luciferase Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 Hey guys, I'm going into my 2nd yr of mac health sci this sept and really want to secure a research position for the school year. I know this isnt prime time for contacting researchers and most of the replies I've gotten have said their lab is full, but do y'all have any specific advice regarding how to land a research position ? In the emails I have sent so far, I've included a reference letter from my 1st yr psychobio TA, CV and transcript. And I've kept the content of the emails short and sweet, as well as personalized to the prof's research/publications. I'm not sure if I'm doing anything wrong, but I'm really frustrated. Everyone I know seems to have their life figured out and doing research in the summer! As for my research interests, I'm interested in both dry lab and wet lab research. Specific interests include mental health disorders, mental health policy / interventions, oncology, pharmacology/drug synthesis/mechanisms, human cognition/perception. But also open to other interesting projects in other fields. SO, any advice regarding how I should increase my chances of landing a fruitful outcome? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
End Poverty Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 Hi luciferase When I was in undergrad, I did NSERC wet lab research projects over the Summer and I contacted my professors in December/January. I contacted professors that I had for my undergrad courses, and they knew me because I was involved in class discussion and I did well in their classes. It may be the case that you are contacting your professors a bit late or you are contacting professors who don't know you. What is your GPA? In order to qualify for NSERCs you need a GPA of 3.8+. It is okay to contact profs that you don't know, but I always had better outcomes when I contacted profs who knew me. In fact, all my undergrad research projects supervisors were also my professors and they taught me 1 or 2 classes and they liked me as a student and wanted to work with me over the Summer. My info may be a bit outdated though because I currently do qualitative research only which is quite different from wet lab research. Why are you interested in doing research in these areas? Do you have a background in these areas? If so, highlight your skills when you are sending e-mails to your profs. If you can't find paid positions, then look for volunteer research positions. Best of Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhominem Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 It is quite uncommon to get a wet lab research position during the school year outside of research-based courses (i.e. final year theses). Have you looked into whether you could apply for a research position as part of your undergraduate program? Some schools offer research-based 3rd year courses which are a semester long, in addition to their 4th year thesis courses. I would echo the comments made above- contact potential summer supervisors in November/December. Many profs cannot afford to take on students without them getting a studentship (i.e. NSERC), so your GPA is going to be a critical component of their decision. If you cannot get a paid position, offering to work as a volunteer would also be an option. My advice would be to check your university websites and see who was recently successful in obtaining large grants from CIHR or NSERC- as they will likely have funding for you to pay you even if you cannot secure your own funding. Getting a position can often be a numbers game, so it is important to contact many professors and express interest. Hopefully you will get a few bites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luciferase Posted June 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 On June 20, 2017 at 2:15 PM, adhominem said: It is quite uncommon to get a wet lab research position during the school year outside of research-based courses (i.e. final year theses). Have you looked into whether you could apply for a research position as part of your undergraduate program? Some schools offer research-based 3rd year courses which are a semester long, in addition to their 4th year thesis courses. I would echo the comments made above- contact potential summer supervisors in November/December. Many profs cannot afford to take on students without them getting a studentship (i.e. NSERC), so your GPA is going to be a critical component of their decision. If you cannot get a paid position, offering to work as a volunteer would also be an option. My advice would be to check your university websites and see who was recently successful in obtaining large grants from CIHR or NSERC- as they will likely have funding for you to pay you even if you cannot secure your own funding. Getting a position can often be a numbers game, so it is important to contact many professors and express interest. Hopefully you will get a few bites. On June 20, 2017 at 8:30 AM, End Poverty said: Hi luciferase When I was in undergrad, I did NSERC wet lab research projects over the Summer and I contacted my professors in December/January. I contacted professors that I had for my undergrad courses, and they knew me because I was involved in class discussion and I did well in their classes. It may be the case that you are contacting your professors a bit late or you are contacting professors who don't know you. What is your GPA? In order to qualify for NSERCs you need a GPA of 3.8+. It is okay to contact profs that you don't know, but I always had better outcomes when I contacted profs who knew me. In fact, all my undergrad research projects supervisors were also my professors and they taught me 1 or 2 classes and they liked me as a student and wanted to work with me over the Summer. My info may be a bit outdated though because I currently do qualitative research only which is quite different from wet lab research. Why are you interested in doing research in these areas? Do you have a background in these areas? If so, highlight your skills when you are sending e-mails to your profs. If you can't find paid positions, then look for volunteer research positions. Best of Luck Thanks guys for your advice I didn't know about the research scholarships /NSERC available through my program and will apply next summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanwalker Posted October 22, 2018 Report Share Posted October 22, 2018 Thanks for the good suggestions.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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