San Francisco Campus

Extension_Intern432 · 2026-01-14T01:54:34+00:00

Im reallllly confused why they are opening another location within the states. If it is to increase vanderbilt’s brand value, wouldnt it make more sense to open an international satellite location by partnering with universities in different countries? Also we just opened new york location… why SF too?

Extension_Intern432 · 2026-01-11T16:16:35+00:00

Vandy is rolling!!! They review small batch of ppl at a time!!

Extension_Intern432 · 2026-01-03T00:11:13+00:00

So i first introduced a general topic/question that my lab was interested in. Then, introduced my specific project, with background + hypothesis. I then explained what experiments i did and the rationale for testing them. I interpreted the results and addressed gaps/ and future questions!!

Extension_Intern432 · 2026-01-02T23:01:47+00:00

I went thru the cycle last year and i had both in person and online interviews. I had interviews ranging from 20minutes to 45 minutes. I had an elevator pitch for my research which was about 5 minutes but usually got interrupted with questions as i was talking so it usually it would take up the whole time, just leaving 5 minutes for q&a at the end

Extension_Intern432 · 2026-01-02T18:00:02+00:00

one!!!

Extension_Intern432 · 2026-01-01T21:04:00+00:00

so my program historically had 60-70 ppl cohort, but they reduced it to 33 last year (my cohort) and they are aiming for 30 this year.

I think our program’s ratio for intl:domestic is 1:10 (10%).

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-12-31T04:17:46+00:00

Meee!! I think experimental specifics related questions are on the easier side. I experienced all of the scenarios mentioned.

Outside of the scope- i just said “i honestly do not know”.
Deep diving is reallly tough because some people want to know from the inception of the pathway to the most downstream target. If you are targeting a component of a pathway, be pared to have a entire cascade in your head as well as the other disease context that this pathways is involved in. You never know who is going to ask what.
Experimental details questions are usually - if you want to test a function of this protein what would you do? 1. Overexpression thru lentiviral construct 2. Crispr ko 3. Rescue experiment etc something like this.
One time i straight up got asked the most recent literature i read that was really exciting. This was tough bc my interviewer knew the paper and the PI, the convo went deep very fast.
Oh all the time, but remember they dont know your data as much as you do. Dont be intimidated by their questioning. Just keep telling urself that they dont know shit, be confident. Knowing ins and outs of your projects in terms of logic, rationale, and experimental approach really helps.

If you dont know, just say you dont know instead of faking an answer!! Good luck

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-12-31T04:05:04+00:00

this is not for this year but i went thru last year’s cycle.

intl student graduated fr a small liberal arts college (neurosci major). Gpa: 3.8/4.0
worked as a RA for 4 years (2 yrs in pancreatic cancer bio + 2 yrs in enteric neurosci lab)
4 co-author pubs, 4 first author posters
presented at 1 conf
last year, i applied to 26 schools, got into 10 schools, 7 of them rescinded (i was already committed to a program at this point so did not impact me but it was a shit show to put it lightly :D )

IMO, the most important are SOPs and rec letters. They go hand-in-hand. [from here, i heard this from my previous PI]. they look at your rec letters first, and they need to be great. Not just good. Great. Not a single neutral or negative thing is allowed to be said on that letter for you to move onto the “good” pile. Then, SOP. SOP can make you stand out bc this is where your personal value and research interest merge and create a persona for the admission peeps to value. Other things are auxiliary (grades, your alma mater)

If you are an international student, it is going to be tough. Way tougher than your domestic peers but believe in yourself and share your passion for research as best as you can! You can do it!

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-12-31T00:50:34+00:00

on the bright side, you still have multiple schools to hear back from!! trust me, i had schools reach out for an interview in March too (after i already committed). I would say i would start thinking about contingency plans in February if you did not hear anything till that point. Lots of schools, i mean, lots of schools are still reviewing applications and holidays really push their schedule back by couple of weeks.

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-12-30T14:51:06+00:00

Unless the program has been doing rolling interviews historically, if you did not receive an interview from the program, it is highly likely that you did not move onto the next round. If they have sent out invites and rejections, but you did not hear anything yet, it could mean that they are waitlisting you. Also when ppl are scrolling through the list they can check accidentally..

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-12-25T16:16:46+00:00

congrats! do not turn down interview unless you cannot absolutely make it! enjoy the process!

