By Natalie Arabian (Guest Blogger)

PharmTalk - A Blog for Young Scientists is a new ASPET blog primarily written by postdocs Joanna Sandilos Rega (Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA) and Uyen Chu (University of Wisconsin-Madison). The primary objective of this blog is to engage postdocs and graduate students in topics helpful to your experience as a young scientist, focusing on but not limited to communication skills and core competencies of leadership and management as defined by the National Postdoctoral Association's set of "core competencies." Our hope is that this blog will be a valuable source for pointers on how to enrich your experience as a young scientist. 

Natalie Arabian is the Senior Undergraduate Investigator of the USC Alcohol and Brain Research Lab. She loves teaching and mentoring new students and hopes that her posts can offer useful advice to some of her peers. 

Recently, I was disheartened to learn of the difficulties that the majority of my peers endure in search of a research-related volunteer position. I was under the impression that university programs always successfully matched students with host labs.

The harsh reality is that it can be very difficult to find an investigator willing to incorporate new students into a project. If you are an undergraduate having trouble navigating through this system, please do not be discouraged! I myself went through the same struggle, only worse, because at the time I was a high school student, so people were even less inclined to work with me. After a constant stream of rejections, I finally developed the courage to call the lab I was most interested in and spoke with the principle investigator directly. I was told to keep in touch because “eventually a spot was bound to open up.” Six months later, I finally became a full-fledged member of the team.

So you see, there are plenty of alternative ways to snag yourself a great internship. I’ve listed some of them below.

1. Contact Professors from Classes you have taken - Many have or know people who have active research groups. This may be a bit of a traditional route, but it’s worth a try! Assuming you have performed well in their class and have gone to office hours enough so the professor knows your name, ask them about any potential openings in their lab.
2. Ask friends - If you have any friends that are involved with a research project, see if they may be able to help you. If not, try to surround yourself with people who are affiliated with research by joining a science club.
3. Attend graduate student mixers - Typically graduate students are encouraged to mentor us. They’re also typically the people that decide whether or not we get hired, what we learn during training, and how successful we can be in general.
4. Attend departmental lecture series - This will allow you to mingle and network with professors in a more relaxed setting. It may also give you a chance to share with them your interests and goals, as they’re more open to listening at these events. Not only will you learn about ongoing projects that you didn’t even know existed, you may even be offered advice from people who understand your situation.
5. When all else fails, just show up with some coffee and a one minute pitch on how you will work harder than any undergraduate student in the entire department! If the investigator has a sense of humor, you will probably be hired on the spot. If you prefer to work for someone that is a bit more flexible and fun, a bold move like this can serve as a litmus test to help you gauge the investigators personality. This is how I was finally able to convince my mentors to bring me onto their team.
6. Streamline the inquiry process - Another way to find a research position is to email investigators directly. Don’t focus too much on selecting a specific lab; send out as many emails as you can. To make this task less daunting, I suggest creating a template that can be used as the body of your email. Then simply fill it in for each specific internship inquiry. Make sure that every email is tailored to the specific research interests of each lab, as sending out one big mass-email to numerous researchers may be viewed negatively. Note that if you are already interested in a specific graduate level program at a facility nearby, you may want to focus on contacting professors affiliated with that specific institution. As an added bonus, not only do these groups tend to have fewer undergraduate students, they are also typically led by investigators that have stronger connections to the programs that interest you. I have many peers who were given the opportunity to observe lab meetings, and after a few weeks, months or even a year, they were offered a position as an undergrad researcher. It takes time and patience, but it’s worth the investment.

Be sure to take note of any investigator that has taken the time to personally respond to your internship inquiry. Even if they cannot currently accommodate you in their lab, the fact that they have returned your message indicates that they possess the qualities of a good research mentor. (That is not always easy to find). If a lab can’t host you this semester, use this time to build a relationship with them. Read their papers and keep in touch with them. I encourage you to send them an email every once in a while to see if a spot has opened up. It’s likely that by the time summer rolls around, a spot will be available for a tenacious student like yourself!

A final word of advice: there is a chance that a few of your research opportunity inquiries will be turned down. This is by no means a reflection on your potential. Rather, it is a testament to the competitive nature of the field. This is also due to the fact that there is minimal funding to support undergraduate research. Therefore, it can be an inconvenience to take in a new student and spend time training them only to find out that they may not be coming back next semester. If you are willing to commit at least a year or more to working on a project, you will most definitely find a lab willing to train you - just be patient. Once you are finally situated in a host-lab, you will reflect back on this experience and realize how much it shaped you.

On behalf of all undergraduates, I would like to thank the researchers that work so hard to provide opportunities for undergraduates in the face of minimal funding (especially the late Dr. Ronald Alkana, for always believing in me, and Drs. Davies, and Louie, for their continuous support and mentorship).