Author: Bader Nasir
Editors: Pranitha Pothuri and Mahi Basra
Updated: May 7, 2025
One of the biggest roadblocks for medical students in getting involved in research is a lack of apparent opportunities. Oftentimes, this boils down to a lack of connections with the right physicians or school faculty that are actively involved in research who are willing to bring a student onto the project. For osteopathic medical students, this can be even more difficult due to a lack of NIH funding, and overall less research happening at osteopathic medical schools compared to allopathic institutions [1]. This is where the art of networking becomes absolutely essential. Networking is key for medical students looking to get involved in research because most opportunities aren’t posted—they’re shared through word of mouth. Connecting with faculty and residents opens doors to mentorship, collaboration, and projects that will ultimately strengthen your residency application when it comes time to apply. In this article we will discuss a few key ways to build your network so to not only get involved in research, but to benefit your career at every step going forward. Things like attending conferences, engaging with research-active peers, and using platforms like Doximity or LinkedIn can make a huge difference.
Social Media
Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Doximity are a great place to connect with current as well as past peers, professors, doctors, and potential collaborators. LinkedIn is one of the most widely used networking platforms that the majority of people use across all specialties and fields. Doximity is a physician-specific networking platform that you can think of as the Linked-in for doctors, attendings, residents, and medical students. As a place that is specific for medicine, it is a great place to grow your professional network as a medical student interested in getting more research experience.
Some great examples of ways to use these platforms as a medical student interested in research is to find and connect with potential mentors or attendings based on the specific field of research they are involved in, or even based on the institution you are interested in working with. For example, if you find that you are having trouble finding research opportunities in your current school or program, these platforms are a great way to expand your search and directly reach out to doctors at other institutions to ask about potential opportunities. These platforms allow you to build a profile-based CV where you can show off your experience and list your research projects/publications/presentations that are available to others to see with a quick look. Doximity even pulls any published work you may have from PubMed and displays it on your profile, so that potential connections can directly see your contributions when you reach out.
However, before reaching out to potential contacts, there are a few key things you can do to use these platforms effectively. First, create a strong profile with a professional photo, and a compelling bio. List all your research experience and publications, even if your projects are still in progress and have not been published. This way, you can still show your dedication and involvement in academic research. Make sure to also highlight any extracurriculars and leadership roles you have been involved in to help stand out. Once you’ve built a strong professional profile, look up and follow physicians and researchers who are working in fields or institutions you are interested in, and follow their updates. Take the time to comment and interact with their posts so you can show your enthusiasm for their research and potentially open the door to working with them. If you see a physician post about an ongoing research project that you are interested in, join the discussion and engage with others who are also posting. From there reach out with a direct message expressing interest in their work and ask if they have any research projects you can contribute to.
Don’t underestimate the power of X (formerly Twitter) when it comes to networking for research and medicine. By following physicians, researchers, and institutions in your field of interest, you can stay up to date on current research and while also engaging in conversation with investigators. Use relevant hashtags like #MedTwitter, #ResearchOpportunity, #MedStudentResearch, or specialty-specific tags (e.g., #OrthoTwitter, #NeuroTwitter) to find like-minded students and physicians to build your circle. Tweet about your interests, share articles, or comment on others’ posts to organically build connections. Sometimes a single thoughtful reply or post can spark a DM that leads to a potential research opportunity.
Remember when reaching out not to get discouraged if someone doesn’t reply, or if their reply indicates they aren’t looking for help. As with much of research and networking in general, it’s often a numbers game, and the more people you reach out to, the higher your chances of getting a response. It helps to think of every rejection as just getting one step closer to finding a real opportunity, so keep at it.
Conferences
Conferences are a fantastic opportunity to create new connections with other students, physicians, and experts in your field of interest. Most importantly, as we all know, making a good first impression in person is often far more effective than online, so conferences offer a very valuable opportunity for networking.
The first thing you need to determine is how to choose the right conferences to attend that align with your interests and goals. Determine what field of medicine you want to get involved in and then pick specialty-specific conferences that focus on clinical or basic science research in that field. For example, if you are interested in Ophthalmology, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) would be a great conference to attend to build your network. When it comes to local vs national conferences, keep in mind that local/regional meetings are especially good for networking with nearby institutions and faculty, and are cheaper and easier to attend. These may be ideal for students with less research experience who want to get their foot in the door. On the other hand, national meetings can offer you better exposure to top-experts and higher-profile potential connections, however, they are more expensive to attend. These are better suited for students with more substantial research experience who are ready to network on a larger scale.
Once you have identified a conference you want to attend, you need to develop a game plan. Review the attendee and speaker list and identify specific faculty, researchers, or physicians you would like to meet. Do some preliminary research and read some of their papers beforehand. Being able to bring up some of their prior research paper to an attending during a conversation is a great way to get the conversation going. Keep an extra eye out for presenters from institutions where you’re interested in doing research or residency.
Once you are at the conference, try to sit near people you want to meet, and introduce yourself to them before the session begins. Asking questions during Q&A is a great way to get noticed by both presenters and attendees. If possible, approach presenters after their talks, which is when they are most open to having a conversation. Introduce yourself professionally, express your interest in their work, why you’re attending the conference, and if they have any ongoing research projects that could use a medical student’s help.
Don’t forget that some of the best opportunities for networking happen in the hallways outside the formal lectures, so don’t be afraid to engage in hallway discussions. If you are presenting a poster at a conference, engage with visitors at your poster and ask them about their work. If you are attending but not presenting, visit posters that interest you and compliment their work by asking thoughtful questions and about future directions of research. If the conversation goes well, make sure to exchange contact information or connect with them on LinkedIn/Doximity after the conversation. If an attending mentions they’re looking for students to help with a future or current project, make sure to follow up by checking in within 2-3 weeks to express interest.
Use your current network as a resource
All of these tips described so far are great potential ways to increase your network and gain more opportunities for research. However, do not overlook the most simple and easy way to accomplish this, by leveraging your own network. Sometimes simply asking faculty at your own school if they have any colleagues at other institutions who are looking for medical student volunteers might lead to an opportunity. Even if there are limited opportunities for research in your field of interest at your home institution, you can take advantage of your faculty network by asking about any potential colleagues they know at other institutions who are involved in research. Similarly, alumni from your school who have matched into your specialty of interest are a great resource to tap into. Alumni residents, having successfully navigated the path you are currently attempting, are often very willing to help medical students and are very involved in research themselves. Reaching out to them to ask for their advice and about the connections they used from when they applied to residency could also lead to some potential opportunities.
Sources:
- https://www.aacom.org/news-reports/news/2024/09/30/congress-pushes-nih-to-boost-funding-for-osteopathic-medical-research
- https://opmed.doximity.com/articles/how-to-maximize-medical-conferences-as-a-medical-student-my-experience-at-the-apa-conference
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4103576/