Picking a lab

From ScribbleWiki: MD PhD Advice

Picking a laboratory is a difficult and daunting challenge. Although it feels like you need to pick the lab with the greatest possible potential that will lead to the Nobel, remember that your PhD thesis is a mere lilypad on the long journey of your career. It won't matter if you make the "wrong" choice or if your project crashes and burns or if you never publish - as long as you learn science. So this should be priority number one - learning science! They don't call it graduate school for nothing...

• Choose a lab whose science you can't stop thinking about. This will help when you have to trudge to lab on a snowy morning when nothing has worked for the last year...

• Choose a lab who has funding for your project, as well as funding generally. The most reliable funding is NIH funding, especially at the 5 year R01 level. You can look up NIH funding by PI name at http://crisp.cit.nih.gov.

• Choose a lab where people are happy and feel supported. It helps if your potential PI has graduated an MD / PhD or even a PhD - you can ask them frankly about lab dynamics, strengths and weaknesses, etc.

• Choose a lab where the PI has a history of being supportive to, and mentoring, students. Working in a famous PI's lab, where you will really only get to know a senior post-doc, is not necessarily beneficial.

• Choose a lab where MD/PhD's are respected, but where your scientific experience is not watered down because you are an MD/PhD student. You want your PhD to be a real PhD.

• In some cases, it is easier to work with a PI who has had MD/PhD students before. These PI's are familiar with concepts like Wednesday Evening Clinics, and finishing at a certain time so that you can enter the Match on time when you graduate.

• Decide if you want a small or a big lab - consider both; there are advantages (and disadvantages) to each

• Decide if you want a young or a senior PI

• Decide if you want a hands-on or a hands-off PI

• Definitely rotate in the lab that you're considering. Pick your rotations carefully as you only have two, but do not be afraid to ask for a third rotation if you are not convinced that either lab is for you.

• Ask senior MD/PhD students for advice regarding their experiences with a lab. Most of us have met and considered working with most PI's in our respective fields.