How to Join a Lab
What’s in a lab?
One of the biggest determinants of your success in research is the lab environment you choose - right below your own attitude. This puts a lot of pressure on a decision that you make early in your time at Vandy with minimal research experience. Here are some strategies for choosing a lab that is likely to set you up for success:
Make a list of potential labs
Different schools and departments maintain their lists of faculty and projects in unique ways. Some will use their departmental website, some are organized by the various centers that they fall under, and some just have independent websites that are maintained by each lab. This can make it challenging to find all possible labs that may be of interest of you, but once you find some of the resources you will likely find links to others. Start by searching for your school and department on google and look through whatever pages you find. If you already know some professors that have taught classes that you enjoy, search for their names and see what they work on outside of class. If you have specific interests, look up the professors that teach classes in those areas (especially graduate level courses) and search for them. Once you find a description of a professor’s research area, decide if there is any chance that you may be interested in working with them. If you like what they do, add their name to a list that includes a short description of their work and a link to their website. The more people you look up now the more you will know what is available so you should spend a good chunk of time just scouring your university’s webpages.
Research each lab
The first stage of most projects involves some background research. Starting broadly: which department would you want to work in? Many people default to faculty in their major, but if none of that sparks interest, there are other options. Related majors or VUMC (especially if you are pre-med) are other great places to look. Most departments will have a research tab on their website. In the research tab, there should be subfields of research listed and their associated faculty. From this list of faculty, you can narrow down and figure out who in this list are actively researching. Designations such as “Professor of the Practice” and “Senior Lecturer” often mean that these professors do not manage their own labs and are not looking for undergraduates. Note: it’s still possible to do research with these people, but it looks very different (Jon is a good resource if you find yourself in this position). Try to narrow down your search to 5-10 labs that interest you. Oftentimes on their biography page there will be a link to a website. Websites of labs often are a good litmus test of how that lab is run and what they value. For example, a lab with a very up-to-date website and cool graphics is probably a more “hip” and young lab. A lab with a less up-to-date website probably has an older PI with more slowly moving projects. Lab websites that mention/list the names of their undergraduates will be more likely to value your work and see you as an independent part of the team. A second place to check is Google Scholar. Simply type the PI’s name into the search bar and click on “Year” to sort by the most recent articles they have published. PIs that have not published anything in the past two or three years are probably poor choices as this indicates an inactive lab.
The next stage is being just a little bit extroverted. Other students will probably know about the PIs that are currently on your list. Leverage your network or go to one of the events within your major and ask some upperclassmen. Understanding how good of a teacher in class the PI is or how they mentor their graduate students are key indicators of what your experience will look like. Optionally, you can go straight to the source by emailing graduate students in the labs that you want to join. You can also ask any of these connections if the labs that you are interested in have openings for undergraduates.
Narrow down the list
Now that you have an exhaustive list of potential labs to work in, you need to decide which one you have the most interest in. Figuring out your interests involves reading extensively about each topic, talking to people who work in that area, and trying out some of the work yourself. Take your list of professors and order it according to how interesting you find each of their work. Start from the top and look up each professor on google scholar and try to read some of their more recent papers. You will probably not understand them (most people don’t), but reading will give you an idea of what you don’t know. Find simpler resources to start understanding jargon and to learn about techniques that are unfamiliar to you. Wikipedia is your friend here. As you work your way down your list, reorder it taking into account what you learn about each field. After much reading, try to look for common themes in your highest interest labs. Try to reach out to other students, graduate students, and PI’s to talk to them about their work. Look for talks around campus in the areas that you find most appealing. Go to office hours of professors that teach your classes in those areas and ask them what it is like to do research in them. Refine your list further. Try to find small kits or opportunities to practice techniques in the areas that interest you most. If there is nothing available, your first experience will be in the lab you join.
Reaching out
If you do not already have an excuse to talk to the professors that you are interested in (e.g. in office hours) then you should email them. Be clear with your intentions, honest with your experience, and brief with your words. A first email needs to let them know you are interested in learning more about their research and their lab and that you would like to discuss it in person. Send some large chunks of time that you are free (e.g. Wednesday 1-5 pm). Sometimes you will not get a response. That does not mean that they are not interested, they may just have been to busy and forgotten to reply. If you hear nothing for a week send a follow up email in the same thread. If you send three emails with no response, it’s time to look elsewhere. You should try to meet with several professors, and the process moves most quickly in parallel so email a couple at a time to try to set up meetings. Once you have scheduled a meeting you should find a few of their most recent publications and read them a few times to that you have some questions for them.
