What is the best way to seek at PI for research?

[frochocinco]

If I'm interested in pursuing research opportunities as an MS1, is there a particular way to go about finding a PI/project? Also, if there are big research institutions within a close proximity of my medical school (for example, the NIH), is there a certain way to approach? Can I just look at researchers and email them directly or is there a more formal protocol to go through?

Sorry for the ignorance, but I'm starting as an MS1 in August and if I decide to pursue research, I want to make sure I go at it the correct way.

Thanks very much.

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[sinombre]

There's no problem with cold emailing. You'll probably find it's much easier to get a response as a medical student than as an undergrad.

 

[sinombre]

Also it's probably a good idea to figure out how much time/work it will take you to succeed in school prior to embarking on any kind of extracurricular activities. There were a handful of students in my class who bit off more than they could chew during the first block and had to remediate over the summer. So it makes sense to wait until you have at least one final under your belt before you make any kind of commitment.

 

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

I agree that you should establish your work ethic as a medical student first before diving into research, but since you know where you are going in the Fall it wouldn't hurt to start looking at the faculty and see what they are doing. Make a list of researchers you might be interested in working with so that once you are a student you can e-mail them to set up a meeting. Another thing you could do before you start and once you've made this list is to read some of their publications.

As for the NIH, you may want to explore the opportunities they have for medical students: https://www.training.nih.gov/meddent_programs_at_the_nih, specifically their summer research internship program: http://www.cc.nih.gov/training/students/summer_internships.html. If you're really that close to the NIH, you could also see if you could find research mentorship while in school if you can manage it.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

How to find PI? Take a circle... measure the circumference... and divide it by the diameter!

Ok, sorry, terrible joke. But it's late and I'm tired of neuro.

I would say to wait until the end of your first semester to start e-mailing PIs and/or e-mail now with the explicit intent to start after a semester (or at least few weeks). Really, I got two offers for research after e-mailing two people. Put me in a bit of a pickle, but... it's not hard to find a project as long as you have a clear goal.

 

[frochocinco]

There's no problem with cold emailing. You'll probably find it's much easier to get a response as a medical student than as an undergrad.

Also it's probably a good idea to figure out how much time/work it will take you to succeed in school prior to embarking on any kind of extracurricular activities. There were a handful of students in my class who bit off more than they could chew during the first block and had to remediate over the summer. So it makes sense to wait until you have at least one final under your belt before you make any kind of commitment.

I agree that you should establish your work ethic as a medical student first before diving into research, but since you know where you are going in the Fall it wouldn't hurt to start looking at the faculty and see what they are doing. Make a list of researchers you might be interested in working with so that once you are a student you can e-mail them to set up a meeting. Another thing you could do before you start and once you've made this list is to read some of their publications.

As for the NIH, you may want to explore the opportunities they have for medical students: https://www.training.nih.gov/meddent_programs_at_the_nih, specifically their summer research internship program: http://www.cc.nih.gov/training/students/summer_internships.html. If you're really that close to the NIH, you could also see if you could find research mentorship while in school if you can manage it.

How to find PI? Take a circle... measure the circumference... and divide it by the diameter!

Ok, sorry, terrible joke. But it's late and I'm tired of neuro.

I would say to wait until the end of your first semester to start e-mailing PIs and/or e-mail now with the explicit intent to start after a semester (or at least few weeks). Really, I got two offers for research after e-mailing two people. Put me in a bit of a pickle, but... it's not hard to find a project as long as you have a clear goal.

To all three of you, thanks very much for your advice. I definitely will slow my role a bit haha. I'm just eager to get going. I also got off to a bad start at undergrad due to a lack of mentorship so I wanted to be a bit more aggressive and make sure I knew the right steps to take. Maybe I'll reach out sooner rather than later, but I will be sure to express my desire to wait until after first semester.

One more question. And again, I apologize for the ignorance, but when I reach out to PI's...is there a specific way I should ask? Am I just asking to help out in any way, shape, or form in their lab (given my interest), or as a medical student, is there a specific type of research that I should/need to do?

Thanks again.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

To all three of you, thanks very much for your advice. I definitely will slow my role a bit haha. I'm just eager to get going. I also got off to a bad start at undergrad due to a lack of mentorship so I wanted to be a bit more aggressive and make sure I knew the right steps to take. Maybe I'll reach out sooner rather than later, but I will be sure to express my desire to wait until after first semester.

One more question. And again, I apologize for the ignorance, but when I reach out to PI's...is there a specific way I should ask? Am I just asking to help out in any way, shape, or form in their lab (given my interest), or as a medical student, is there a specific type of research that I should/need to do?

