microbecode01

Dear TheGradCafe friends, Since this January, I have a problem contacting the professor who is doing exciting research that is also my interest; I would like to pursue an undergraduate research under him, and I had sent him an email on late January. He replied back, saying that the available project he has is on the software development (I am interested in both software and theoretical aspects of his work, which I clearly expressed on my first email). Since then, I have not been getting any reply from him, despite my effort of sending several emails after his reply (totaling five or so). I am not sure what step I should take to approach him; Should I just visit him during his office hour? I started to think that he does not like me since he did not reply to my five different emails, sent each after some time intervals (2 to 3 weeks per email). ..He is incredibly famous on his field, so perhaps he is too busy, but I did not get that impression...I also mentioned in the email to let me know if he does not think I am a good fit for his research so I can start to look for other faculty members, but he did not even mention that...He has not giving me any reply since one in January....I am quite depressed about it.Please provide me some advice or strategies....

Dear TheGradCafe friends, I am a college sophomore in US with a major in mathematics and an aspiring mathematician in the fields of theoretical computing and cryptography. I apologize for this sudden interruption but I wrote this post to seek your advice on preparing for the mathematics graduate programs; I am currently attracted to the applied mathematics. Through introduction to the computational biology, I found my true passion and love toward the mathematics, which led me to switch my major from the microbiology to mathematics on the last (Spring) semester. Since then, I have been taking basic calculus courses and also self-studied the preparatory materials (such as proof-writing) for the abstract mathematics. I am currently self-studying the abstract algebra (Artin, Dummit/Foote), abstract linear algebra (Hoffman/Kunze), and vector calculus (Lang). I will be taking the following courses on the Fall: Vector Calculus-computational, Linear Algebra with introduction to proofs, and either Abstract Algebra I or Mathematical Statistics I. At the start of August, I will be starting to conduct the supervised undergraduate research on the theoretical computing (abstract and math-heavy) and computer security (more on the programming than mathematics), which I am very excited. I am curious what are the essential factors for admission into mathematics graduate programs. Do undergraduate research (such as mine) will be an important factor too? I know the biology programs strongly require the research experience but I frequently heard that the mathematics programs focus less on the undergraduate research since most undergraduate-level research in mathematics are viewed as less matured than the graduate-level research. Does Putnam score also play an important factor? I am interested in preparing for the Putnam Competition as it has many interesting problems on algebra and number theory (topics of my interest) and I have been preparing vigorously with the problem-solving-strategy books as I never participated in any mathematical competition before. About my current course schedule, should I take the Abstract Algebra I with other courses? At my university, the AAI hs the pre-requisite of linear algebra, but I was granted a special permission for enrollment since my research advisers strongly recommend me to take the abstract algebra for the theoretical computing and computer security. I am currently studying the abstract algebra and linear algebra to prepare for the courses and upcoming undergraduate research. Thank you very much for your time, and I apologize for this long post. I look forward to your reply. Sincerely, PK

Once again, thank you very much for the advice! I decided to re-take the organic chemistry on next semester and retake the introductory immunology on next Fall. WIll admission committee overlook my failures in organic chemistry and immunology if I retake them and score A, and take advanced immunology/medical microbiology courses? I have been doing research in the environmental bacteriology lab during my freshman year and quantitative molecular biology from summer to the last semester. Although I scored D on immunology (it is largely my fault for not taking the genetics and cell biology before it; however, the course pre-requisite states a semester of biology and year-long chemistry and that pre-requisite has not been changed for 20 years; the new professors just noticed it and will change the pre-requisite), I still love the immunology and medical microbiology. I am currently involved in the immunology lab and computational biology lab, and I am preparing for starting my own independent project in immunology, and I have been really enjoying learning about the experimental immunology.

Thank you very much for all of your advice and help! I actually talked with my Organic Chemistry I professor and reviewed my knowledge, and he told me that I do have a good base in Organic Chemistry I. The problem I had is with the qualitative test-taking skill and it is almost fixed now. The professor actually recommended me to proceed with the second semester (II) and take the advanced organic chemistry courses later on rather than re-taking the same course. My major advisers also recommended that way but the chemistry adviser recommended me to re-take the course....the problem is that my university does not have a grading forgiveness/replacement system and it does a average. This means that my final grade will be C if I re-take the course and scored A. I am currently reviewing my organic chemistry textbook and Organic Chemistry as a Second Language (I lamented that fact I did not know this book before) along with my independent research. Should I proceed with advanced courses? Do admission committee (even Top 5 programs) fortive the bad grades if I do really well (all A's) for the rest of semester?

