tobyollie
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Posts posted by tobyollie
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1 hour ago, Eigen said:
Maybe I misunderstood, but in your original post you said you were interested in genome editing or single molecule imaging.
Now you're interested in bioorthogonal chemistry, which is a quite different field, and not something that would commonly be found in a biochemistry/biology graduate program.
I was referring to advanced coursework in biology, since your initial interest seemed to be very heavily molecular biology based (genome editing, single molecule imaging).
The most important thing is that you have a targeted idea of what you want to study, and how your background prepares you for that. For instance, graduate work in OChem is not good preparation for going to graduate school with a focus on genome editing or single molecule imaging, but it would be good prep for doing work in a synthetic group focused on bioorthogonal functionalization and tagging.
Sorry, the bioorthogonal interest just recently came up after I made the post. I was looking in some chemical biology journals and the topic came up so I'm currently discussing it with the graduate student I'm working with. I'm not sure if this is an active area of research yet, but in response to the genome editing interest, I wanted to look into chemistry that deals with CRISPR. As far as coursework in biology, I have microbio, molecular machines, and will have synthetic bio under my belt. Other courses I could look into would be cell and molecular bio (if time permits). I'm not sure that there are any other classes I can take that would go in-depth on the actual genome modification process and not just how the CRISPR tools work.
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9 hours ago, Eigen said:
I would say you're thinking way too much about funding, way too early.
Looking at grants is good when you're deciding between schools that have made you offers, not where to apply this far out.
I think you'd have a hard time getting into a graduate program in biology/biochemistry with your background (although you don't say how much advanced coursework you have). As mentioned, I think moving from OChem into a sensor design group, and then into single molecule imaging is your best bet.
In my opinion, PI personality (and your fit with them) is the single most important factor in grad school. It dwarfs everything else!
As far as coursework goes, I am a biochemistry major. I've just finished a course on structure and function of molecular machines and did very well. The class required you to go over many primary literature and review articles to do well since many of the topics were not well covered in textbooks. I am beginning my pchem sequence soon and I also plan on taking the graduate course in ochem. When you say advanced coursework, are you referring to upper division or challenging courses?
Recently, I've been looking into the field of bioorthogonal chemistry. I'm still trying to gauge it by checking out papers from high impact journals, but it does seem interesting, and many of the authors are in the chemistry department at their institution.
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When looking at their grants, how do I determine that they will be active for 5-7 years after I join? Also, should I check if the PI has consecutive grants from the same foundations, which could mean that a particular funder is in it for the long run?
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Should funding vs. PI personality be a huge deciding factor when figuring out where to apply?
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Hi,
I'm a pre-med, but I've recently began to consider grad school. I have a summer of experience in organic synthesis and I have just started in a new lab that is also ochem based, but has much more biology collaborations. My dilemma is that I will be graduating in fall 17, but I feel like I still won't have enough research experience to be a strong candidate. I am willing to volunteer more in the lab, but since I won't be a full time student, financial issues come up. In case I do decide to pursue grad school, I do have some questions.
- If I only have an analytical/organic background, how much biology could I get into? Would it be possible to apply for a grad program that deals with genome modifications and/or single molecule imaging?
- I have 2 strong LOR's. One from my first PI, who is also a dean, and I took him for ochem. The second is from my current PI. For a 3rd LOR, I have the option of either a physicist or biophysicist. My physics prof is already established and has some major achievements, while my biochem teacher is an assistant prof who is on a strong rise.
- How necessary are publications? It would be awesome to apply for programs such as Caltech and Scripps, but I would like to remain realistic.
- I don't have any GRE scores yet, but if I begin to feel more strongly about grad school, I will get those asap.
Is it possible to go from chemistry to biology as an undergrad?
in Biology
Posted
I'm currently an undergrad who is about to graduate in spring of 2018. My current research experience only includes 1 semester and 2 summers in two labs, both of which are rooted in organic chemistry. The first summer was spent on organic synthesis of intercalators. The next summer and semester (current lab) was spent on learning peptide chemistry and supramolecular chemistry. I will be spending at least one more semester in my current lab, but my grad student will be moving on to his post-doc and I may not have a position in the lab after that. From then, I can try and join a biology-focused lab.
Would it be possible to transition to synthetic biology or biotech related labs given that my experience is limited to chemistry? Has anyone ever had a similar experience and went on to biology grad school? Would it look bad to adcoms to see that I switched fields at the end of my undergrad career?