Evaluate My Plan : Marine Biology For Medicine?

[marine]

Hey 

 

I'm currently a first-year science student at UBC.

I wish to have my plan evaluated as I don't know where to begin my journey.

I've always been interested in the microbial ecosystem of the ocean, and I have a firm belief that the oceanic sciences (including marine biology) will become the new frontier of biomedical innovation as we're just starting to realize its potential for the field of biomedical science.

 

So I plan on conducting undergraduate research on this topic (marine biology & medicine related research) but I ask all of you who are vastly more experienced than I am in research, if this is remotely possible.

With my limited knowledge, I believe that the research will entail the biological processes of various oceanic microbes and its applications to medicine. Or just a naturalistic observation of these processes and its potential effect on the health sciences.

So does this research plan sound plausible for an average undergraduate student like me? Or is this dream too far to reach? 

I just thought it could be a chance to research this b/c UBC is very strong in this field due to its proximity to the ocean.

I believe UBC ranks first in Canada for marine biology..

 

 

I could also go into cell/developmental biology which is obviously the traditional route to medicine. But I would be trading off the chance to gain extensive knowledge of the eukaryotic cell for marine bio and so I'm a bit unsure of doing this as well. I would greatly appreciate a comment on that too.

 

Thanks for reading my long post! 

[helicase]

Honestly for med, do an undergrad you will do well in and are passionate about. If marine biology is that for you then go for it!

 

A great place to start in terms of research is seeing if there are any profs at UBC who are currently doing research that interests you! Then start emailing around and you may be able to start volunteering in their lab, other options would be applying for an NSERC etc. provided your GPA is great.

[Pterygoid]

do what you're good at .
Med cares about your GPA and your EC's.

[Bambi]

Follow your interests, once you have academics under control become an activie citizen demonstrating compassion, empathy and CanMEDS competencies and nature will take its course. All programs can lead to medicine.

[robclem21]

Honestly for med, do an undergrad you will do well in and are passionate about. If marine biology is that for you then go for it!

 

A great place to start in terms of research is seeing if there are any profs at UBC who are currently doing research that interests you! Then start emailing around and you may be able to start volunteering in their lab, other options would be applying for an NSERC etc. provided your GPA is great.

 

I agree with this. As an undergrad, your ability to do research on your own is pretty limited because it is expensive and resource intensive. Your best bet would be to contact professors and see if they would be willing to have you volunteer for them or maybe work for them during the summer. Even if it is not exactly what you want to do (I'm not sure how prominent that type of research is), something similar would be a good stepping stone so that you can gain some good skills in research.

 

I think it is great for you to want to be involved so early. Remember to 1) keep your expectations for research realistic. It is a long process that doesn't usually result in quick gains, and 2) focus on your grades. If medicine is what interests you, replacing your grades is a much bigger challenge than finding research down the road.

 

Good luck.

[marine]

 

 

Thanks all for taking your time to answer my questions. I'm not trying to do this research for my resume for med school. I just really want to study this!