Research Experience

[Guest RXK]

Hello all,

 

i would love to get some research experience during the summer (and/or in the upcoming school year), but unfortunately i had missed the deadline for a program (ROP299Y) that my school (UofT) offers, which provides students with the opportunity to engage in research. thus, how could i go about getting some research experience? should i start by visiting local hospitals and asking whether there are any opportunities, or are there other organizations that i can go through to get a placement? should i directly contact researchers and if so, who? should i send resumes and references?... i really don't know where to begin; so, any advice would be great!

 

also, my interest lies in the medical research, such as in diabetes and neurological disorders, if this helps.

 

Thanks in Advance,

 

RXK

[Guest RageoftheDragon]

Talk to professors in various departments. If they have a research grant for anything, you can generally find work with them. My first summer research project occured by emailing those who recieved recent grants, and it worked well. Then, network network network. G'luck.

 

RotD

[Guest Steve U of T]

U of T has summer student programs through various departments. These allow you to attend a seminar series throughout the term of your research, and do a presentation of your work at the end. These programs also ensure that you are paid adequately. I'd recommend looking at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) program, since the faculty there all do clinically relevant research. Another program run by certain hospitals (HSC and MSH, I believe) is the Samuel Lunenfeld program. I'm not very familiar with that one, although I think they may offer a slightly larger stipend. Any of these programs will have a list of faculty members who are willing to participate, so you can directly contact them. There's also NSERC, which offers the best grants, although as far as I know, not many scientists doing medical type research have NSERC grants. If there is any professor whose research interests you, even if you can't find them listed through one of these programs, don't be afraid to contact them. They can often fund your salary from their own grant, or know of some external granting agency they can access.

 

For a summer position, you really need to start looking in January, or February at the latest. Most of these programs have application deadlines around February or March, but the supervisors will have chosen their students well ahead of time. If you want something for this summer, I think you'd probably have to offer your services for free (i.e. volunteer), although it will still be tough to find something because the materials used in research often cost a lot more than your salary. If you want something for the school year, I think the 299 program is available. For next summer, make sure you start contacting professors in January, and it's a good idea to contact a bunch of them (although only if you'd actually be interested in working for them). I'm told the competition is quite fierce. The professor I worked for after 2nd year told me he had dozens of applications for my position, and the one I worked for after 3rd year (and continued since then) said he had nearly 200 applications for the single position. With that level of competition, if you send an email, make sure it's well-written, and includes all the information they'll need. What I generally have done was detail why I'd like to work for them, and my qualifications. Basically, a standard cover letter. Including a CV and transcript is a good idea too. Having no research experience, you would want to focus on the relevant courses you've taken, and any lab work you've done in those courses (BIO250 would probably be the most relevant in your case). Calling their office, or going in person might be good ways to distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicant pool.

 

Good luck.

[Guest codloghorn]

i think you missed your chance for this summer. try applying early in january or february as steve u of t said.

[Guest squeegy80]

you could try volunteering to do field work or such with a prof whose research you're interested in. This might also lead to being hired by this prof next summer, and if not at least you have another possible reference and a chance to meet other researchers.