Thanks again.

I would say to be specific about what you're interested in... or honest if you're interested in doing anything! As a medical student with some prior knowledge, you can choose to be a bit pickier than an undergrad. However, I wouldn't demand things like starting your own project or being published or whatnot... at least in my case, I was just curious if I could get started in any way. For one example, this is one e-mail that I sent (redacted a bit to preserve the small shred of anonymity I have left on this site).

Dear Dr. X,

I am a current first-year medical student at __. I have an interest in conducting research during my time here, and thoroughly enjoyed your lectures this morning on ___! I also noted that your lab is listed as one that may take pre-clerkship medical students on for research projects (possibly via the ___ research program).

To tell you a little about my research background:
I graduated in __ from __ with a degree in biopsychology. Before beginning my time at __, I was a laboratory manager in the __ at __ (P.I.: __) where we studied memory, aging, and emotion with cognitive neuroscience methods. I worked with ___ for three years, and published several neuroimaging papers.

I am currently CITI certified in biomedical research, was trained in MRI operation (functional, structural, and DTI imaging sequences) at the ____, and have practical experience and training in TMS and EEG/ERP methodology. I was also a volunteer in the ___ Hospital emergency imaging department, where I learned about clinical and diagnostic imaging.

Though I have a background that is pretty focused on cognitive neuroscience, I thought that your lab would be a great place to make a transition towards more clinically relevant work. I am particularly interested in any work with clinical populations, and, most specifically, imaging work. Please let me know if you may have any opportunities for research in the upcoming semesters -- or if you have any questions for me.

I have attached a copy of my CV for your reference. Thank you for your time!

All the best,
Johnamo

 

[frochocinco]

I would say to be specific about what you're interested in... or honest if you're interested in doing anything! As a medical student with some prior knowledge, you can choose to be a bit pickier than an undergrad. However, I wouldn't demand things like starting your own project or being published or whatnot... at least in my case, I was just curious if I could get started in any way. For one example, this is one e-mail that I sent (redacted a bit to preserve the small shred of anonymity I have left on this site).

Dear Dr. X,

I am a current first-year medical student at __. I have an interest in conducting research during my time here, and thoroughly enjoyed your lectures this morning on ___! I also noted that your lab is listed as one that may take pre-clerkship medical students on for research projects (possibly via the ___ research program).

To tell you a little about my research background:
I graduated in __ from __ with a degree in biopsychology. Before beginning my time at __, I was a laboratory manager in the __ at __ (P.I.: __) where we studied memory, aging, and emotion with cognitive neuroscience methods. I worked with ___ for three years, and published several neuroimaging papers.

I am currently CITI certified in biomedical research, was trained in MRI operation (functional, structural, and DTI imaging sequences) at the ____, and have practical experience and training in TMS and EEG/ERP methodology. I was also a volunteer in the ___ Hospital emergency imaging department, where I learned about clinical and diagnostic imaging.

Though I have a background that is pretty focused on cognitive neuroscience, I thought that your lab would be a great place to make a transition towards more clinically relevant work. I am particularly interested in any work with clinical populations, and, most specifically, imaging work. Please let me know if you may have any opportunities for research in the upcoming semesters -- or if you have any questions for me.

I have attached a copy of my CV for your reference. Thank you for your time!

All the best,
Johnamo

Wow, this is fantastic. Thank you so much. I will use it wisely as a framework!

EDIT: And yes, I would never push any demand like desiring to have my own project right away (if ever)...I was just asking in the context to see how I could make sure I contribute in a way that will obviously be beneficial to the lab, but also be worthwhile for me in terms of learning and residency application purposes.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Wow, this is fantastic. Thank you so much. I will use it wisely as a framework!

Looking back on it I was probably a bit wordier than I should have been (I know some PIs who would take one look at that block of text and just say "nope"), but I thought I would have a devil of a time trying to find research and really wanted to do what I could to sell myself.

 

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

Johnamo's email is a great example of how to approach research faculty. I would suggest making it shorter, but do what you feel is best.

Introduce yourself. State your interest in getting involved with research, what interests you about their research and why (you could perhaps briefly align this with your background). Then ask if there are any research opportunities to work with them, and if so, whether it would be possible to schedule a meeting at their convenience.

I think Johnamo's email could be shortened to:

Dear Dr. X,

I am a current first-year medical student at __. I have an interest in conducting research during my time here, and thoroughly enjoyed your lectures this morning on ___! I also noted that your lab is listed as one that may take pre-clerkship medical students on for research projects (possibly via the ___ research program).

