Hello all, Im curious, if anyone has attempted to get a grant funded and initiate a research program while in vet school? Ive been told that this is not unheard of in medical school, and Im wondering if anyone has tried during their DVM training.
Research and Grants while in Vet School
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I don't know of anyone who has tried but there are several grants available to DVM students...the same ones actually that are available to medical students...from the NIH. Usually these are small "grants" (I think around $2000-$3000 that are supposed to support you while you do research under a mentor for the summer.
Many of the bigger, year long grants require not only a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, DVM, DDS etc) but also require that you commit at least 40 hrs a week to research so those would not be available while still in school.
Many of the bigger, year long grants require not only a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, DVM, DDS etc) but also require that you commit at least 40 hrs a week to research so those would not be available while still in school.
Hi GellaBella, I have heard about the small grants, but I'm curious if anybody has tried to get a grant to fully fund a research lab while also in vet school. I realize that the time commitment during the school year is limited; and although not probable, it still may be possible. So I was wondering if anybody has actually tried.
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I guess it depends..are you talking about an R01?
i imagine it would be almost impossible to do a dvm and full time research. The grants that would fund an eintire lab require you to hire people, buy equipment, have lab space etc and I just really don't think one could 1) convince the vet school to give you some lab space 2) develop an idea and hire people 3) spend time analyzing the data that came out of the lab and 4) write papers and grant updates about progress.
heres a link for the NIH:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm#RSeries
those are the grants available, if you feel like you have a great idea then it can't hurt to try.
do you have an advanced degree already?
i imagine it would be almost impossible to do a dvm and full time research. The grants that would fund an eintire lab require you to hire people, buy equipment, have lab space etc and I just really don't think one could 1) convince the vet school to give you some lab space 2) develop an idea and hire people 3) spend time analyzing the data that came out of the lab and 4) write papers and grant updates about progress.
heres a link for the NIH:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm#RSeries
those are the grants available, if you feel like you have a great idea then it can't hurt to try.
do you have an advanced degree already?
I'm a post doctoral fellow with a project that is currently funded through DHS.I was accepted to vet school, but would like to continue my work, as it is producing some great results. The funding doesn't follow me, so I have to write either an R01 or something comparable to continue my work. I'm going to take a shot at it. The vet school is aware of my research and is indicated willingness to provide lab space if I can secure a grant. But, it is still a shot in the dark. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess.
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It's possible that you would be better off finding an interested colleague and working out an arrangement with him/her -- from having been in a somewhat similar situation, I would say that it would be incredibly difficult to start a lab, run a lab, and go to vet school at the same time. Maybe you're vastly more intelligent or vastly more efficient than I am 
but I think you might still end up having to shortchange both endeavors.
Given your strong research background, I would imagine that any faculty member interested in infectious disease research would LOVE to have you in their lab, and would be able to do a lot of the grant seeking so that you could focus more on school and actually doing research. There are small grants you can get from organizations like the Morris Animal Foundation and the Canine Health Foundation, as well as larger grants that your PI could apply for. And since you're coming in with an established area of interest, I would be surprised if you couldn't find someone willing to let you work on whatever you were planning to do anyway -- everyone would benefit, and it would take a lot of the pressure and administrative work off of you.
If you find a mentor/colleague/PI pretty soon, you could apply together for some of the stimulus grants that are currently being awarded, and it would also give you time to pursue other funding options. By the time you were ready to move to their lab you could have funding all set up and be ready to go. And if you find someone whose research is at all aligned with yours, a lot of the resources would already exist and you wouldn't need nearly as much money. I don't know what specifically you work on, or where you're planning to go to school, so I don't know if anyone like that exists there. But it might be worth looking into.
but I think you might still end up having to shortchange both endeavors. Given your strong research background, I would imagine that any faculty member interested in infectious disease research would LOVE to have you in their lab, and would be able to do a lot of the grant seeking so that you could focus more on school and actually doing research. There are small grants you can get from organizations like the Morris Animal Foundation and the Canine Health Foundation, as well as larger grants that your PI could apply for. And since you're coming in with an established area of interest, I would be surprised if you couldn't find someone willing to let you work on whatever you were planning to do anyway -- everyone would benefit, and it would take a lot of the pressure and administrative work off of you.
If you find a mentor/colleague/PI pretty soon, you could apply together for some of the stimulus grants that are currently being awarded, and it would also give you time to pursue other funding options. By the time you were ready to move to their lab you could have funding all set up and be ready to go. And if you find someone whose research is at all aligned with yours, a lot of the resources would already exist and you wouldn't need nearly as much money. I don't know what specifically you work on, or where you're planning to go to school, so I don't know if anyone like that exists there. But it might be worth looking into.
