The following is a e-mail from the first author of Paul Worley Cell paper.
He says something like "publish anything below Neuron is unacceptable"...
This is crazy
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: MUHAMMAD BANGASH
Date: Oct 28, 2006 10:44 AM
Subject: RE: ALumni with PhDs
Dear Saad,
Thank you for contacting me. I am sorry, due to repeated vilification/
impersonations, I do not subscribe to Topica.
It really depends on what you want to do.
If you want a PhD to augment your application for a clinical residency,
then a PhD may or may not be worth the effort except for perhaps some
very competitive fields/ programs. I am not the right person for this
cohort - you might want to talk to Saad Shafqat or somebody else.
If you want to take basic science as a full-time career, then I am
afraid you need to do more work.
The top 5-10 places in mol bio/ cell bio/ neuro - Harvard, UCSD,
Hopkins, Stanford, Caltech, MIT- will not consider your application
without an MA/ Msc. An MBBS from AKU is not an adequate launching pad
for doctoral work. The MA/Msc, although costly, will be worth the
effort. You can aim for a masters scholarship like I did. Getting one is
rare though - most likely you will have to pay from your own pocket.
I will not recommend going to a mediocre program for a PhD. Remember, if
your PI has not published in Cell/ Science/ Nature, is a National
Academy of Science Member or a Howard Hughes - it is very unlikely,
though not impossible, that you will ever accomplish any of these. The
book "Apprentice to Genius: The Making of a Scientific Dynasty", written
on a line of NIH/ Johns Hopkins nobel laureates is a good source if you
want to explore this idea.
Additionally, you need to have some research experience, preferably 1-2
years. Publications are not necessary - in fact you do not want to
associate your name with poor science which is what it most likely would
be.
Moreover, you need a good personal statement, above average GRE scores,
three stellar letters of recommendations (preferably from American/
European scientists) and good communication skills. They will want to
interview you and it is always a good idea to travel to the US and give
a face-to-face interview.
US versus Europe? - I will not go to Europe unless you have major visa
issues. Its a joke. (I spent 2 years in UK and Germany and turned down
offers from Cambridge)
- Hide quoted text -
If you do not get into the top five US programs, do not loose heart. You
will be
hard-pressed to find a US university with no good lab. Although,
I also do feel that at your stage it is very difficult to distinguish
good from mediocre/ bad science- but this will become crucial later when you
have to
pick a lab for thesis.
Remember, getting into a good program is a very small step. Surviving in the
best programs is tough. The courses will be very hectic. Do not
expect to get a paper before your 3rd or 4th year and that too if you
are lucky. The standards here are very high and good PIs certainly do
not want to publish crap even if that means taking five/ six years to
write a single paper. Your thesis has to be sufficiently novel and
interesting for you to be able to graduate - in simple terms that means
anything below the journal "Neuron" is not acceptable.
You might want to contact others as well. My opinions tend to be strong
- Raheel Ahmed and Asad Mian are a great source.
Take care and good luck
Ali
-----
Muhammad Ali Bangash
BCMB Graduate Student
Department of Neuroscience
School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University