What should I prep for my interviews?

[thelilypad]

Hey everyone,

I'm applying for a Bioinformatics/Computational Biology PhD starting fall 2020, and so far I've received interviews from USC QCB and UCSD BISB. I come from a strong computer science background (I work currently at a big tech company as a senior software engineer, and my bachelors is in CS and Business), and a substantially weaker biology background (I've completed Bio I/Chem I so far, taking Bio II/O Chem/Genetics this spring). That being said, I do have prior work experience that borders on bioinformatics - I founded a startup in the digital health space and through it had a formal research partnership with the CS department at Cal Poly Pomona. It's experience related to what my research interest is (autism, etiology and precision medicine).

Although I've done tons of industry interviews, having worked in big tech since sophomore year of college, I've never formally worked in a lab nor done an academic interview (I did some materials science/computational chemistry research in freshman year but it didn't pan out/produce pubs). What should I expect for my interview days, and what questions should I expect/ask? 

- POI at USC I'm interested in works mostly in the epigenetiics space, but he has germane fertility research and we've briefly corresponded on a rough project proposal (using Raman spectroscopy to help determine sperm methylation quality pre-implantation for IVF/ICSI), I also mentioned similar in my statement of purpose, and namedropped him, so I assume he's also read my SoP.

- Top POI at UCSD is focused mostly on copy number variation and its implications for autism etiology. Haven't talked to him, but it's heavy genetics, and I'm worried that my lack of genetics formal education thus far would make me a weak candidate. That said, my genetics course is online and I hope to have almost the full semester done before going to UCSD.

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by thelilypad

[VirtualCell]

Jean Fan (a recently-graduated hotshot PhD Bioinformatician) gave some really fantastic tips here: https://jef.works/blog/2018/02/26/phd-program-interview-and-application-tips-and-advice/

I asked a similar question to two senior postdocs in my lab yesterday, and they were more succinct. They said (1) have a 1-minute summary of your current and past research projects. It's hard to do, and doesn't actually reflect your potential to do well in grad school, but it makes you look well put-together, (2) have a quick summary of why you like that program, and (3) remember to relax and let your interviewer talk about themselves!

Good luck! You're going to do great!  

[TheDefeater]

Should we bring anything such as notebook or backpack?; i.e: Should we bring anything other than ourselves to the interview? 

[splitmcsplit]

1 hour ago, TheDefeater said:

Should we bring anything such as notebook or backpack?; i.e: Should we bring anything other than ourselves to the interview? 

I recommend a small notepad that fits in your pocket or purse/bag. Some people bring a full sized notepad in a portfolio, but then you have to carry it around with you. Odds are, the only thing you'd write down is a name (a suggestion of somebody to talk to) or email address.

Don't bring a backpack to the interviews. For some schools with large campuses, such as UCSD, you will do a lot of walking.

Don't worry too much about knowing what the interviewer does in any sort of detail. You're not interviewing to work in their lab at this stage and you can just ask them what they do. It's far more important to know what you do to be able to explain it to them, if they ask. They will probably only ask you specific questions about your work if they work in your field, but they might ask why you want to do a PhD, why you want to go to that school, why you want to research whatever area, etc.

[BabyScientist]

16 hours ago, TheDefeater said:

Should we bring anything such as notebook or backpack?; i.e: Should we bring anything other than ourselves to the interview? 

A small notebook might be a good idea. I found it helpful to jot down a few notes with my thoughts after each interview so that by the time April rolled around and I had to decide on a program, I could refresh my memory on what I thought of interviews in January.