PHD in Neurochemistry

Graduate School
1

Hello,
I am a current junior at URI majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology with a concentration in Biochemistry and a Neuropsychology minor. I am looking for doctorate programs focused on Neurochemistry or Neurobiology, because I want to study neurodegenerative diseases and biochemistry of the brain. I am hesitant to apply to Neuroscience programs because of the focus on behavior and clinical psychology applications. I have been having a hard time finding domestic programs that focus on Neurochemistry, but have found some in Stockholm and Munich. Unfortunately, the programs that I have found are Masters programs, and I would heavily prefer to enter a PhD program. Thus, I have a few questions:

  1. With a 3.4 GPA, and research in an Alzheimer’s organic chemistry lab, do I have a shot at entering a PhD program without a masters?

  2. Do you know of any PhD programs in Neurochemistry that I should look into?

  3. Is junior year too early to begin reaching out to professors about research and funding? And how does doctorate specialization work, can I find professors doing research in neurochemistry and ask about specialized PhD programs?

As you can see I am a little overwhelmed with the idea of Grad School being right around the corner. I know I am only a junior, but I am studying hard for the GRE’s, and trying to get all of my ducks in a row. Thanks in advance for the help!

Kay

2

Neurochemistry isn’t a common program. For a PhD, you should be looking for professors who do the research you’re interested in. It sounds like you know what you’re interested in, so by all means find out who’s doing the most exciting work in your field. Check their website or their papers and see which department their students are in. My guess is that you’ll find them in Chemistry, Neuroscience, or the Medical School.

For your questions:

  1. 3.4 GPA is on the lower end, but if you have higher grades in your major courses, especially upper-year courses that could be ok. It’ll also depend on the tier of school you’re applying to. For the top 10-ish schools, a 3.7 is almost expected. If you have strong research experience backed up by letters from your professors or publications, you’ll have a good shot at very respectable programs.
  1. Look for schools where they have the research you're looking to do. You'll probably find that the researchers doing the kind of research you're interested in did not go through a "PhD in Neurochemistry" program. Rather, they have a PhD in Cell Biol, Neurosci, Behavioral science, Chemistry, etc. and did their graduate research in a lab that specializes in neurochemistry.
  2. Since it sounds like you know what you want to study and have some research experience, it's not too early. You can send them your CV and a brief intro and ask if they plan on taking students in the year you're applying. You can also ask if they think you're a reasonable candidate for admission too. You might not get a lot of replies, but that's ok as long as every one of your emails is personalized. Do not just send a generic email to a whole bunch of profs.

Something to consider is that the best researchers in your field may not be at the schools with the most name recognition. In the view of other researchers in your field (ie. your colleagues in your future career), the worth of your PhD has a lot to do with who your advisor was and what you actually worked on, it can work in your favor to do your PhD at a ‘lesser’ school with outstanding professor, rather than at a well-known school with a lesser-known professor.

The biggest risk with choosing your PhD program based on the advisor you’re interested in alone is that if something doesn’t work out with that professor, you might not actually find another lab at that school that you’re happy with. When I was choosing programs to apply to, I made sure there were at least 3 labs I’d be ok with joining.

Another thing to keep in mind is that many schools are now highly interdisciplinary. There are ways to join labs outside your home department. For example, where I did my Chemistry PhD, there were Mat Sci and BioE and ChemE labs I was interested in too. My school let Chem students have non-Chem dept. advisors. You’ll have to check each school and program to see if it’s possible.

3

This was so helpful, thank you!

4

Neuroscience is the umbrella term for understanding the structure and function of the brain. Neurochemistry and neurobiology are actually subsets/subfields of neuroscience. So it stands to reason (and is true) that you can study neurochemistry and/or neurobiology at an appropriately equipped neuroscience PhD program.

How much a neuroscience program focuses on behavior and applications really depends on the program, your PI, and the kind of research you do. I would say most neuroscience programs/researchers actually don’t focus on clinical psychology applications at all. One of my friends is a neuroscientist by training, and a lot of research were on animal models of brain regional behavior and she will tell you her research had no immediate practical application. That’s pretty common. And many neuroscientists do research that leans more towards determining the structure and function of the brain than towards behavior.

You’ll find neurochemistry research at lots of different types of programs - PhD programs in neurobiology or neuroscience as well as in regular biology, chemistry, or other biomedical/life sciences PhD programs. It’s more about looking for researchers/faculty who are doing research in the areas you’re interested in than it is about finding a program with a specific title.

Also, if you want to teach and do research in the United States, you should probably get your PhD here too.

  1. A shot, yes, although it depends on how impressive your research and the rest of your package is and how that 3.4 came about. Is your major GPA higher?

  2. I think you should expand your search to neurobiology and neuroscience programs, because you can study neurochemistry at a lot of them. Once you’ve narrowed down your research interest more, look into it by faculty and research offered, not just program.

  3. Second semester junior year isn’t too early, although I’d wait until a little later in the semester since many professors won’t know whether they’re taking students for fall 2020 until later in the spring. They’re also trying to finish up this fall’s admissions.

The way doctoral specialization works is that you pick an area of interest and you find faculty in that particular area. So yes, you find faculty doing research in neurochemistry - regardless of what kind of department or program they teach in - and see if you can do that work.

Also, don’t stress about this overmuch. One, you have plenty of time; two, there’s no harm in taking an extra year or so if you need it.

5

Thank you so much for the help, I really appreciate the advice!