Are you interested in doing science research at a local lab?

Fear not, since I have the blueprint to securing a spot at a local lab with a mentor.

However, if you find yourself in a situation where securing a research mentor seems daunting or if time constraints are limiting your options, fret not, because I have a bonus alternative method, so make sure to stick around till the end of the blog.

Identify Your STEM Field of Interest to Conduct Research at a Local Lab Before diving into the internship search, take some time to reflect on your interests within the STEM field.

Are you passionate about biology, chemistry, physics, or perhaps computer science?

Identifying your interests will narrow down your search and allow you to focus on labs that align with your aspirations.

During high school, I did multiple research projects in topics such as Nature Scientific Data, Oncology, and Bioinformatics. https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=RqNZ-L4E3Zw&list=PLY_65to5psrvOI20c55iDzfqO-25d9Rwk&index=2 Still having trouble deciding on your research project idea?

See my FULL 20min GUIDE on How to Effectively Pick a Science Research Project.

Cold Emailing

- A Proven Technique to Secure an Internship at a Local Lab Cold Emailing is the most effective way to get research internships and opportunities at local labs and I am sure most have you have already tried cold emailing but it never seems to work.

This is how you know that you probably aren’t doing it right.

Here’s the step-by-step guide on how I actually managed to get responses back: Read the Professor’s papers or papers on their lab website This will allow you to reduce the amount of emails you will sent out drastically because if their research paper is not of your interest then simply just discard the lab from your list Convey your passion & interest Mentors actually want to work with students who have an innate curiosity for their research Always make sure to show your passion and my cold email template will definitely help you guys with this Trust me these professors actually want to help students, and if you reach out with genuine passion you will secure a spot!

Email Professors at your local lab Many people who I have asked on who they are contacting for research I see a list of labs at Harvard, Stanford or MIT This is very wrong!

They will definitely will want undergrads from the university to do research in their labs who can get research fellowships or paid opportunities rather than an high schooler working remotely To further catch their interest, send a resume or CV with your email Specific questions you have

- Request for meeting with a professor on Zoom or other platforms to discuss further on the opportunity Meet with potential mentors Please read their papers beforehand Ask genuine questions If they are able to help, then ask to be a mentor Meet every week or two At the end of the meeting….

If they can actually answer all your questions and are happy to do so then this might be the best case scenario!

Do not fall into the perceived notion that you will have to do the professor's research, you can ask him to be your mentor on your own research project!

For more information on how to do this, make sure to watch this video https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=tKmS4UZbfII Alternative Method of Conducting Research at a Local Lab Summer Research Programs….

Summer research programs might be the best way to do conduct research with multiple professors if you want to collaborate with other peers or don’t find luck in cold emailing.

I myself have curated a 50+ summer research programs for high schoolers all around the world which are actually very prestigious!

Finally, join our discord server where we have tons of like-minded students who help each other and for additional summer research projects!.