Departments/Chances HELP!!

[Flux2]

Hi I'm a junior at a top10 university majoring in biology/physics.
So I'm planning to apply to grad school and I have interests in bioelectronics and developing "artificial" memory in cells.
And the problem is that I don't know what department I should apply to.
Shall I apply to physics/applied physics, biology, BME?
Because another problem is that I have a mediocre cumulative gpa (3.5ish) due to some biology courses(done really bad C's :/) but have decent gpa w/ physics and math courses.
Will it help me if I apply to physics or BME rather than biology?
Or will I still have the same chances regardless?

Thank you!!

[Justin123]

Hey! I think that the first thing to do is to look for labs that interest you and then see to what program you have to apply in order to get into the lab. In a university, a lab that does the kind of research you like might be in the physics department, while in another university it might be in a biology department.

[Justin123]

But if you grades are low in biology, you should look at physics programs. 

[Flux2]

Hey! I think that the first thing to do is to look for labs that interest you and then see to what program you have to apply in order to get into the lab. In a university, a lab that does the kind of research you like might be in the physics department, while in another university it might be in a biology department.

So how does the program itself come into play cuz apparently there are people w/ different backgrounds in the same lab ..

[Justin123]

Well it's not because you get into a program that you can do your PhD in all the labs in the university. You can only do rotations in labs/be in a lab that are/is affiliated to the program.

Is it what you were asking?

[sciguy]

You need to find out in what programs the PI you're interested in can take students from.  Usually if person is "Associate Professor of BLAHBLAHBLAH" then this means you need to apply to the BLAHBLAHBLAH PhD program.  Also check out the program sites for, e.g., biophysics, or BME, etc etc and see if that faculty member is listed there.

[Thesbane]

First off, developing bioelectronics and generating artificial memory in cells are pretty different research topics.

To elaborate my point a little, there are two sub-fields within Biomedical Engineering that universities sometimes fail to make a distinction, but in fact they have very different research approaches. One is Biomedical Engineering (BME) which normally is to apply physics, computation, and engineering to make some kind of silicon-based devices for medical applications. I think your weakness in biology will not do too much harm for this sort of program as long as you can convince the program you have all the quantitative skills necessary to succeed in this program. Normally, it's much harder for someone good in biology but weak in quantitative courses to get into BME than someone like you.

The second sub-field is chemical engineering/synthetic bioengineering. This sub-field draws already existing principles from biochemistry, molecular biology, cellular regulation to generate new cellular behaviors / functions using cells. It still is very much an engineering field with a need for quantitative skills. But I think you will also need to have a pretty solid understanding of how cells work on the molecular level. And for that, most programs (or PIs) in this sub-field would like to see you have done well in chemistry and molecular biology courses.

I can't tell you what programs to apply to, but I think you should consider which of these fields (including physics that you mentioned) has more research topics that interest you.

 

P.S. A P.I. you may be interested in that does work on generating artificial memory in cells is Drew Endy. You may want to look him up.

[Flux2]

First off, developing bioelectronics and generating artificial memory in cells are pretty different research topics.

To elaborate my point a little, there are two sub-fields within Biomedical Engineering that universities sometimes fail to make a distinction, but in fact they have very different research approaches. One is Biomedical Engineering (BME) which normally is to apply physics, computation, and engineering to make some kind of silicon-based devices for medical applications. I think your weakness in biology will not do too much harm for this sort of program as long as you can convince the program you have all the quantitative skills necessary to succeed in this program. Normally, it's much harder for someone good in biology but weak in quantitative courses to get into BME than someone like you.

The second sub-field is chemical engineering/synthetic bioengineering. This sub-field draws already existing principles from biochemistry, molecular biology, cellular regulation to generate new cellular behaviors / functions using cells. It still is very much an engineering field with a need for quantitative skills. But I think you will also need to have a pretty solid understanding of how cells work on the molecular level. And for that, most programs (or PIs) in this sub-field would like to see you have done well in chemistry and molecular biology courses.

I can't tell you what programs to apply to, but I think you should consider which of these fields (including physics that you mentioned) has more research topics that interest you.

 

P.S. A P.I. you may be interested in that does work on generating artificial memory in cells is Drew Endy. You may want to look him up.

 

Is it possible that professors allow students from other institutes to participate in their lab? and if possibly so, do you think it will be beneficial?

[Thesbane]

Is it possible that professors allow students from other institutes to participate in their lab? and if possibly so, do you think it will be beneficial?

Absolutely. Many undergraduate students (myself included) spent a summer or two working with labs at institutes other than their own alma mater. I personally picked research topics outside of what was available at my own institute to get a better sense of what kind of research I enjoy doing. From personal experience, I have learned so much working at a different institute. If you get to choose between working for a summer at your own institute or at another institute, definitely go out and explore.

Most professors are receptive towards students introduced via colleagues (aka professors at your own institute) and with some form of research scholarship (e.g. Amgen, Goldwater etc.) Make contact with your professors and do some networking, also try to apply for scholarship that will financially support your research visit. The chance of success is quite high if you get these two components right.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Thesbane

[Flux2]

Absolutely. Many undergraduate students (myself included) spent a summer or two working with labs at institutes other than their own alma mater. I personally picked research topics outside of what was available at my own institute to get a better sense of what kind of research I enjoy doing. From personal experience, I have learned so much working at a different institute. If you get to choose between working for a summer at your own institute or at another institute, definitely go out and explore.

Most professors are receptive towards students introduced via colleagues (aka professors at your own institute) and with some form of research scholarship (e.g. Amgen, Goldwater etc.) Make contact with your professors and do some networking, also try to apply for scholarship that will financially support your research visit. The chance of success is quite high if you get these two components right.

 

Are these scholarships usually competitive? Like I do have some professors whom I'm interested on doing research with and I really don't want failing to get into REU programs or failing to receive scholarships prohibit me from engaging w/ their research.

[Thesbane]

Are these scholarships usually competitive? Like I do have some professors whom I'm interested on doing research with and I really don't want failing to get into REU programs or failing to receive scholarships prohibit me from engaging w/ their research.

From what I know, Goldwater scholarship is quite competitive, but it is an extremely prestigious award. There are also a ton of other research fellowships (e.g. REU) for undergraduate students from NSF / NIH. I am an international student myself and hence ineligible for any of these awards/fellowships. I have limited information regarding competitiveness of applications for these programs. I suggest you look up requirements on the internet and inquire your faculty adviser or a career service office if you've got one at your school.

The most important task for you right now is to get in touch with a faculty of interest via faculty member at your own institution. If you succeed in making contact and receiving positive response from the faculty member, inform them that you are in middle of applying for awards/fellowships. I am positive that a lot of faculty members at well-funded labs are willing to cover partially, if not fully, expenses for a visiting undergraduate student. Just make sure you stay in good communication with the faculty members regarding statuses of your fellowship application.