Errr...so...

I can't seem to find any professors that are doing research that interests me, or have labs to facilitate the kind of work I'd be interested in doing myself...

Anyone else in this situation? I'm thinking about taking seminar courses instead and whatever the hell else I feel like but it almost feels like if I'm not doing an independent project or thesis in 4th year I'm not making enough of an effort.

Overall, I'm one of those (few?) people in life sciences that neither want to go to medical school nor want to do boring ass PCR and digests in a lab all day (I am into research, but again, I can't find anyone at McMaster studying epilepsy or any related neurological stuff)... and I'm not sure what direction I want to take my degree, based on my pretty diverse interests that don't just include science

Any ideas or help from alumni/current 4th years would be appreciated

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Errr...so...

I can't seem to find any professors that are doing research that interests me, or have labs to facilitate the kind of work I'd be interested in doing myself...

Anyone else in this situation? I'm thinking about taking seminar courses instead and whatever the hell else I feel like but it almost feels like if I'm not doing an independent project or thesis in 4th year I'm not making enough of an effort.

Overall, I'm one of those (few?) people in life sciences that neither want to go to medical school nor want to do boring ass PCR and digests in a lab all day (I am into research, but again, I can't find anyone at McMaster studying epilepsy or any related neurological stuff)... and I'm not sure what direction I want to take my degree, based on my pretty diverse interests that don't just include science

Any ideas or help from alumni/current 4th years would be appreciated

Have you tried contacting some of these people? http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/pediatrics/neurology.html

You'll probably have to figure out what you can do in 1 year. It looks like a lot of their research is patient based which would mean it would be VERY difficult to complete in 1 year (probably impossible) what with all the protocols for research dealing with patients.

Originally Posted by jhan523

Have you tried contacting some of these people? http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/pediatrics/neurology.html

You'll probably have to figure out what you can do in 1 year. It looks like a lot of their research is patient based which would mean it would be VERY difficult to complete in 1 year (probably impossible) what with all the protocols for research dealing with patients.

Yeah, I checked them out.

Balls... I guess I'll just build an EEG, buy some rats and start zapping some lobes...

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Yeah, I checked them out.

Balls... I guess I'll just build an EEG, buy some rats and start zapping some lobes...

Don't you also have to run animal testing through the REB?

Although, what you could try to talk to the neurology department about is just analysis of data instead. You'd still have to go through the REB I believe but you wouldn't have to get consent from every patient. You just get the data from hospitals. There are certain things you can and can't do though. You learn about all that before you get your certification for doing research with patients, there's like a quiz/test to do.

It would probably still take a long time but you might be able to come to a conclusion by the end of the year. I'm not exactly sure how long it takes to get something validated by the REB. I'm also probably missing some other step in the protocol.

Originally Posted by jhan523

Don't you also have to run animal testing through the REB?

Although, what you could try to talk to the neurology department about is just analysis of data instead. You'd still have to go through the REB I believe but you wouldn't have to get consent from every patient. You just get the data from hospitals. There are certain things you can and can't do though. You learn about all that before you get your certification for doing research with patients, there's like a quiz/test to do.

It would probably still take a long time but you might be able to come to a conclusion by the end of the year. I'm not exactly sure how long it takes to get something validated by the REB. I'm also probably missing some other step in the protocol.

Sounds like a lot of BS to go through just to do some meta-analysis...

I wouldn't mind that, and I'll look into it.
Perhaps I'll just wait and do my Masters degree working with someone working on something directly related to my interests...ugh

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Sounds like a lot of BS to go through just to do some meta-analysis...

I wouldn't mind that, and I'll look into it.
Perhaps I'll just wait and do my Masters degree working with someone working on something directly related to my interests...ugh

If you want to do a Masters degree in a lab doing research, you should try to already have research experience. Even if it's in something you don't believe is relevant, it will really help you out. If you don't have research experience already but want to do a Masters, a thesis would help you out a lot.

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Errr...so...

I can't seem to find any professors that are doing research that interests me, or have labs to facilitate the kind of work I'd be interested in doing myself...

Anyone else in this situation? I'm thinking about taking seminar courses instead and whatever the hell else I feel like but it almost feels like if I'm not doing an independent project or thesis in 4th year I'm not making enough of an effort.

Overall, I'm one of those (few?) people in life sciences that neither want to go to medical school nor want to do boring ass PCR and digests in a lab all day (I am into research, but again, I can't find anyone at McMaster studying epilepsy or any related neurological stuff)... and I'm not sure what direction I want to take my degree, based on my pretty diverse interests that don't just include science

Any ideas or help from alumni/current 4th years would be appreciated

If you don't want to go to med school or sit at a lab all day, why don't you consider something like epidemiology or population health? Is the lab component mandatory for a Lifesciences thesis? Being in 4th year myself, I don't think doing seminar courses is a bad idea, but if you do plan on doing a research-based Masters program, perhaps you should do a thesis.

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Sounds like a lot of BS to go through just to do some meta-analysis...

I wouldn't mind that, and I'll look into it.
Perhaps I'll just wait and do my Masters degree working with someone working on something directly related to my interests...ugh

There's a lot surrounding patient confidentiality and hospital records. I would be very concerned if anyone could just go to the hospital and pull out hospital records without having to go through a research ethics board or have certification.

i know you mentioned neurology however you can do your thesis in related subjects in other departments (bio physics, chemical biology etc...) or even with permission of the chair of the department do your thesis with a person in a different university.

i actually know all 3 of those doctors, dr. callen is a douche, but dr meany is so nice!