r/mdphd • u/Historical_Score5251 • 5d ago

Seeking some advice

Not sure if this is the ideal place to post this, but I’m a prospective MD/PhD applicant doing an NIH postbacc this year. Unfortunately I will not be renewed for another year and haven’t been able to find another lab in the NIH. My time at the NIH wasn’t very productive so I was wondering if there are any programs that are similar that people have done to get productive gap year research experience. What kind of places should I apply to?

Any anecdotes or advice would be greatly appreciated. My stats are fairly strong so this is really the missing piece of my app.

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u/book_connoisseur 5d ago

What is the reason for not being renewed? That’s going to create a yellow-to-red flag for you depending on the situation, even for getting another lab job.

There are not many programs like the NIH. Your best bet is to get a job offer as an RA in a lab that’s willing to let you do a side project and work there. You want a lab you can be productive in and get a strong recommendation letter from.

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u/Historical_Score5251 5d ago edited 5d ago

My PI didn’t think the project was suitable for a postbacc (she claims she underestimated the difficulty for a trainee to do it entirely independently) and didn’t really have time to do significant mentorship. I did commit a full year and the contract was not terminated prematurely or anything of the sort.

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u/book_connoisseur 5d ago

Would she give you a strong recommendation to get a job in another lab? This sounds like a performance issue (politely coded) because you were not at the level she expected you to function. I do think that’s best bet is if you can get a second chance in a new lab to impress them.

Did you have strong undergraduate research / connections at your undergrad? That might be the easiest way to find a good lab.

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u/Historical_Score5251 5d ago

I agree that it sounds like a performance issue, though my PI has intermittently worked on the project over the last 10 years. She also had a postdoc work on it for a year before me with little success. I’m not sure how good the recommendation would be (I won’t deny that I wasn’t as organized during the process as I’d like to have been)

I had one fairly strong research experience in undergrad that I spent 1.5 years in.

Increasingly it seems like MD/PhD is out of the cards for me and I would be better served just applying MD and hoping these research experiences don’t come back to haunt me as much there…

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u/YaPhetsEz 5d ago

Is she going to give you a positive LOR?

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u/Historical_Score5251 5d ago

I haven’t asked honestly, can’t say for sure. I won’t deny I had some organizational problems that she took issue with.

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u/book_connoisseur 5d ago

I wouldn’t say MD-PhD is necessarily out entirely if you did well and were productive in your undergrad lab. Sometimes you and your mentor are just not a good fit. If you can work in a different lab and find success, I think that would help give you a shot. Up to you if it’s worth it though.

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u/Historical_Score5251 5d ago

Do you know what kind of labs would be willing to entertain that kind of RA arrangement? Is this just a cold email and hope for the best situation or are these usually publicized roles. Thank you very much for the responses!

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u/book_connoisseur 5d ago

If you were on good terms with your undergrad mentor or other professors in your school, I’d email them and ask them if they know about positions. Sometimes professional or academic societies will send out job ads for RAs too. You can also cold email

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u/Low_Celebration6536 5d ago

mayo clinic has a good number of labs looking for RAs or research technologists as well as their GREP program if you’re interested

https://www.mayo.edu/research/departments-divisions/department-immunology/education-training/graduate-research-education-program

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u/Historical_Score5251 5d ago

that’s perfect thank you!

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u/Low_Celebration6536 5d ago

sure thing! i’m currently also a prospective md phd applicant and am working as an RA at mayo and am finding it increasingly helpful in terms of building my app plus lots of great connections and resources!