Email template and examples
This doesn’t have to be too stressful and there is a general format as listed below. The shorter you can keep the email the better!
Template for email:
Hello Professor [Name],
[Introduce yourself, including your year and major.]
[*Motivate the email by telling the PI what you are looking for (a research position and when you would hope to start).]
[A short description of what interested you about their research]
- This can include one sentence that is a bit broad and another sentence about one specific project.
- If you have done research before, you can add some relevant details about your previous work (what field, coursework, etc.)
[Mention that you are in SyBBURE - a fully funded program- (you can hyperlink the SyBBURE website here).]
[Describe any research experience that you have.]
[For a closing, ask for a meeting and offer up 2 or 3 potential times that work with your schedule!]
Respectful and formal sign-off,
Your name
**with no research experience** - attach your resume
Example emails:
Dear Professor Lippmann,
My name is Katrina Schwensen, and I am a freshman at Vanderbilt majoring in chemical and biomolecular engineering with a minor in scientific computing.
I wanted to reach out to express interest in research opportunities in your lab for summer 2022 and onwards. I am particularly interested in your research developing methods of drug delivery to the central nervous system. Specifically, the integration of CSF flow models for targeted delivery to immune cells in the brain is fascinating, and I would love to do research in this area. Further, the skills and knowledge related to brain immunology I would gain in this project would directly benefit my long-term goal of attending medical school!
As a fellow in the fully-funded SyBBURE Searle Undergraduate Research Program (sybbure.org) here at Vanderbilt, I am part of an immersive research community. The SyBBURE program includes weekly mentorship and required research presentations that will keep me on track for success.
I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak with you about your work and the possibility of doing research in your lab this summer. If you would like to meet, I am available any time after noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Best regards,
- Katrina Schwensen
**with research experience** - attach your resume and any previous poster that you have created
Dear Professor Lippmann,
My name is Katrina Schwensen, and I am a sophomore at Vanderbilt majoring in chemical engineering with a minor in scientific computing. I wanted to reach out to express interest in research opportunities in your lab for summer 2022 and onwards.
I am particularly interested in your research evaluating the effects of the physical and chemical environments on BBB models. The work your team has done to culture iPSCs in custom microfluidic chambers is fascinating.
As a fellow in the fully-funded SyBBURE Searle Undergraduate Research Program (sybbure.org), I have previously conducted research in formulating novel insect repellents in Dr. Zwiebel’s lab. Additionally, I developed electrochemical dopamine sensors for future in vivo use while in high school. I also have experience in CAD design, 3D printing, and MATLAB/Python.
I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak with you about your work and the possibility of doing research in your lab this summer. My long-term goals include attending graduate school, thus working in your lab would be professionally meaningful. Please see my attached résumé, as well as posters from my previous research endeavors.
If you would like to meet, I am available any time after noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Best regards,
- Katrina Schwensen
Hello Dr. Peterson,
My name is Annie Mullins, and I am a second year Psychology student at Vanderbilt University. I was looking through the research you are doing with Project Self, and I was particularly interested in your research on social networks and their influence on behavior.
I am looking for a summer lab position and would be thrilled if you have any availability in your lab. In the past I have worked in a social psychology lab at the University of Washington, and I am currently a research assistant in a lab studying social-emotional expertise at Vanderbilt.
If you have any openings for this summer, I would love to talk more about your work and any opportunities within your lab.
Thank you very much for your time,
Annie Mullins
Meeting
The first meeting is in many ways an interview. Realize that if you are going to work in their lab then both of you should feel good about it. Sometimes your interests really are not aligned with their research and you don’t realize it until talking in person, sometimes the style of the lab isn’t right for you. There are many factors to consider before joining a lab, so ask questions about more than just the area of research. Ask questions like:
• What are the expectations for a student in the lab?
• How often are there lab meetings?
• Is there a graduate student to work with?
• How independent will you be in the lab?
• What resources does the lab use to stay organized?
• Will you have a space to work in, like a desk?
Ask for a tour of the lab. Try to talk to the people who work there after the PI leaves as they will usually give a more honest view of what a day is like in the lab. Take notes about the whole experience so that you can compare all of the labs that you visit. Offer a timeline to decide whether to join the lab. Follow up via email about the meeting and state the timeline in the email.
Deciding which lab to join may seem daunting, but many of the choices will turn out well. If you end up not liking the work or the lab, you will be better at picking out a lab next time. Most first lab experiences do not last for an entire undergraduate career so this will likely not be your last chance to choose.
