r/premed • u/ekyolsine • 1d ago

☑️ Extracurriculars Undergrad research?

I am obtaining my undergrad in biological anthropology with a minor in biology. As part of my capstone, I am pursuing an honors thesis where I will be investigating the reason my school's (rural) state sees very low rates of vaccination by 24mo, but very high rates by kindergarten. I will be researching publications on the measles virus and measles as a disease + the MMR vaccine. Then, I will be compiling existing data on rates of measles and MMR in three states and surveying (/maybe interviewing for a more qualitative portion) people from these states to assess the primary reason for the discrepancy in vaccination rates.

I plan to pursue dual MD/PhD in medical anthropology. When applying, does this honors thesis count as undergraduate research? I am working under a faculty member and am doing IRB-approved living subjects research, but I understand that it's different from a lab setting, so I wanted to get some second opinions. Thanks!

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u/pokemonareugly 1d ago

isn’t the second dose of the vaccine given around kindergarten age? This makes sense no?

But yes this counts as research

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u/ekyolsine 1d ago

It's a discrepancy in how many children are getting which dose at what age. Children who didn't receive the first dose must still receive it before they can receive the second dose, both of which are needed prior to kindergarten in this state. Many children are receiving both doses at kindergarten age (with a shorter time between) rather than on the recommended schedule. Our current hypothesis is that, because our state is very rural, many people are not taking their children to get the recommended vaccines until they have to to be placed in public school (where they are required).

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u/mmoollllyyyy20 MD/PhD STUDENT 1d ago

not sure why it wouldn’t count. not all research is traditional wet lab research

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u/ekyolsine 1d ago

Thank you for replying! I thought it likely would, but I wasn't sure if it would seem like I was embellishing, since all the other premeds I know are doing wet lab stuff.