Though I have a background that is pretty focused on cognitive neuroscience, I thought that your lab would be a great place to make a transition towards more clinically relevant work. Before beginning my time at __, I was a laboratory manager in the __ at __ (P.I.: __) where we studied memory, aging, and emotion with cognitive neuroscience methods. I worked with ___ for three years, and published several neuroimaging papers. I am particularly interested in any work with clinical populations, and, most specifically, imaging work. Please let me know if you may have any opportunities for research in the upcoming semesters -- or if you have any questions for me.

I have attached a copy of my CV for your reference. Thank you for your time!

All the best,
Johnamo

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Johnamo's email is a great example of how to approach research faculty. I would suggest making it shorter, but do what you feel is best.

Introduce yourself. State your interest in getting involved with research, what interests you about their research and why (you could perhaps briefly align this with your background). Then ask if there are any research opportunities to work with them, and if so, whether it would be possible to schedule a meeting at their convenience.

I think Johnamo's email could be shortened to:

Dear Dr. X,

I am a current first-year medical student at __. I have an interest in conducting research during my time here, and thoroughly enjoyed your lectures this morning on ___! I also noted that your lab is listed as one that may take pre-clerkship medical students on for research projects (possibly via the ___ research program).

Though I have a background that is pretty focused on cognitive neuroscience, I thought that your lab would be a great place to make a transition towards more clinically relevant work. Before beginning my time at __, I was a laboratory manager in the __ at __ (P.I.: __) where we studied memory, aging, and emotion with cognitive neuroscience methods. I worked with ___ for three years, and published several neuroimaging papers. I am particularly interested in any work with clinical populations, and, most specifically, imaging work. Please let me know if you may have any opportunities for research in the upcoming semesters -- or if you have any questions for me.

I have attached a copy of my CV for your reference. Thank you for your time!

All the best,
Johnamo

Totally agree. I would additionally recommend you look for faculty with current graduate students (read: grant funding and mentorship interest/experience), who publish frequently, and who are not overly committed to teaching or clinics. You have a better chance for a productive experience this way.

 

[frochocinco]

Totally agree. I would additionally recommend you look for faculty with current graduate students, who publish frequently, and who are not overly committed to teaching or clinics. You have a better chance for a productive experience this way.

Okay great. Again, thank you. To both of you.

Not to give too much away, but my school is within a close proximity of a major research institution, so I definitely wanted to reach out there given the plethora of options (even if they are not directly affiliated with my school)...is that a bad idea?

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Okay great. Again, thank you. To both of you.

Not to give too much away, but my school is within a close proximity of a major research institution, so I definitely wanted to reach out there given the plethora of options (even if they are not directly affiliated with my school)...is that a bad idea?

Not a bad idea at all. I would also just "cold-e-mail" them and see what happens.

 

[frochocinco]

Yup...no harm in asking I guess, as long as it's polite.

 

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

Not a bad idea at all. I would also just "cold-e-mail" them and see what happens.

I would think e-mail would be the most effective means of contacting researchers at an institution like this. I guess that depends on the person, though.

frochocinco, if you are indeed talking about the NIH, the NIH directory lists a good amount of contact information, so it's worth a shot to cover all your bases if you really want to work with them. Persistence may pay off. I think this is their directory: https://ned.nih.gov/search/

 

[frochocinco]

Not a bad idea at all. I would also just "cold-e-mail" them and see what happens.

I would think e-mail would be the most effective means of contacting researchers at an institution like this. I guess that depends on the person, though.

frochocinco, if you are indeed talking about the NIH, the NIH directory lists a good amount of contact information, so it's worth a shot to cover all your bases if you really want to work with them. Persistence may pay off. I think this is their directory: https://ned.nih.gov/search/

Okay, great. Thanks again guys...some of the best feedback ive ever gotten on SDN. Truly appreciate it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

No problem! Best of luck in the hunt for a research mentor. Everyone should have one.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

I would think e-mail would be the most effective means of contacting researchers at an institution like this. I guess that depends on the person, though.

frochocinco, if you are indeed talking about the NIH, the NIH directory lists a good amount of contact information, so it's worth a shot to cover all your bases if you really want to work with them. Persistence may pay off. I think this is their directory: https://ned.nih.gov/search/

Agree. I know very few PIs who don't handle all of their business and/or inquiries over e-mail... and, from experience, those who go through phone or via administrators are not the kind of mentors you want to work with.

Enjoy the rest of your time before medical school, and congratulations!