Immunology- crisis of research interests/ look over my profile-

[Rugby4life]

Hi all so I decided I wanted some feedback on my chances because I manage to have a mini panic attack once a week think about this stuff and besides it being stressful it take away GRE study time soooo...

 

I had been planning to (and still am planning to) apply for a PhD program in immunology at several universities coming straight out of undergraduate. I figure I could provide a simple profile and get some feedback on it and then ask my question as well:

 

         Graduating next spring with a major in biological sciences (top 50 rank), minor in chemistry, and certificate of conceptual                                                                                          foundations of medicine (ethics).

 

        GPA: currently a 3.44, junior year all A's and 1 B

 

        GRE's: haven't taken them, but as of studying the diagnostic say approximately 158V and 158Q, writing being pretty strong.

 

        Relevant Coursework: Biology 1 & 2, Chemistry 1 & 2, Organic Chemistry 1 & 2, Genetics, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Ecology,                            Evolution, Biology laboratory 1 & 2, Organic Chemistry laboratory 1 & 2, Biochemistry laboratory, Animal Behavior, Drugs and Behavior·      

 

        -IACUC certified/trained

        -Techniques: Sterile lab procedures, pipetting, solution preparation, titration, extraction, distillation, agar plate preparation, cell culture experience, PCR, autoclave, gel electrophoresis, transformations, ligations, immunoassay experience, ELISA, ECLIA, MSD plate reader, Nanodrop

 

​       - Research Experience:

 1 year in a university associated research lab, topic: polyploidy in liver, my major function working to make plasmid constructs to overexpress/knock-out gene function. Gained experience with taking care of mice in a transgenic facility. Will be published in upcoming paper (hopefully in time).

 

2 summer internships at Janssen pharmaceuticals working in their Biologics clinical division. Learned a lot about immunoassays and gained a lot of experience and techniques.

 

          LOR's- one from research PI at school and 2 for each year from industry supervisors, (different managers). All should be fairly strong.

 

          Personal- outside of that I'm a student athlete as well as fundraising chair. I know it really doesn't show much about research or study aptitude, but it is a large time commitment and I figure I should reflect it (only on my resume) to show good time management.

 

So the big questions being, how does my potential application compare to the average person going for a PhD in immunology,  minus the personal statement and assuming that my research interests line up. Also, what were your stats (persay)? I'm not really sure how I stack up against other applicants, and every post I see here is either someone with a GPA of 3.92 or something and it doesn't help me evaluate my own standing.  

 

2) So my research interests actually include inflammatory responses in autoimmune diseases, specifically severe forms such as celiac's or multiple sclerosis. However, broad topics being autoimmunity or tumor immunology. However, and this is where the question stems from, recently I saw a presentation about novel biothereputic platforms, those being aden-associated viruses, nanoparticles, using nucleic Acid therapies. It really interested me an I would love to follow something in the avenue as well. Problem being, its not a huge research topic for many immunology programs. There are a few, however I'm not sure if I should apply to a couple of programs (the research saying a PharmD degree, with novel/experimental therapeutics) to pursue that research interest. It's all very overwhelming, especially with GRE's in 2 weeks.

 

So, thats all I've got for now, I'd really appreciate any responses  

 

 

[firewitch]

Your resume looks strong to me, in spite of your grades, but I am not in immunology.

 

I wanted to address the last part - I can't see any reason why you should not apply to both types of programs. You will need to tailor your SOP for each program, of course, and perhaps your CV as well, to emphasize different things.

 

Most grad student research proposals undergo revisions, and many people change their focus after they are enrolled anyway. I think admitting committees understand that, and are more interested in assessing your capabilities, plus they are looking for candidates whose interests are aligned with faculty that are willing to take on a new student. In fact, if you write to the presenter or their advisor and ask about their program, that might actually be helpful toward your eventual acceptance. Imagine you are a researcher of this new therapeutic possibility, teaching in a medical school or biology program, and you are looking for applicants who want to follow in your footsteps. How hard do you imagine it might be to find applicants who are smart, organized, have a strong background in the discipline, and are particularly interested in your personal research?

 

So rather than thinking of this topic as something most people aren't interested in, and therefore not being a good direction for you, think of your interest in this topic as being the key to your acceptance under the supervision of someone who IS interested in it.