Janelia Farm

[lepetite89]

I was wondering what people thought of the graduate program at HHMI Janelia Farm. They look like they're incredibly selective, and the lab sounds like an exciting place to be, but does it match up to conventional graduate programs? I mean, would one be better off going to MIT or Harvard instead? I'm not sure whether I want to stay in academia after my PhD, so...

[000]

It really depends what you're after as far as your environment is concerned. Obviously there isn't going to be much of a graduate student community there, and it's kinda in the middle of nowhere in particular (though close to DC) but you get to work on truly cutting-edge stuff. The labs are very small, and you apply directly to a lab, so you need to be certain your research interests are in that field. As far as professional development goes, it shouldn't be a problem at all to go there instead of a top neuroscience program, your work will be what counts and JRFC is highly regarded.

Are you applying next year, or do you already have offers from these places? My research interests align perfectly with JFRC, but I decided that it's a better place to look as a post-doc (or JFRC Fellow, but I doubt it) than a place for graduate study, just because I prefer a more "traditional" university design and because I feel like I'd be able to get more out of going there later in my career. But for some people, a place like JFRC is really the best place they could go.

If you do have offers, Harvard's CBS has a very similar research plan, but they're more mouse-focused on the whole.

[eyne]

It's a pretty new program, but there are so many excellent PIs there that as 000 said, people in your field will regard it highly. Keep in mind though that since you're not doing rotations, it could be risky because you don't know if the PI's mentoring style will work for you. Talk to as many people as you can who are in the labs you're interested in...if you make an informed choice about which lab to apply to, the program could work for you.

[lepetite89]

No, I don't have offers. I'm still trying to figure out what it is that I want to do... What the HHMI will tell you about JFRC sounds very appealing to me personally, but I want to be sure that it's not an option that will be considered obviously inferior to a more established program. On the other hand, conventional PhDs take at least 1-2 years longer. Call me paranoid, but I sort of have my heart set on Janelia Farm, and it would be a pity to show up eventually and find out it's not everything it was made out to be.

Thanks, eyne... my advisor also told me the same thing: researching the lab and the PI properly is probably the most important thing.

[Genomic Repairman]

Janelia has a solid rep, but just please please please stay the hell away from Loren Looger's lab. If you don't know the whole backstory of the controversy with he and Homme Helinga look it up. Turds have a better reputation than Looger or Helinga for that matter right now. But from what I have heard Janelia is a spectacular place with a phenomenal collection of talent.

[000]

Janelia has a solid rep, but just please please please stay the hell away from Loren Looger's lab. If you don't know the whole backstory of the controversy with he and Homme Helinga look it up. Turds have a better reputation than Looger or Helinga for that matter right now. But from what I have heard Janelia is a spectacular place with a phenomenal collection of talent.

I thought Looger's work on that paper wasn't in question? Or is there something else that happened?

[Genomic Repairman]

I thought Looger's work on that paper wasn't in question? Or is there something else that happened?

There is still some suspicion of Looger and a 2003 paper he and Hellinga published. Also is he technically qualified for the position that he achieved the position based upon his work at Duke, work that really doesn't hold up to too much scrutiny. You have to wonder if he is really that naive, that dumb, or willing to go along with whatever to get a top rate publication.

http://writedit.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/hellinga-controversy-expands/