wall.flower Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 How does one decide what area of research they are interested in before they being their work in a lab. For example, how does one choose between say cancer research, and say research in Parkinson's, or immunology? Would it look bad to change labs, in order to find a suitable one that matches one's interests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L'etoile Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Definitely based on interest! For example, I'm currently looking for a job position and I look at different scientist profiles and their published articles and see if it's of interest to me or not based on what I was exposed to in classes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoE Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I totally want to second L'etoile's comment. Go with what interests you if you can. In my experience, it is most important to work in a lab where you will enjoy the day-to-day work, although it is important to be interested in the disease/topic being researched as well. So remember to ask about the nature of the work you will be doing in the lab before committing... Will you be racking pipettes and doing dishes all day? Or will you be suddenly mother/father to hundreds of transgenic mice? There are so many different types of experiments and so many different types of lab, so it helps be adventurous and just join a lab and see if you like it. You can't usually "change labs" mid project, like if you sign up for a summer job in one lab, you are probably gonna have to stay there or quit. PS Immunology is the coolest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekylo Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I absolutely agree with the posts above ! Check the lab's published work and the sorts of topics they are investigating. If you get an interview, ask what your role specifically will be. Also, if you have something you're particularly interested but they don't mention that, you can always ask whether it might be possible for you to do that in the future (of course, be humble and say you understand if it's not possible right away). Also, get a feel for the lab itself. Sometimes the material might be really interesting but the PI might not be that great. Chances are, you'll be spending a significant amount of time in the lab and you want to be in a team you feel you can work with. Some labs are nicer to undergrads in terms of opportunities (ie. chances to make/present posters, etc). GL ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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