Spend the summer doing research in the lab of a Yale professor!

 by Michael Koelle, Director of Undergraduate Studies, MB&B, Yale University

 

This is perhaps the most common type of summer research experience for our students, and has many advantages.  However, some students do not realize how easy it is to find a lab at Yale in which to do summer research, or how easy it can be to get funding to do this.  Below is a guide to finding and contacting an appropriate lab at Yale to inquire about a summer research position.

 

    Laboratories are small groups of human beings who spend a lot of time together, and the group dynamic and quality of science varies dramatically from lab to lab.  Usually the professor sets the tone for the science and for how people in the lab interact, but one or a few other individuals with strong personalities can have a big impact as well.  You want to work for a professor who is a good scientist doing work interesting to you, but just as importantly you want a professor who will serve as a good mentor for you.  This means that he/she will spend time with you, care about how you are doing, be willing to write reference letters for you in the future, etc.  You also want to work in a lab that is decently funded, is full of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, or clinical fellows who  are excited about their work and who will interact with each other and with you in a positive way.  It is likely that your day-to-day experimental work will be supervised by a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow rather than by the too-busy professor, and your immediate supervisor will have a huge impact on your experience.

    By choosing to do summer research at Yale, you have the maximum opportunity to check out several different possible laboratories, and to meet the professors and the members of their labs to ensure that you will be working in a positive environment.  You can ask your MB&B academic advisor, or other professors that you may know from taking their courses, to give you recommendations for other Yale faculty that you might want to work for.  Because the Yale faculty know each other very well, this will give you inside information to help you make good choices. Such insider information is probably not available to you regarding labs at other institutions.  You can easily contact and visit several different laboratories, so that you will be effectively “interviewing” several professors as they interview you, so to make sure you make a mutually agreeable match.

 

Summer research at Yale has the unique advantage that you can continue your summer project during the subsequent school year, perhaps as part of a research for credit course that can count towards your major.  This is usually the very best way to get into doing independent research during the school year.  There is a steep learning curve when you start a research project.  By starting in a lab working full-time over the summer, you have time to get past this obstacle and move on towards the very satisfying experience of getting results.  Once you have started to get productive, it is then possible to continue to get results even during the school year when you have very limited time in the lab.  On the other hand, students who start research projects during the school year in a Yale lab often never get past the point of getting their first experiments to work, which is frustrating for everyone involved.  Furthermore, if you start during the school year, your busy schedule typically will not allow you to attend laboratory meetings where the design and interpretation of experiments are discussed by the group, and you thus miss out on becoming a “real” member of the lab.  If you start in a lab during the summer, you can attend the lab meetings and really integrate into the lab so that your subsequent experience working in lab during the school year will be much more satisfying.

 

Yale and the Yale University Medical Center together form one of the largest and best biomedical research institutions in the world.  There are approximately 200 professors at Yale and the Yale Medical Center who head biomedical research labs, and the average quality of these labs is very high.  Almost any research topic or experimental approach that may be of interest to you is represented here.  Why go anywhere else?

 

Finding a lab at Yale for your summer research project

There are more than 200 biomedical research labs at Yale and the Yale Medical Center.  In addition to the professors in Yale College departments that you may be most familiar with (MB&B, MCDB, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering), there are a dizzying number of laboratories in Medical Center departments, such as Cell Biology, Genetics, Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neurobiology.  The medical school faculty have less contact with Yale College undergraduates than do the faculty on the Yale College campus.  You may actually find the medical school faculty more receptive to you, as less undergraduates ask to work for them.  For example, a freshman or sophomore who has completed limited science coursework might have an easier time getting into a lab in the medical center than on the main campus.

 

 

The BBS web site is so overwhelming that you will need help narrowing your choices. An excellent strategy is to talk to your MB&B academic advisor.  He/she is very familiar with the other faculty at Yale.  If you describe your interests to your advisor, they should be able to give you a list of Yale faculty that would be appropriate for you.  Importantly, your advisor can help you pick labs that work in areas that interest you, AND that they think would also be good places to work.  In addition to using your academic advisor, you can also ask other Yale science faculty that you know (perhaps from taking their courses) to suggest labs for your summer research.

 

There are different types of labs that will give you different types of experiences.  Some labs are relatively small and are run by young professors.  In these labs, you may be able to get supervised directly by the professor.  Other labs are very large and may be run by senior faculty who you won’t see much, but these labs are sometimes very successful and offer other advantages.  Some labs are run by Ph.D. scientists and do basic research, while others are run by M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. scientists and may do more disease-oriented research.  Think about what type of lab you want to work in.

 

Once you have identified a handful of Yale faculty of interest to you, you should contact them by email.  I strongly recommend that you contact several faculty in parallel rather than just one favorite.  Your opinion of who your favorite is may change dramatically once you meet several faculty and compare them.  Effectively you will be interviewing them as they interview you, so you can make a mutually agreeable match.

 

 

1.  Introduce yourself as a Yale College student interested in meeting to discuss the possibility of doing a summer research project in the professor’s lab.

2.  Briefly explain why you are interested in the research area of the professor.  Say something specific that shows that you have thought about this and done some reading.  If a another professor (like your academic advisor) had specifically recommended this professor to you, mention this.

3.  You might also briefly say a few things about yourself, such as what year you are at Yale, what science coursework you have completed, and what previous laboratory experience you have (if any).

4.  You might mention why you are interested in getting research experience.  For example, you might be considering a research career, and want to get experience to see if you really like research.

5.  You might mention whether or not you already have funding support for the summer.  If you don’t, don’t be embarrassed to say this. Just say you that if the professor accepts you into his/her lab, you would be happy to apply for fellowships that could support you financially over the summer.

6.  Ask the professor if you can meet with them to find out more about research in their lab.

 

Bring a nice CV with you and hand it to the professor.  If you have worked in a lab previously, be prepared that the professor may ask for a reference letter or contact information for your previous research mentor.  If the professor has asked for it, you can also bring a copy of your Yale College transcript. Be prepared for the professor to ask you to talk about what your specific interests are, why you want to do summer research, and what your long-term career plans are.  If you have previous research experience, they may ask you to describe it in some detail - this serves as a test to see if you actually understood the overall purpose and the methodology of the work you have done.

 

You should ask the professor to tell you about the research in his/her lab, and about what specific research projects might be available for you.  If you ask questions that show that you understand and are interested in what the professor is saying, this will likely make a good impression. You might ask about the logistics of working in the lab:  will you be supervised in your day-to-day work by a graduate student or postdoc?  Can you meet this person?  You might ask if you can attend a lab meeting so you can get a better feel of what the lab is like.  

 

The professor may or may not offer you a position at the end of the interview, and they may say they are interviewing other undergraduates and will get back to you.  You should feel free to say that you are visiting several faculty to find the lab best suited to you, and that you will contact the professor after you have visited the other labs.