There are a ton of different kinds of research. Overall, you have basic science, translational, and clinical research as the 3 main fields. Don’t know what those are or what they mean? I’ll explain it today and go into even deeper detail between the different subfields such as environmental research, biomedical research, and biology/chemistry/neuroscience research. After you’ve read this article, you should have a better understanding of all the available opportunities in research and feel more confident in choosing a field! If you feel good after this article, you may be ready to find a mentor
So you may know what research is and feel like it’s something you want to take part in now or in the future. You can see yourself in the lab doing experiments, finding new discoveries, and helping others through what you find. However, maybe you don’t know what field you want to go into for research or what kind of research you want to do. This is a great start and you’ve come to the right place. This will serve as the base that will set you up for attending research conferences, applying for grants, and much more!
My goal with this guide is to describe the various fields of research available to you during your undergraduate years and leave you with more confidence about the fields you’re interested in!
So first things first: The fields of research from a broad sense. You’ve got options that can be life science related or more focused on social sciences or physics. Within the life sciences, you can usually conduct research in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, and environmental science. Within the social sciences,, you’ve got psychology research that can be behavioral psych, addiction psych, childhood development psych, cognitive psych, and many more.
Honestly, medical schools and graduate schools will not totally care what kind of research you do. They want to see that you can critically think, troubleshoot things when problems arise, and lead a research project within a given field. They also care that you can explain pretty well the background of your projects (why you are studying what you are, how it relates to humans), the methods used (what you did & how), and the results (what you found and how it matters).
It’s easy to get caught up on picking the “right” kind of research to impress the medical schools. However, I’m a firm believer, especially looking back after my 4 years, of choosing a type of research that YOU enjoy and care about. This will help you to really get into the work you do and look forward to it while minimizing risk of burnout.
Now, if you are saying “yeah yeah, but what really is the best research for medical school or grad school?” I’ve got an answer for you. Biomedical research. Notice how this was not among the list I gave earlier. This is because biomedical research can be in any of those fields! Essentially, it is the study of concepts within a biological or chemical field but with a medical field angle. Normally this is embodied by the research focusing on a specific health condition, disease, or genetic condition that affects the lives of many patients. The research can focus on bettering the understanding of how the disease manifests, on the actual drugs used to treat the disease and how they work, or even on designing new drugs to treat a major issue in healthcare.
Most of the time, if you are wanting to be in the medical field anyway, you have a heart for others and their suffering. For me, this is why I loved biomedical research and many medical school admins will be looking for this in your explanation of why you did research.
For biology research, there are many aspects to it. You can end up doing research on anything from bacterial species to various wild animals to using animal models to test concepts. The experiments you will do will usually be on cells that you culture in flasks or bacteria you culture. Experiments usually include exposing cells to various compounds/drugs, exposing bacteria to drugs or chemicals, immunoblotting, etc to name a few. You will likely be focused on some aspect of a human or animal’s bodily functions and how it works or look into how compounds change how it works.
For chemistry, much of the research can be focused on human bodies. Usually it will be focused heavily on elements and chemical compounds. For example, how different structures/forms of mercury affect toxicity in the kidneys. Other examples include examining the various metals used in aircraft and finding out which metals or elements are failing and leading to corrosion. Anything to do with chemicals reacting with the environment, corrosion, or structural features of compounds will be a chemistry research project you can find.
For neuroscience, the research has to do with the brain and central nervous system. Many times, you are studying neurotransmitters, cognitive abilities, and doing behavioral studies. You will very likely be working with animal models such as rats, mice, or various small worm species. It is a wonderful field full of studies that could lead to progress in diseases such as parkinson’s, alzheimers, dementia, Multiple Sclerosis, and many more!
In biochemistry research, it’s almost like a mix between biology and chemistry research.Common assays in biochemistry include enzyme assays, which measure the activity of enzymes involved in catalyzing biochemical reactions. DNA and RNA assays assess nucleic acid quantities and integrity, while protein assays quantify protein concentrations and characterize their properties. Chromatography techniques, such as mass spectrometry and gel electrophoresis, are widely used for separation and identification of biomolecules. Immunoassays, like enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), detect specific proteins based on their interaction with antibodies. These assays play a crucial role in unraveling the complexities of biological systems, aiding in the diagnosis of diseases, drug development, and understanding the molecular basis of various physiological processes.
It really comes down to your research faculty mentor and their background. If they are of chemistry background, you’ll be mainly looking at chemical structures and properties with a mix of the biology side. If from a biology background, you’ll likely be focused on cell lines and tissue samples but also incorporating the chemical side of things. This is a best of both worlds area where you’ll learn both chemistry and biology research and in my opinion, will be the most useful going forward in medicine.
Lastly is environmental research. This is the most unique of any of them because most of it is not biomedical or applied to medicine. However, some of it will be and some examples include measuring mercury levels in pipes at local buildings around a city, keeping track of mercury levels in fish, or even studying how a specific animal lives and moves. A variety of assays are employed in environmental research to assess and monitor the quality of air, water, soil, and ecosystems. Water quality assays often include tests for parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient levels, and contaminants like heavy metals or pesticides. Air quality assays measure pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. Soil assays analyze soil composition, nutrient content, and potential contaminants. Biomonitoring assays use living organisms, such as algae or bioindicators, to assess the overall health of ecosystems. Advanced techniques like DNA-based assays can be employed to identify and quantify specific microorganisms or genetic markers in environmental samples.
Want to get the most out of research once you start? Read this.