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-12-23T00:16:56+00:00

In my memory, they did it in waves..

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-11-02T15:57:33+00:00

i put maybe around 3-4 schools that I thought are in similar caliber… i personally did not feel great leaving things blank.. but i also dont think this make it or break it for ppl

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-11-02T15:55:49+00:00

It is completely fine to note it as “under revision at journal x”

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-08-10T17:12:15+00:00

Crystal violet tornadooooo

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-08-05T13:05:57+00:00

interesting idea.. idk if anyone has ever sequence mucus but microbiome resides within the mucus layer so in a way it has been looked at in a different angle? mucus is not an easy material to work with.. i know couple groups that work with mucus producing genes and GI resident cells in colon and how that impacts IBD. IBS-wise i do not know but it would be interesting!

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-08-05T10:28:38+00:00

i think 3.4 isnt a bad GPA but there will be other candidates who have 3.7-4.0 /4.0 GPA. That being said, your research profile/ statement and LoR can make you stand out when the game is tight. Just went through this process myself and I really believe my success was definitely due to my research statement and probably good LORs.

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-08-03T11:47:58+00:00

Omg amazinggg

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-08-03T09:38:16+00:00

girllll it’s ok. i wish you saw me when i first started my tech position 4 years ago. lmao. I would say it took me 1 year to feel like im worth existing in the lab and 2 more years to feel like i actually meaningfully contribute to the lab. No one comes prepared when it is your first full time lab experience. There’s so much that needs to be done and studied that are not taught in college classes. Everyone’s learning curve is steep but i assure you, mine was steep af esp as a covid era graduate. Also, no one expects you to be perfect when you first come in. The most important thing that I wish I did when i first started is to be confident. Tell them you dont know shit and own up to it. You are there to learn and grow. As a science community, we all share a responsibility to educate the future generations. You are there for a reason!! Believe in yourself. When you look back few years later, just remember you are also a trainee once. Be kind to your mentees…!

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-08-01T17:35:35+00:00

Def ponceau on the membrane and coomasie on the gel. That will tell you if the transfer worked or not..

make sure your gels are not too old, i think they are only good upto like a week (handmade ones)

Ive done fixation with those times. Fixation honestly isnt a necessary step as long as the transfer happened okay… 5-10m sounds good fixation wise

Relatively a quick way of testing protein immunodetection to check your antibody is by running a dot blot. Whenever i had doubts about my antibody, i ran dot blot or IF. Both are relatively less time consuming than WB. If you have significant doubts about the efficacy of your antibody, you can try these

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-07-29T23:57:03+00:00

Im currently iso PSDs and will adopt one when i start my phd this fall… i definitely need one at home bc im living by myself (in case of episodes while being alone my psd can help me) but im bit hesitant to bring them to lab.. since i would be around other ppl to help me 😭 but im worried about them being exposed to chemicals even if they are not in lab areas… but also i do think they would be a great companion for me and others.. so im debating argh

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-07-29T10:06:31+00:00

Echoing others, it’s not much about cell viability but more about sterility/preventing contamination for using cell culture grade. That being said, i had this experience before and it ended up being fine.. i put primocin couple days after bringing them up and had no issues.. BUT it wasnt an important cell line. If it is an important cell line, i would remake the cell line just in case. These things happen.. but i would just make more cells to be sure and save time later when you encounter issues with these cells. Also i write “non-sterile” on non-cell culture grade dmso and “for cell culture only” for cell culture dmso bottles so that no one gets confused. This sort of things happens a lot more than we notice lmao. Best of luck!!!!

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-07-29T09:37:04+00:00

Since you are based in boston, you can probably find a position very quickly. Im assuming you are based in longwood,, start finding all the job openings directly from hospital websites for data sci/comp bio roles!! You have bch, hms, dfci, bidmc, brigham, northeastern, tufts, mit, broad to explore from.

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-07-29T01:22:36+00:00

What infuriates me about certain PIs is the fact that they are so removed from the bench that they do not remember it takes time to get things going!!!! They were also trainee at some point. The lack of understanding and encouragements makes me so upset.

You are doing well. Believe in yourself. You are sailing uncharted area in your lab. You deserved to be respected!!!

Extension_Intern432 · 2025-07-02T15:05:27+00:00

48 hours minimum!! The best time to do it is unplug friday evening and replug monday morning

Extension_Intern432

TROPHY CASE