Research

[Lowly M1]

I'm an M1 on winter break.  How do I find research opportunities?  Should I email the chairman to arrange a time to meet?  I worked in a lab as an undergrad but get involved through a course I was taking.

[dispo]

(12-29-2016, 10:43 PM)Lowly M1 Wrote: I'm an M1 on winter break.  How do I find research opportunities?  Should I email the chairman to arrange a time to meet?  I worked in a lab as an undergrad but get involved through a course I was taking. 

Yeah so I think your idea about scheduling a meeting with the Department Chair is a great idea. It shows them you're interested (early on) and they know who in the department is more active in research and where to go from there. Letting that attending know you spoke to the Chair and they suggested you contact them might increase your chances of hearing back, too. It says you didn't just fire off an email but took the time to meet with someone. Rather than just directly emailing the chair, most have assistants in their offices and these people can set up the meetings for you. This is usually easier than writing the Chair and having him say "contact my assistant to set up a time." 

You're early in your training and have a summer off, so you could potentially find some basic science work to get involved in, if you're interested. You could see if there are any PhDs in the neurobiology department that have projects going. You can also look into other related departments like neuroradiology if your other pursuits aren't fruitful. My best advice is don't be afraid to cold-email someone to ask about research opportunities. Be polite, tell them briefly what if any experience you have and why you're interested. And ask if they don't have a project, if they know someone in the department who does. Finally, there are a ton of neurosurgery grant awards for summer between M1/M2, so you may want to look into that if you find a cool project.

[virgil]

Ask upperclassmen (M3s or M4s) what residents are on research rotations or are good about getting back to students and contact them about research opportunities - that usually can lead to case series, clinical studies, reviews for national submission and publication. At least that was how it worked where I went to medical school and where I have done residency. For basic research, like for between M1-M2 or for a year off, your school may have a list of labs or faculty looking for medical student research assistants - most med schools have some sort of formalized summer research program. If that's a dead end, pubmed the faculty and look to see who is publishing basic research then email them or, if their is a PhD with authorship, the basic scientist they collaborate with. A lot of times the research is done in collaboration with a PhD or even MD who may be in an entirely different department (biophysics, biomedical engineering, anatomy & physiology, oncology, pharmacology, etc).

Hope that helps get you started.