Foundations of Scientific Inquiry

My other elective this quarter is Foundations of Scientific Inquiry, a class for those interested in scientific research. I have mixed feelings about this course. The first half of the course deals with some logistics of research: how to choose a mentor and define a project, how to write a grant, how to find funding for this summer. We also cover basic methods of investigation like molecular biology and genetic techniques. The second half of the course is similar to a journal club; we read papers and often the PI will come in and discuss them with us.

A course like this is critical for medical students, especially at a high-powered research institution where students are interested in basic science, translational, or clinical research. We don't get very much of this in our core curriculum (we're never required to read any journal articles, for example). The elective is great to introduce us to faculty members who we may consider working with. It also gives us exposure to a wide range of research.

However, I also think that the course can explore things in greater depth. For example, I think less time should be spent on the first half of the course, in covering Western blots and ion exchange chromatography and transgenic mice (though I concede that very little of this is formally taught in the core curriculum). I appreciated the time spent on how to find a project and funding, but I'm really more interested in learning how to think like a scientist. This comes out in the second half of the course, but since it is an elective, people take the course less seriously and may or may not do the reading. The discussions aren't as rich as I hoped they would be. But I am learning a lot and I enjoy that.