<p>I ask this because I am currently doing research at a biotechnology center at Mexico’s premier academic institution (ITESM). My project is to express a modified version of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 protein; if the project goes well, I would have my name in a paper.</p>
<p>However, things are certainly not going well. The center lost power one night, and therefore, we have had doubt in the viability of the enzymes I require for digestion (not enough time to order new enzymes). I have been working 5-10 hours per day; sometimes I don’t leave until midnight. Also, all the work has been conducted in Spanish, a language I’ve studied for four years. </p>
<p>In short, there have been a series of problems throughout, and I am not sure I will be able to successfully complete this project by the time I have to leave (this is a 2 month internship). Assuming that I do fail in the end, is there any value to the blood and sweat I have put into this project? What is the difference in the value of failure and success in such a situation?</p>
<p>You haven’t “failed” at research. You’ve still done the research, put in the hours in the lab, understood the concepts, and (I assume) could speak or write about them clearly and with authority.</p>
<p>If a project doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not even unfortunate all of the time. Scientific discoveries can be made from projects that don’t do anything like what was hypothesized. I mean, no one is going to write a paper that comes to the conclusion that losing power in your lab is a bad thing when trying to express a protein, and so from that perspective it’s not what you’d hoped for, but that doesn’t mean that you and other people can’t learn anything from your research.</p>
<p>ginnyvere, his project didn’t even work, let alone didn’t do what was hypothesized.</p>
<p>someone else will pick up where you left off. he will publish the paper in his name and, unfortunately, you won’t get credit for it. you should be happy with the experimental skills you learned and you should hope to apply them to a future research project back at your undergrad institution. your failure has personal value but little to no scientific value.</p>
<p>on another note, this is why you should work on theoretical/computational projects. less physical strain and more focus on conceptual understanding.</p>
<p>i don’t see why they would care. here’s a hint for the future, you should do research for yourself – because you find it interesting – not for the sake of being accepted to medical school.</p>
<p>well honestly, research has been discouraging. i really want to love it though, and i do find molecular biology to be fun. it just doesn’t work most of the time (when I do it). </p>
<p>also, my dream med school is the University of Michigan (for reasons I won’t describe right now; just please don’t judge me). not doing research isn’t really an option.</p>
<p>Someone will pick up where rd31 left off, and rd31 will just get bumped down the list of authors.</p>
<p>rd31:</p>
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<p>This kind of failure is a great thing to talk about in medical school admissions. Talk it up as a cure for perfectionism or naivety - sometimes, no matter how hard you try or how well you do, things don’t work out because of something you couldn’t have foreseen or someone who didn’t want to cooperate.</p>
<p>you had no control over your experiment failing. you get credit for doing the research. you won’t get the props for being a first author (because you will likely not be a first author) but the effort will look good. your results will likely not be published at the end of this summer if you cannot order more enzymes because even if your results verify your hypothesis, there is a question of how valuable the data is because it is unsure of what changes could have happened to the enzymes. i had a situation like this in a lab i worked at before applying to undergrad. i used it in my college essay to talk about how i learned that things i cannot control might cause me to be derailed in my goals. you could probably draw similar conclusions from your experience (though one more suited for a med school interview).</p>
<p>how is he going to get credit for work he didn’t do? this isn’t a personal attack or anything but especially in experimental work, if his work essentially doesn’t exist he won’t get authorship.</p>
<p>For the purpose of applying to medical school (or for the purpose of anything, I’d think), you don’t have to be published to say you did research or to say what the goals of your project were (and the problems you had in trying to achieve those goals) or to learn things about yourself.</p>
<p>It’s unlikely that nothing at all was learned from his work. For example, I had a “failed” summer research project quite a few years back - I didn’t accomplish my goal. But I sure as heck learned what didn’t work! Knowing what doesn’t work is almost as good as knowing what does. I’d be very surprised if the lab didn’t glean at least a little something from rd31’s 2 months - a new method of preparing the enzymes, a more efficient way to mix Chemical A with Chemical B, a better equipment setup, etc.</p>
<p>Furthermore, for the purpose of applying to medical school, adcoms aren’t necessarily looking for results. They’re more interested in what you thought about your research experiences and what you learned from your research experiences. If fabulous results from research were required to get into a research medical school, I wonder how many applicants would make the cut. </p>
<p>Of course, great results and a publication look great. I’m not denigrating that. It’s just that it shouldn’t be a pre-med’s sole focus.</p>
<p>yeah, i once had a project scrapped halfway through. i was making good progress, too. i did become a pretty good experimentalist and i’d definitely say that having a well-rounded knowledge of labwork is beneficial in the long run.</p>
<p>i agree with what shades said about what medical schools are looking for. undergrads aren’t expected to have fabulous results but keep in mind, those that do are rewarded. however, just take it all in stride and continue to work hard in the lab and you’ll come to realize the value of the means, and not the ends, of your work.</p>
<p>Relax, MolSysBio. The parents went to a “third-tier” medical school (Illinois @ Chicago, heard of it?) and we’re living very comfortably beach-side in California. If money’s what you want, ANY med school is fine. You certainly don’t have to be published.</p>
<p>I want to go to Michigan because it’s in-state and it has a symphony for graduate students in the health sciences (I play the violin, and want to continue for the rest of my life); I also really want to live in Ann Arbor (great town) and be somewhat close to home as my mom has serious back problems and has surgery every so often. There are a number of other reasons as well.</p>