<p>drj4,</p>
<p>Research is a complicated issue. I'm not sure what you're asking in your post - whether the nature of the undergrad institution matters for grad school or what?</p>
<p>Anyway, a few comments. Yes, research experience can be helpful as an undergrad, and has become pretty much the norm for science applicants to grad school, although there are many exceptions. </p>
<p>IMHO, the reputation of the undergrad institution matters much less than the quality of work done by the student whereever he/she goes, and the willingness of faculty to go to bat for the student. Grad school admissions are done on a departmental basis, so connections among faculty become very important. The process can also be much more subjective (more properly, less formulaic) than undergrad or professional admissions. So your absolute best bet is to get to know faculty from classes and, ideally, from a research project as an undergrad. The latter has the added benefit that it weeds out kids who find they really don't like the work all that much. </p>
<p>Ph.D. or MD/Ph.D? Complex question, and depends greatly on (1) what kind of research you plan to do (2) how good your undergrad record is (MD/Ph.D. admissions is notoriously brutal) (3) how wealthy you are if you don't get into an MSTP program (4) how long you want to delay starting a life and so on.</p>