Tufts Blogs

Getting involved in research as an undergrad can be super intimidating especially if you had no research experience in high school – like me!  
 
There are many ways to get involved, so in this blog I’ll do my best to walk through them in the most straightforward way. This is geared towards research in the School of Engineering because that’s what I’m most familiar with, but this blog can be applied to research in other areas.  
 
As a freshman, I was on the rowing team and had just been accepted as a tour guide, and there was little space in my schedule for research. Despite what you may think, not everyone does research in their first year of college and that is totally fine!  
 
My sophomore fall I felt more grounded in my schedule and started to think about how to incorporate research. As a Biomedical Engineering (BME) major, I began exploring routes to learn about research in the Biomedical Engineering Department. I attended a Professor Panel hosted by the BME Society in the first week of December (you should always try to attend random events in college, you never know where they might lead you!). The event was great; the BME professors each gave a five min presentation of their research and then offered to take students to their lab to learn more. I thought Professor Oudin’s research on the drivers of metastasis in triple negative breast cancer was super interesting so I tagged along with her from the Sci-Tech building to the SEC (Science and Engineering Complex). We chatted along the way about my interests and her goals for the lab. That evening I sent her a follow-up email telling her how I enjoyed our chat and that I would love to meet again to discuss potentially work in her lab. If you take anything from this post please let it be this: always follow up.  

If there are no panels to attend, you can simply email a professor whose research you are interested in and set up a time to chat to learn about their research and ask if there is space in their lab. You should definitely check out the lab’s website before meeting with them so that they know you’re not wasting their time. Don’t worry, the professors know that you are an undergrad and that you don’t have a lot of experience; you don’t need to be an expert on the professor’s research area, just make sure you know the gist (e.g. they study breast cancer rather than brain cancer). Also, if they don’t have space in their lab they will not turn you away, they will likely direct you to other professors who may have space in their lab and are doing similar work. Some professors, especially those outside of the main Tufts undergraduate campus in Medford/Somerville, may not respond. That’s probably because they are very busy and get many requests. Don’t take it personally. Move on to the next professor.  
 
That’s the best way to get into the lab as quickly as possible here at Tufts. If you’d prefer to do an independent research project, the process is a bit more involved. Generally, you apply for outside funding as the PI (principal investigator, i.e the person who runs the lab) can’t often fund undergraduates doing their own research project. This is what I did. I didn’t have much time for research during the semester, so I applied to the Laidlaw Foundation, a program that awards funding to students to pursue a two-summer research project. Students apply with a professor and submit a specific research proposal. Both the student and the professor get monetary compensation so it’s a win-win. There are also many other research funding opportunities at Tufts.  

As an engineering student you will also have opportunities to do research as part of your classes. All engineers take a senior capstone class (either one semester or full year) where they work in a group to complete a project. I am currently working in the Kaplan Lab on a silk respiratory therapeutic. This has been an awesome experience and has added to my learning in the Oudin Lab. Here is a link to learn more about my senior design project!  
 
Finally, you can also get involved in research outside of campus. An easy way to do so is to contact the Career Center. There is a career counselor specifically for engineering students who is very helpful in editing resumes, enhancing LinkedIn profiles, and connecting you to research internships. Another way to connect with research opportunities is through professors. Very often in the engineering school there are adjunct professors who work in industry and teach a class each semester. Creating and maintaining relationships with these professors is a great way to get your foot in the door to a research internship in the industry world.  
 
With this little guide, go forth and explore the world of research!