Dear TheGradCafe friends, I am a college sophomore with double majors in microbiology and mathematics, and I am pursuing a graduate program in the medical microbiology/immunology. I wrote this email to seek your advice and opinion about the impact of my current grades and coursework when I am aplaying for the graduate school. Unfortunately, I have been working hard on adjusting my study strategy apsince my freshman year and I unfortunately have been doing very bad.....I got BC on Calculus I, Biology I, Analytical Chemistry, and Advanced General Chemistry....on this semester, I unfortunately scored F on Organic Chemistry I and D on Immunolgy but I scored A on Multivariable Calculus and graduate-level Inteoductory Biostatististics. If I can show the upward trending on the grades for next three and a half year (I am planning for five years), will the admission committees overlook my past failure? About my failing in organic chemistry I, should I retake the course or proceed with II and the Lab (and upper-level organic chemistry courses) and get the best grades as possible? I have a good knowledge in the organic chemistry I but my qualitative exam-taking skill was the problem (which I have been inproving it since the winter break). Should I re-take the immunology too or take advanced courses? I have been doing research since my freshman year and I will be doing an indpendent projects in my I munology lab and computational biology lab starting on this semester. I apologize for the grammatical errors, and I very welcome the harsh advice!

Dear friends, I am an undergraduate sophomore (US) with double majors in microbiology and mathematics. I wrote this post to seek your advice and help on my plans and interest. My future goal is to attend a graduate program in virology/immunology and become a virologist and research the co-evolution between the human immune system and pathogenicity of human viruses and also the genomics of those pathogens. During my freshman year, I worked as an undergraduate lab assistant in the environmental bacteriology lab focused on the HPLC-based proteomics and I have been working as a lab assistant again in the chemical biology lab focused on the DNA microarray technology since the summer. Of course, my lab experience is not directly correlated with my interest but I participated in them because I was not qualified yet for the immunology or virology research until now (I just finished a course in immunology). Since eary December, I sent emails to various professors in immunology and medical microbiology labs and I fortunately got into an immunology lab focused on the genetics of viruses and their influence on autoimmunity, and I also got into a computational/systems biology group focused on the genomics of viruses and molecular genetics of human. I am both drawin into both labs, particularly the immunology lab as PI there suggested that I work as an independent researcher and he will treat me as a graduate student; he also has several projects I can independently work but I will not going to have external help other than him, who promised that he will meet with me in a weekly basis and guide my research. I am also drawn into the computational biology group since the topics are also interesting and it really connects the biology to computer science to mathematics (my second major). Naturally, I want to work in both labs as I have a lot of time and the computational biology group does not require a lot of time in the lab as the projects are based on computer and mathematics. PI there said that he wll teach me the basics of computational biology and give me some small projects as time goes on. Should I work in both labs? My personal opinion is that having both strong "wet" research skills and computational/programming skills will make me more competitive not only in the graduate program applications but also in the future research. How important is GPA in the graduate program applications? Should I focus more on the research and developing a good relationship with my mentors than the studying? I currently have not-so-good GPA (my freshman year was a disaster) but I have been getting a good grades. As for grades, do graduate programs looks unfavorably on C and D? I have a couple of C's in my freshman year.... Thank you very much for your time, and I apologize for this long post and grammatical errors! Sincerely, MSK

Thank you very much for all of your insightful suggestions and advice! The reason I want to take the thermodynamics and quantum mechanics and replace them with the introductory physics sequence is that they will greatly help me on my research. I have been doing both "wet" research in the virology and "quantitative analysis" in the molecular modeling + bioinformatics. On my senior year, I will be taking the classical mechanics course, and I think it is more beneficial for me to take the advanced introductory courses in physicical disciplines than general physics since those advanced courses like mechanics and thermodynamics are very detailed and comprehensive. When I will be writing the SOP, I will remind myself to try connecting the varieities of courses I took and my research, and also try to explain how taking those advanced courses helped me to do productive research and insightful thinking.

Just one more question; is it necessary to take the separate courses in linear algebra, differential equations, and multi-variable calculus when there is a course that includes them all? My current Mathematical Biology I includes the all of those math disciplines and other math topics too (Fourier analysis, etc.), but I was wondering if I need to take the separate courses on them. I did not take those mathematical course yet, but my professor told me that she will teach the necessary and the course does not include extensive covering of those courses (more on applied side).

