<p>Mabey its b/c i'm in a CC but I really have not found much research opporuntites anywhere. I want to do an NIH internship but I don't have very much credentials. It's not like I ever did research before and I hate extracurricular activities because their mostly social rather than academic so their a waste of time. So is there a place where they list research internships? </p>
<p>I know professors know about research internships but it feels awkward to ask them when I barley know them. How do you befriend your professor? I'm just not used to talking to people that are not my age.</p>
<p>im not sure how much research takes place at a CC. however, ask your profs if they have any contacts at universities. you could also try calling university researchers for summer research. It'll be hard to get research without talking to a professor. Plus, you'll have MUCH more opportunity if/when you go to a 4 year uni.</p>
<p>Get over the reluctance to ask the professors - that's part of their job (to mentor students). Perhaps your school offers premed advisement - maybe this can help. You might Email local 4 year colleges and inquire about volunteer opportunities in research labs. Keep in mind that research doesn't necessaily have to be in a hard science (you can also help with psychology or something of that nature).</p>
<p>At my 4-year college, I looked at faculty profiles in the departments that I was interested in. I look at their research interests, and I emailed about 15 of them saying that I was interested in their work and would like to talk to them more about it, and discuss the possibility of joining the lab. I got about 6 replies. This was probably less scary than actually visiting professors to ask them about research. Only after the initial emails did I set up meetings with the researchers who had replied to me.</p>
<p>Regarding emailing professors for research opportunities...
how likely would they be to take a freshman? I know I wouldn't be doing much actual or difficult work, but it would be good to become familiar with a research setting for later years.</p>
<p>Yeah I guess freshman doesn't have much experience that's why. BUT some researchers at my U are actually looking for freshmen. I ask one of them and he said he want freshmen so they can work with him for all 4 years, and they can get an early start with the lab training (he said won't take seniors anymore because when they graduate, all the trainings he gave them would be worthless, ya?). So keep trying!!</p>
<p>dang! there are no research opportunities at a CC but my biology teacher recommended an NIH internship. What are the chances of anyone landing an NIH internship?</p>
<p>Landing any kind of good internship will require a good college GPA and some research experience (despite the fact they say that research experience is not required). You will be def. at a disadvantage as a freshman applying for internships.</p>
<p>I have talked to a lot of different professors at my school and am a freshman myself, and from what I understand, a good way to line up a summer internship is to find a professor doing something that you find interesting and ask if you can volunteer in the lab during the spring unpaid. Then, after you have a few months of experience, you could ask the professor if they would be willing to pay you over the summer as a research assistant. That way, you can get the research experience necessary to get such a position. Most professors, unless they are extremely busy or already have full labs, will let you help them out, provided that you are doing it for free. It sucks doing unpaid work, but it enables you to get into the lab and hopefully obtain a summer spot. </p>
<p>Additionally, if the professor does not have sufficient funds to pay you over the summer, you may want to look into/ask about reach funding (at least thats what they call it at my school), which provides a modest stipend for unpaid, career-related research or work. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Do medical school care about what sort of research you have done? Do they value biology/chem research more than lets say physics or math?, which i am more interested in.</p>
<p>I might be working with my physics prof and engineering program liaison in sonoluminescence research. As an engineering major and premed would this be something appropriate? At my school, the engineering and physics department are combined. This research is more on the physical/chemical side of the equation. What type of research do engineers usually partake in?</p>
<p>generally it doesn't matter as long as you show commitment and can passionately talk about what you are doing. i would personally like to do clinical research, but im sure bench research in non-medical fields is much better than no research at all.</p>
<p>Bench research involves molecular biology and biochem or, at most, animal models. You'd be mixing test tubes, running gels, using PCR, etc. The intellectual exercise is greatest, but the experimentation itself is much less satisfying for many people.</p>
<p>Clinical research involves using a protocol that has already been developed and which you suspect (almost always based on bench research) will help. You can be testing for safety or efficacy or both.</p>
<p>To oversimplify, bench research involves discovering things, and clinical research involves testing them to make sure they work the way you're expecting.</p>
<p>In recent times, there's arisen an interest (which scientists tend not to like) that emphasizes "translational research", which is the connecting step between bench and basic. This is traditionally done by pharmaceutical companies, however.</p>
<p>All things being equal, basic research is the most prestigious. HOWEVER:
1.) For medical school admissions purposes you should note that clinical research will accomplish the important goal of getting you clinical experience as well as research experience.
2.) Furthermore, all things are usually NOT equal. You can usually accomplish more in a clinical protocol than you could behind a bench if you were, say, devoting a summer to it. And a more successful clinical project is more prestigious than a less successful basic science project.</p>
<p>The best, of course, is to have clinical exposure mixed in with your community service, and to have separate basic science research that works out successfully.</p>
<p>But these things are impossible to predict in advance.</p>