What PHD is right for me?

[pre-mdphd]

Hello, all!

This is kind of a confusing question; I would appreciate any help I can get. I am interested in the MD/Ph.D. programs. Regarding research, I am interested in the role that genetics plays in mental disorders/psychology. What route(s) could I take to achieve this? I will go over what I am thinking below. Please let me know your thoughts!
1) I could become a psychiatrist. Get my Ph.D. in genetics/genomics.
2) I could become a geneticist. Get my Ph.D. in psychology.
3) Possibly something involving neuroscience/psychology/genetics, but I don't know if that is possible.

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[Lost In Transcription]

You need to do actual reseaech experience in both fields. Read the literature and see what interests you more.

Sorry, an internet forum won’t be able to tell you this one!

 

[candbgirl]

How far along in school are you? How much research experience have you at this point? Is your experience in any of these areas? Are you currently applying MD/PhD?

 

[getdown]

Hard to say .. I'm just gonna make a guess here ... maybe art history?

 

[narla_hotep]

honestly what you get your phd in depends so much on the individual labs and professors in these areas at your school. choose the lab based on its individual research focus and the culture of the people there, and the phd field will come with it

 

[benjamin94559]

Hard to say .. I'm just gonna make a guess here ... maybe art history?

 

[ex-mdphd]

Hello, all!

This is kind of a confusing question; I would appreciate any help I can get. I am interested in the MD/Ph.D. programs. Regarding research, I am interested in the role that genetics plays in mental disorders/psychology. What route(s) could I take to achieve this? I will go over what I am thinking below. Please let me know your thoughts!
1) I could become a psychiatrist. Get my Ph.D. in genetics/genomics.
2) I could become a geneticist. Get my Ph.D. in psychology.
3) Possibly something involving neuroscience/psychology/genetics, but I don't know if that is possible.

Completely agree with what others have said. Additionally, many degree programs have overlapping faculty with appointments in different departments (you just have to do your research and figure out what labs you want to work with and what programs they're a part of). What will vary between different programs is the curriculum and electives you take. I'm interested in neuroimmunology, but largely applying to neuroscience programs because I feel like the foundational neuroscience curriculum will be more beneficial for my research interests in the long run. You can also consider applying to umbrella programs, where PIs come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and you take coursework in a multitude of disciplines.

 

[LizzyM]

Epidemiology? Epidemiology, including genetics and epigenetics, of psychiatric conditions. You may not need the medical degree -- unless you want to treat patients as well as study subjects.
Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetic Epidemiology
Department Of Psychiatry - Harvard Medical School - Research
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/npe/
Psychiatric Epidemiology | Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Psychiatric Epidemiology | Department of Epidemiology

 

[Muha133]

I am also a bet confused to which PhD to pursue but I am not interested in MD anymore, prop. of majoring in biochem as undergrad. But now I am debating on which PhD. I have done a masters in biote chnology with the hope of working for a few years but I have not had an interview since six years so I am considering PhD degree I tried to apply to an engineering PhD but was not accepted I graduated with the Masters in biotech in 2011 from the university of Alabama. Any thoughts on a good PhD track, I am considering future jobs prospect and not encouraged by long years PhDs

 

[Lucca]

I am also a bet confused to which PhD to pursue but I am not interested in MD anymore, prop. of majoring in biochem as undergrad. But now I am debating on which PhD. I have done a masters in biote chnology with the hope of working for a few years but I have not had an interview since six years so I am considering PhD degree I tried to apply to an engineering PhD but was not accepted I graduated with the Masters in biotech in 2011 from the university of Alabama. Any thoughts on a good PhD track, I am considering future jobs prospect and not encouraged by long years PhDs

In terms of job prospects physical sciences, math, and engineering have better outcomes than life sciences. CS is probably the best but will require a background in it for you to be competitive. If you’re looking to become a scientist then I would choose strong programs and pick the best PI at your favorite program and do whatever that PhD is. If you’re looking to go into industry, go into a program with a good reputation in a marketable field (materials science, engineering, biotechnology, computational X etc).