^ Thank you very much for the encouragement and advice! I thought that replacing the standard "introductory" physics requirement with the quantum mechanics and thermodynamics & statistics will benefit me better since I am very interested in those courses and I think it is better to learn the specific fields of science but with greater focus (depth) than the buffet-style introductory course. I am actually planning to take several programming courses too starting on the next semester; my current biostatistics course is based on the R program so I am thinking about taking the introductory course in R programming along with MatLab on the next semester. Latte Macchiato, which programs (R, MatLab, C++, Java, etc.) do you recommend to be as a biologist?

Thank you very much for of those helpful advices! I made up my mind and decided to just major in the microbiology and take other necessary mathematics and statistics courses. I actually enrolled the course called Mathematical Biology - Molecular Mechanics on today, which will be follow by Mathematical Biology - Systems Biology on next semester. Just curious, do graduate schools give plus points to the applicants with double majors or major and minor? Do most applicants just major in one area? Please let me interrupt you one more time. I had talked with my microbiology advisors about the physics requirement. Although my school requires the introductory physics sequence with the lab, I changed the requirement to the 1 semester of quantum mechanics and 1 semester of thermodynamics & statistical mechanics. I think those physical areas are more helpful than other physical fields in my research, particularly the thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Do graduate schools allow students to have this kind of modification or insist only the introductory physics sequence (except for physics programs)?

Hello! I am a sophomore with a major in microbiology; my future goal is to attend the graduate school with virology/medical microbiology program and become a virologist specialized in the influenza & VHF viruses. Currently, I am taking the Organic Chemistry I, Immunology (graduate-level), and Biostatistics with R; I also have been working as an undergraduate researcher to the virology lab specialized in the influenza viruses. I wrote this post because I have been debating whether I should double major in microbiology and mathematics. I found out that I am really interested in the mathematics, particularly the number theory and mathematical biology (modeling and differential equations). I talked with my adviser, and he recommended me take start all over with the Honors single-variable calculus sequence that focuses on the proof and analysis; on my freshman year, I took the Calculus I, which is just a first semester of year-long single-variable calculus. If I double major in microbiology and math, I am looking for five years before I graduate and apply for the graduate schools. Although it seems that I should just major in a microbiology and graduate in 4 years, I have been slowly realizing the importance of mathematics and statistics in the biological science (quite many biologists are not familiar with the mathematics). Should I double major in the microbiology and math? Is it advantageous to double major in a natural science and math for the graduate programs? Also is five-year plan not looked favorably by the graduate schools? I was thinking about major in microbiology and minor in math, but I think minor in math will not really train me well in the mathematics as much as major in terms of applications and depth. I apologize for this long post, and I look forward to your great advice! Sincerely, MSK

Thank you all for your thoughtful advice! I am very familiar with the organic functional groups and some mechanisms since I had been doing research in the synthetic organic chemistry lab during my freshman year (and the summer after it). I am actually leaning toward taking both the organic chemistry I and biochemistry I than taking the cell biology with the organic chemistry I science both the organic chemistry and biochemistry share the similar principles. My biochemistry professor also told me that taking both can be fine since the biochemistry I is not really heavily depend on the organic mechanisms; he also told me that the biochemistry, in the introductory level, does not require many organic mechanisms (and I can independently study the mechanisms by myself as I need them for the biochemistry). I understand the reason why you recommend taking the biochemistry after the organic chemistry, but I would like to complete the general biochemistry first and then proceed to my major courses such as microbiology, immunology, and mathematics during my junior and senior years (I am double majors in a microbiology and mathematics); it is my understanding that the knowledge of biochemistry is essential to understand the microbiology and molecular biology. Does the undergraduate-level cell biology depend on the biochemistry? Do I need to complete the biochemistry first and then proceed to the cell biology? Do you still recommend taking the biochemistry after the organic chemistry? As for the research labs, I decided to go with the analytical chemistry research lab; I found out today that my professor and graduate mentor in that laboratory are planning to give me an independent research project. The plan is that I will assist my graduate mentor in his research and then work independently on my own research that goes along with my graduate mentor's research. The virology lab is only looking for the undergraduate assistant and not willing to give me an independent research. Do graduate schools favor the independent research experience more than the research assistant to the mentor? Once again, thank you very much for your thoughtful inputs!

