PhD; biology

[littlehops]

Hey all,

 

First post! So, I graduated in 2010 with B.S. in Human biology and have since worked as a lab tech in a genetics/cell biology laboratory doing cell culture, DNA isolation and various other molecular techniques. I am very interested in applying to PhD programs for either cell biology or metabolic biology/nutritional science and would like to get an idea of my chances for acceptance to PhD programs.

 

Stats:

- B.S., Human biology

- GPA: ~3.5 in science/math

- GRE: 150 Q - 158 V - 3.5 AW

- ~2 years of cell culture/molecular biology experience (production, not research, unfortunately)

 

Also, on a slightly different note, is it possible to utilize a cell culture model solely while doing a PhD in biological science or is it basically required to use an animal model as well?

 

I appreciate any input you all may have for me about my chances of persuing a PhD.

[CharonY]

I would say it depends on the university, though I do not see fundamental problems for an application. Especially the experience as lab technician should help. Many areas in biology do not use animal models, so that is a non-issue, too.

I would look into unis that you are interested in, see their requirements and look for research groups with interesting topics. Especially the latter is important, as you appear to be undecided what field you want to go into (due to mentioning of animal models, that is).

[littlehops]

Thank you for your response CharonY!

 

I am fairly sure I want to study the effects of chemicals, be it nutrients/toxins/etc, on human cells (still unsure which I find more interesting, positive effects of nutrients or detrimental effects of toxins). I am a little worried about focusing too much and becoming boxed in when it comes to research opportunities later on. Any ideas on this? Would you recommend applying to general cell biology programs or focusing on more specific programs. I'm just not sure how these may limit me later on.