academic research

[Guest debudebusu]

My major is in electrical engineering but I've always wanted to study Neuroscience. I am planning to pursue a master's degree in neuroscience but I really doubt my ability because I do not have sufficient background.

 

I am wondering if it is a good idea to go into medicine first, and then specialize in neurology. Or are there other possible options?

[Guest Liana]

I'm not a grad student myself, so you may get a better response from one of them.

 

However, if you plan to study neuroscience with a very laboratory-based perspective then I don't think you really need to consider medicine. Unless you owuld like a really good understanding of the entire functioning of the body, and perhaps an appreciation of some of the applications of neuroscience to medicine, then you might be looking at medicine as a really expensive and roundabout manner of updating your knowledge of biology. It depends on your area of interest, obviously, but neurology tends to emphasize more of the psychological aspect of neuroscience (ie, the behavioural and physical manifestations of neural disorders), whereas you may be more interested in functioning at a cellular level. Your electrical engineering background might actually serve you quite well if you were interested in a field like prosthetic development.

 

You may want to check out the admissions requirements of some schools that are of interest to you, but I think that if you don't actually want to get into the clinical perspective of things, you would be better off just taking a semester or two to pick up a few biology credits (biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, etc), rather than going through the process of writing the MCAT, applying to the program, and then spending the 4 years plus residency just to upgrade your knowledge of biology. However, if you are interested in using your knowledge of neuroscience to improve current healing practices, then medicine might be the program for you.

 

The bottom line is that there are more direct ways of getting to neuroscience research than going through medical school; you should make sure that you want to study the clinical side of things if you want to invest the time, money, and energy into medicine. Whatever, path you choose, good luck!

[Guest debudebusu]

Thank you very much for your helpful input, Liana :rollin

 

I am still not sure whether I want to go into medicine or research. It seems that getting into med school is very competitive in Canada and with my current GPA (3.3), I don't think i can stand a chance. Hence, I am thinking of going back to Japan to study the basic medical degree and then specialize in neurology. (but that means I will have to spend the rest of my career life in Japan, which isn't something i really want...)

 

I am wondering if any grad students (esp. in neuroscience) can share with me what it's like to pursue a career as an academic researcher. What do you spend most of your time doing? Is there a lot of stress "to publish or to perish"?

 

Also, it seems that med schools look favorably on students who have research experiences. For those people whose major isn't related to life sciences, how did you find relevant research opportunities (e.g. being a research assistant in the summer)? Will your duties be limited to basic chores like washing beakers and cleaning up the lab?

 

This is a wonderful discussion board. Thank you very much, Ian, and the rest of the contributors~

[Guest AniyaSG]

I just finished an M.Sc which did involve some neuroscience work. I always wanted to go into medicine, just never had the drive to go through the 'process'. All it took was a grad degree and I found what I needed. The ups and downs of research are tough, but the worst part was getting over my assay not working (joy!) and then turning around and realizing I had thousands of samples to analyze. The most exciting part of research ended up being when it was not working. Afterwards I just felt like a human robot. I also feel that by doing a PhD I will actually be limiting my options and I'm not prepared to become a professor or researcher who is so stuck publishing and doing grant proposals that I'm left with no time to spend doing the research part of things. It seems the more successful you are, the less research you actually participate in hands-on...

 

Now that I know research isn't for me, medicine is the obvious choice, and maybe my grad studies will help with my chances of admission.

 

As far as research goes, you can find all kinds of opportunities out there, some good, some bad. Think twice if you are told you will be assigned as a 'helper' to someone else and look for a lab where you will have a project of your own, even just for a summer.

 

And as for neuroscience studies without a biology background, you might get off with doing a qualifying year, if you find a supervisor to back you. As Liana said, if you plan on doing only research, medicine is an expensive and time-consuming way to get your background knowledge.

 

Good Luck!

[Guest debudebusu]

Thanks a lot, AniyaSG!

 

I guess most researchers are very bright, and they love their work very much. However, it seems that being a researcher is pretty hard, and it's lots of frustrations and stress. What motivate them to become researchers?

[Guest Ian Wong]

I suppose that one way of looking at it is that each time you find something, you are essentially setting a "world record." No one has done your research before (or had it formally acknowledged); you are expanding the universe of knowledge for the rest of humanity. It's pretty cool when you think of it that way.

 

Imagine the subject that you're most passionate in, and then being able to advance the world's knowledge on that area, while hopefully gaining a reputation that will then allow you to make money. I think people go into research because they love the chase of the unknown. Still, you have to love it because you'll need to make tons of sacrifices along the way.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest Liana]

If you did want to stay in Canada, you might have a better chance if you try doing a graduate degree first (eg, a masters..) From what I can tell, most schools lower the academic requirements for students with graduate degrees, and you can spend a couple of years getting a taste of things to make sure you want to go into something in that field.

 

There are a few schools that will admit you with a lower GPA, depending on which province you live in. For instance, in Ontario, only McMaster looks at applicants with a GPA below 3.5; they are by no means the easiest school to get into, but the fact that you've studied a less common program in undergrad may help to boost your application. If you have done a lot of extracurricular activities and tend to be a self-directed learner (and therefore might benefit from the PBL style of learning) you could try applying there, but there are certainly other ways you could try to boost your academic portfolio to apply to the other schools.

 

If you do consider grad school, you may also want to look into biophysics, which may let an engineering graduate in with no prior knowledge of biology, and would provide an opportunity for you to work in a neuroscience area and take some courses in that area. After 2 years or so, you would be eligible to apply for a much larger number of Canadian medical schools.

[Guest larry]

If u feel that you may not be prepared for studies in neuroscience, why not just audit a few courses offered in your school's undergraduate program. I don't think there would be any problem with you sitting in and listening to the most interesting science of them all!!!!