Dear forum people, I am a rising collegiate sophomore with the double majors in a microbiology and mathematics, and I am training myself everyday to become a great virologist (aiming for the virology-related graduate schools). I wrote this post because I have a problem choosing the biological courses for the upcoming Fall semester AND the undergraduate research. I am trying to decide whether to take the Biochemistry I (first semester of year-long introductory course) or Cell Biology (one-semester course); I will also be taking the Organic Chemistry I, Theoretical Linear Algebra, Composition Skills in Life Science, and the Research-Credit Course. I had talked with my advisers and professors (who will be teaching the biochemistry and cell biology), and they said that either course is fine with the rest of my registered courses. Although I thought that the organic chemistry is a basis of a biochemistry, my biochemistry professor told me that both the biochemistry and organic chemistry (both year-long) can be taken concurrently as long as I put an effort. I would like to take either the biochemistry or cell biology as early as possible since my upcoming undergraduate research is based on those topics. Which course should I take, especially concurrently with the biochemistry? Also I am trying to decide which undergraduate research should I do for the rest of my undergraduate career. I currently got into the analytical chemistry lab and the virology lab. In the analytical chemistry lab, which focuses on the molecular biology, I will be researching the methodology to study the cell signaling molecules and the prokaryotic cell signal systems. In the virology lab, I will be researching the genetics of the influenza and ebola viruses. I am going to go with only one lab since it is much better to focus on one lab intensely than scattered my efforts in both labs. Since I am planning to study the virology in the graduate schools, it seems that the virology lab is well suited for me. However, I am also intensely interested in the cell signals and the analytical chemistry because I think that the understanding of cell signaling between the host cells and viruses (such as influenza) is crucial for the development of methods to fight the viral pathogens. Is it okay to do the undergraduate research that is different from the graduate school programs? Is it okay for me to do my research in that analytical chemistry lab and still aiming for the virology graduate programs? Or should I go with the virology research now? I apologize for this lengthy post and the grammatical errors. I sincerely seek your advice on both matters in academic courses and research. Thank you very much in advance, and have a wonderful rest of a day!

Hello! I am a rising sophomore with double-major (intended) in the microbiology and chemistry (or mathematics). My future plan is to complete my education up to the Ph.D program in either bacteriology or virology and become a researcher in the field of medical microbiology. I wrote this post to seek advice because I have a couple of problems...first of all, my freshman year GPA was disastrous..it is currently 2.80. I am really curious if the freshman GPA has a great impact on the applications for the graduate programs. I know that the freshman GPA impacts the overall GPA, but I am wondering if the freshman GPA is considered greatly by the admission committee. This is my absolute fault since I cared more on doing the research and part-time jobs, but I learned how to effectively manage my time. I had been working in the microbiological research lab that focuses on the metabolomics analysis via HPLC-MS. I recently left that lab (with good impression) because the research was focused on the environmental/industrial microbiology and not the fields of medical microbiology. I joined the organic-chemistry lab that focuses on the antibiotics research and the pathogenic bacteria, which is my exact interest. Is it okay to work in the chemistry lab even though my research interest is on the biological field? Although it is a chemistry lab, the research focus is on the applications of the organic chemistry in the fields of virology and bacteriology, those research topics really fascinates me very much. In that lab, I will be trained as a organic chemist than the microbiology...is this viewed as unfavorably when applying for the microbiology-related Ph.D program? I recently was elected as the president for my university's microbiology club...is this also good for the graduate programs application? I apologize if I sounded like I care only for the applications, but I am kind of hysterical after receiving my freshman GPA.. I also have a question about the course selection. I will be taking the introductory organic chemistry, multivariable calculus & linear algebra, research-credit course (the organic chemistry lab; I registered that course for this summer too), biochemistry (first-semester of two-semesters course), and the immunology. I was wondering if taking both biochemistry and organic chemistry is a bad idea. I originally registered for that biochemistry course since I think learning the biochemistry at sophomore year would allow me to understand the principles of antiobiotics synthesis and the biochemical pathway of pathogens. I know that the biochemistry builds upon the principles of organic chemistry, but I heard from other students that the knowledge of organic chemistry for the biochemistry, at least at the introductory level, is a minimal. Thank you very much for your time. I apologize if my grammar is bad (I had to write fast since I have to go back to the lab). I look forward for your advice, and have a wonderful rest of day! SIncerely, MSK

Hello! I am a current college freshman, and my future goal is to become a microbiological bioengineer.. Since the last December, I have been working in the bacteriology lab that focuses on the industrial microbiology. However, I started to realize that my true interest lies on the virology, particularly the influenza viruses. After doing some research and application processes, I got accepted to the research lab on my college that focuses on the virology. I want to work in that lab as soon as possible, but I registered my current bacteriology lab as a research-credit course; my current mentor expects me to complete the lab until my graduation. However, I want to start working in the virology lab starting on this Summer. How should I tell my mentor that I will resign from the lab? When should I notify her?