Graduate school admission chances

[maverickca77]

I am an RA currently (just a few months in) in a microbiology lab and also did undergraduate research in an HIV lab. I graduated with a 3.76 with an upward trajectory and am considering grad (PhD) school. My questions are two fold:
1. What in general are my chances for getting into a good grad school for biology?

2. I was planning on doing MD but am now just considering grad school. I have found that I like learning new cutting edge things than just learning/memorizing things and regurgitating them in the clinical setting. I feel like I like being in the lab and doing research but want to do something on the clinical side in terms of the type of research I would do (doing some research that directly affects patients). Would PhD be the right direction to do this? Or is medical school still the better option? Or some other type of graduate program?

Thanks

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

Can you say what country you did your undergraduate degree in, and where you are considering for your PhD or MD?

Were you only interested in clinical research as an MD, or have you had some patient contacts that helped motivate you to consider pursuing your MD?

 

[maverickca77]

Graduated in the US and would apply in the US. I've had some patient contact but not a ton. Much more well versed in research at the bench. I just enjoy the prospect of doing work that is closer to patients rather than researching something such as protein structure which is a bit more distant. Not to say it is not important but it feels less connected to me. Thats why I feel like clinical research with some lab aspect would be enjoyable. I know I like being in the lab from my experience in undergrad and perhaps I'm not as sure about MD now because of a lack of patient contact to be totally sure.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Be aware this is Physics Forums, so you might find less biology experience than you hoped.

Honestly, I had a number of students who wanted to straddle the boundary between lab research and patient care. I don't think any succeeded. Both aspects take a lot of time, and you can't very well say "I'm sorry you have to die, but I have a grant proposal due tomorrow."

I'd talk to folks at your university who have careers similar to what you aspire to. That will be helpful. If you can't find any, well, that's a valuable data point too,

 

[CrysPhys]

OP: If you want to straddle clinical work and research, and if you are willing to work real hard, take a look at combined MD-PhD programs. A friend of mine, who worked for Big Pharma, told me the grads are called "MUD-FUD'S".

 

[Vanadium 50]

The question to ask an MD-PhD program is not how many people they take, but how many finish with both degrees. It is not uncommon for students to start the program and the pick one path. This is not a bad thing, bnt it is a consideration.

 

[gleem]

Biomedical engineers often need patient contact to access the functionality of experimental medical devices used on patients. Can you tell me why or how a researcher in biological medicine would need patient contact?

 

[john.phillip]

When I was 15, I was hired to help with the installation of new computers and the network in the virology department in the early 90's, and provide basic training on the operating system and software. After I was done, they invited me to work with the researchers in the virology lab. They needed someone else that could learn how to operate the transmission electron microscope (TEM), as they had only one fully trained operator, a phD, but she was very very busy, as lab chief, department chief, professor, scientist and had quite a temper, their fear was real. I also learned to prepare samples for observation and develop the photographs I was taking using the microscope.

The samples were collected from patients at the nearby hospital on a daily basis and were used for diagnosing them, testing treatment options and for general research. I never had any contact with any patients and I don't know if I ever made any positive impact to their lives. I would spend most of the time alone on the technical side, preparing, observing, recording, repeat. I could only see what I was given and briefly talk to the team, but never about the patients. It was almost as if the patients didn't exist at all, all there was were the samples.

I believe that if you take the PhD path, you're going to have some access to the patients but also do similar work to what I was doing, with the benefit of knowing and witnessing exactly how much you positively impacted their lives directly and how much you contributed to the knowledge in the field, without getting yourself too involved with them. Whilst me, as a lab technician, I was just a cog in the system, although very happy with it, as I'm not a peoples person. For me, being alone developing photos and spending quiet hours at the microscope was heaven.