So it's time again to start thinking about REUs/summer research, I suppose. I find this stuff really stressful. I have lab experience, a lot of coursework, but unexceptional grades, and the conventional application route is so goddamn competitive these days--some of my profs say more competitive than grad school. There's some sort of game to play, and I've never been good at figuring out the rules.
Which leads me to think...I kind of don't want to do molecular biology this summer. I have a lot of lab experience with molecular biology through both coursework and summer experiences at UIC (I worked in a biomedical diabetes research lab for a couple summers). I know how to run gels, I know how to use kits, I know how to culture cells. I mean, obviously molecular biology is a big field and there would definitely be something gained from working at a different lab, but I really want is chemistry experience. I have synthetic organic experience, and I really enjoyed it, but that was at Reed (we do solid science at Reed, but it's also science at a small liberal arts school, and there's a whole big world out there); I'd like to see what off-campus chemistry research is like.
Which then leads me to thinking, what type of chem/biochem experience do I want to look for? I have zero experience with structural biology techniques (xtallography or NMR)--just book knowledge, and while I have this vague hunch that I'm headed in a bioorganic/natural products synth/medicinal chemistry/something synthetic organic chemistry with biological applications direction eventually (this is up for change, though, because, as you can tell, my interests are broad, but I guess it's just that I like synthetic organic a lot) perhaps I should see what structural biology is like and think about looking for labs that do xtallography to apply to? On the other hand, I also don't know what synthetic chemistry in a university research lab, or in an interdisciplinary project, or, for that matter, in industry is like at all. Or what about "chemical biology" at the whole biology/chemistry interface? So many faculty webpages. So much cool research. How will I ever wade through all of it?
I also have one foot in chemistry department and one foot in the biology department at Reed. I suppose this is a good place to be, because I can read journals in a variety of disciplines and make sense of them and I have enough coursework to do a lot of different things after I graduate. I keep hoping that having a really interdisciplinary undergrad experience will someday make me a stronger scientist, but we'll see. Sometimes I feel like it's just making me a jack of all trades and a master of none, although I'm still an undergrad, so there's absolutely no reason to be a "master" of anything yet.
But at the end of the day with this sort of stuff, where I end up working this summer is just how the cards play out. And for god's sake, it's only October.
ACS Spring 2023 in Indianapolis
1 year ago
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4 comments:
All of my professors assured me that REUs are more competitive than grad school, but that may have been because I didn't get into any and they were trying to make me feel better. But you could probably treat it just like a grad school search: look for publications you find interesting, track them to their sources, and see if you can work in their labs during the summer.
REUs ARE crazy-competitive! (At least with grad school apps you have a great chance at being accepted to a smaller department as long as you're a domestic student!) In a lot of cases, they look for students who don't have too much lab experience, but you're at an advantage since you're at a smaller school with a great undergrad reputation.
Speaking of which, if you want to do anything with xtallographic implications, apply to UK's REU!...you can do synthesis and grow lots of crystals in Anthony's group, though it's materials and not at all bio-related. Alternatively, I think you can work directly with the xtallographer...Sean is the coolest guy ever. (I may also be able to put in a good word for you, since the guy in charge of the REU program was pretty much my favorite prof ever.) If you DO want to get your feet wet in xtallography, though, I'd maybe suggest starting with small molecules. Proteins are supposed to be hella-difficult to crystallize!
where is this REU? I'm always looking for places to consider applying.
University of Kentucky--it's not a super-awesome school, but a few of the people there (Anthony, Parkin, Watson, Daunert) have cool stuff going on. Our crystallographer is AMAZING. (I'll also admit I'm trying to persuade you to the dark side to do materials research. :) )
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