Hi there, so as I told you before that I am starting to do research this summer at one of the professors in the Bio-Engineering department. I want to tell you a little bit about how it going so far.

As a new researcher, I usually shadow the grad student that I will be working under for the first couple weeks. I started to learn all the new technique and methods; the previous experiment that they did, and also the future experiment that I should start to think about. I have made the plan for the next couple of  weeks, this month, and this summer of what I want to accomplish  and I went over it with the grad student. I’m looking forward to it because I can start thinking of the experiment that I want to do and how to accomplish the goal; and I”m talking about planning it all from the scratch!!!

This brings me to another point of how to get into research:

1. It’s always good to do your research before sending an email to your professor, this really shows that you have done some research and you’re not just “spamming” all professors with emails.

2. Try to meet the professor in person and have a short conversation to make sure that you are really interested for that particular research. There are times where you think you like it, but then you find out more then you realized and have a change of heart, which is totally fine. It is better to not jump into something that you are not passionate about.

3. Connections connections connections!!! Just like in the job field, connections are also important in finding research. Having broader connections will allow you to find out if there are new research areas that have openings.

4. Get your resume ready. This is of course a really good thing to start early even if you are not thinking about getting into research anytime soon 🙂

I hope these four things can help some of you to get started to think about whether or not you want to do research. Feel free to ask me questions if you have anything you’re curious about 🙂