How can become involved in research?

[holler01]

Hey guys, I am really new to this, and this may seem an absurd question. I go to school on the east coast, but am home for the summer in LA and want to do some research at UCLA (i just completed my second year as a biology major). however, most of the offered research seems to be for undergraduates attending that university. Does anyone know how to become involved being a non-UCLA student? Also, i realize i may be a little later for getting research in the summer but i will be here until the end of september.

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[RxnMan]

Even though you're gonig to be there until September, you really don't have enough time to set up a good experience that you can learn from and be productive in. I'd say that you should enjoy this summer and plan ahead for next summer.

 

[UditNarayan]

yea, i agree, especially if you dont have anything lined up...to do an actual project (even something like a clinical chart review) takes time to get up and running. during undergrad, i spent two months doing basic science research near my home...in those two months, i wasnt able to reach autonomy with the work but i learned a lot about the research process that came back to help me in med school...but i had that lined up for a few months before starting...research some of your options, try to make some contacts in the labs that you're interested in so that when you are ready, you'll have options. good luck!

 

[jbcarlso]

Just to share my experiences, and I realize they vary a great deal from your specific situation, so maybe just use it for what it's worth:

I picked a professor who incorporated a lot of his own research into his lectures, went up to him after class one morning and introduced myself. I had an undergrad degree in computer science at the time, told him so, and asked if there might be anything I could help him with research-wise. He was very eager to help and - long story short - lead to me giving a talk at a state-wide undergraduate research conference.

If you have any outside skills at all, or even if you don't, I'd just say to pick a prof similar to mine - if you can find one - and just ask him/her if there's anything you can do to help.

Best of luck.

jb

 

[chemmastr]

Undergraduate Summer Research at UCLA, Google says:

http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/asis/srp/srpintro.htm

Good luck.