seem like a noob question, but I am a nontrad, so I dont really know these things...

Can somebody explain the definition/differences between bench research, clinical research and translational research?

When SDNers say that research is an important aspect to med school or residency applications, do they mean bench or clinical or translational (whatever that is!)?

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[chopes31]

Basic science (bench): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_research

Clinical Research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_research

Translational research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translational_research

They will all help your application, although basic science can take years to complete/publish, while clinical can take as little as a couple months

 

[911 Turbo]

I apologize for what may seem like a noob question, but I am a nontrad, so I dont really know these things...

Can somebody explain the definition/differences between bench research, clinical research and translational research?

When SDNers say that research is an important aspect to med school or residency applications, do they mean bench or clinical or translational (whatever that is!)?

they mean scientific research, which bench research, clinical research, and translational research all are.

I am not 100%, but here's how I view it

I am not sure about translational research (I believe it means researching a topic which could provide potential benefit to patients, like drug discovery), but bench research is basic research that most large universities perform on a variety of topics (biochemical, biological, physics research, etc). Clinical research is research that deals directly with data from patients or other things medically related, like the best way to perform a surgical technique.

 

[DAPI]

Bench research is research that is done sitting in a lab. For medicine, I think of it as testing different drugs or using siRNA or transfections in cell culture to see the affects they have in cell viability, apoptosis, RNA expression, protein expression, etc. Bench research also includes animal models.

Clinical research includes looking at patient outcomes and clinical trials.

Translational research is supposed to be bench research that is directly relatable to patients and is often referred to as 'bench to bedside' research. This is probably the most vague as it encompasses both bench and clinical research.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

I apologize for what may seem like a noob question, but I am a nontrad, so I dont really know these things...

Can somebody explain the definition/differences between bench research, clinical research and translational research?

When SDNers say that research is an important aspect to med school or residency applications, do they mean bench or clinical or translational (whatever that is!)?

It's like the stuff you do at a lab bench, similar to a bio lab, like PCR, western blots, cloning, etc...

 

[DrEnderW]

I've worked in labs that do all 3 types of research so here's my definition:

Bench research: Basic scientific discovery conducted literally at a laboratory bench - think pipetting, running gels, biochemistry experiments, etc. This is type of research is usually directed at finding out one particular piece of a scientific puzzle. An example would be something like: if "protein x" is down regulated in this pathway, will there be less transcription of "gene y?" This is the typical pre-med research.

Clinical Research: This would be harder to get your hands on before medical school and involves reviewing outcomes with patients. It can be ongoing or a retrospective study and, for example, could directly involve treatment/drug outcomes. This is tough today without some strong relationships with physicians.

Translational Research: This is a combination of both bench and clinical research and is what I'm currently doing - it makes things a lot more exciting. The basic research your doing has a direct proven clinical link and your working to implement your findings in the clinical setting. Again, this would likely have to be conducted at a medical school or large research institution because it requires clinical work and a patient population. An example of this would be: you're studying a certain biological pathway that effects a diseased patient population and your findings are being implemented into a treatment protocol and is being tested on groups of patients.

 

[Textbookversion]

Getting involved in anything is good. Getting published in any of those areas is better. Being able to talk articulately about your involvement and what you were studying is important either way.

 

[orangeblossom]

Great, thank you for your responses!

I have a follow-up question. Are clinical research opportunities largely "reserved" for medical students with bench research experience? A LOT if not all the research opportunities I've looked up for medical students say that the applicant should demonstrate prior research experience (and if most pre-meds do bench research in undergrad, I'm assuming most applicants with prior experience have bench experience?)

Lastly, is translational research "reserved" for students with prior experience in both bench & clinical?

I'm just trying to get a sense of what kind of research I can get involved in as a medical student. As a nontrad with no scientific research experience, I have a few more hurdles than most.

 

[chopes31]

Great, thank you for your responses!

I have a follow-up question. Are clinical research opportunities largely "reserved" for medical students with bench research experience? A LOT if not all the research opportunities I've looked up for medical students say that the applicant should demonstrate prior research experience (and if most pre-meds do bench research in undergrad, I'm assuming most applicants with prior experience have bench experience?)

Lastly, is translational research "reserved" for students with prior experience in both bench & clinical?

I'm just trying to get a sense of what kind of research I can get involved in as a medical student. As a nontrad with no scientific research experience, I have a few more hurdles than most.

I don't think any of it is reserved. Several medical students have no prior research experience. The only reason it might be reserved is if the the PI wants to be selective.

 

[BuddyTheElf]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'd love to throw a question out there:
Do publications that you were on before medical school look as good as publications during medical school? For example, if you were published the summer before you started medical school... would that look good on residency applications? Or is it only the stuff that you do during med school that matters?
Thanks 🙂

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'd love to throw a question out there:
Do publications that you were on before medical school look as good as publications during medical school? For example, if you were published the summer before you started medical school... would that look good on residency applications? Or is it only the stuff that you do during med school that matters?
Thanks 🙂

Pubs from undergrad help you get into med school. Pubs from medical school help you land residencies.

 

[DrEnderW]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'd love to throw a question out there:
Do publications that you were on before medical school look as good as publications during medical school? For example, if you were published the summer before you started medical school... would that look good on residency applications? Or is it only the stuff that you do during med school that matters?
Thanks 🙂

All publications look good and can be placed on a residency application. Medical school research will be more important because it is the most current.

 

[Cinclus]

Bench research = you inside a lab, doing lab stuff

 

[Narmerguy]

Don't forget (the often forgotten) computational research!! It can be basic science without involving actual wet lab work (protein modelling, genomics, systems biology, etc).

 

[chopes31]

Don't forget (the often forgotten) computational research!! It can be basic science without involving actual wet lab work (protein modelling, genomics, systems biology, etc).

Would this require proficiency in programming?

 

[911 Turbo]

Would this require proficiency in programming?

I think programming skills would be very helpful in most cases. As with everything there are probably exceptions

 

[Narmerguy]

I think programming skills would be very helpful in most cases. As with everything there are probably exceptions

Very true. I did not have programming skills and I was still pretty successful. I think as an undergraduate you can get away with not having programming skills, but after that you want to at least be versed in one language. I will say that I badly wished I knew a language, it makes the work much faster and you don't have to wait around as much for the grad students to write little scripts for you here and there.

 

[DrEnderW]

Would this require proficiency in programming?

A very important and recent breakthroughs in HIV research was discovered by online gamers using a program to model proteins. They were able to put the puzzle together and figure out the structure in silico that scientists have been grappling with in wet labs.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/19/aids-protein-decoded-gamers_n_970113.html