Identify an Area of Interest
Requisite to receiving any funding for your investigations is the selection of an area of interest in which you will use the scientific method to test hypotheses with the goal of answering important and informative questions. Your area of interest could be a particular disease (RA, vasculitis) or a specific organ or cell type (regulatory T cells, immune complex pleuritis). Alternatively, your area of interest could revolve around the application of a broader field or discipline to rheumatology (studying the genetic underpinnings of autoimmune disease, studying the financial and socio-economic costs of autoimmune diseases.) Within your chosen area of interest, it will be your job to identify problems and questions which will drive your research, and to implement an experimental plan to undertake your investigations. Regardless of which type of research interests you, the performance of research requires the substantial investment of time and effort. Therefore, it is important to afford yourself the time and experience to find a field of study in which you have a genuine interest.
Although some people enter the field of rheumatology with a clear area of interest already established, most people have the notion that they want to pursue a career in research prior to identifying their specific interests or skills. If an individual has no idea as to which field of study might interest them (for instance, no previous exposure to research), they should seek exposure to as many different options as possible. An initial discussion with de facto mentors (such as the rheumatology fellowship program director or rheumatology division director) may help one to more thoroughly consider: a) fields of study of potential interest, b) areas where appropriate guidance and mentorship is available, and c) the appropriate faculty members with whom to inquire further about research opportunities. One may also meet individually with the established investigators within an institution to discuss the scope of available research opportunities.
Unless you have already begun working in your specified field of interest, it can be very helpful to "rotate" through several different laboratories to get a more objective sense for your interest in a certain field of study, as well as your interest in the specific methods that are employed in its investigation. The eventual identification of a project within a given field of study will require that you narrow the scope of a particular interest to carve out a specific niche for yourself, from which you can grow and expand as you mature as a scientist. The first step in this process is to identify a suitable place to begin this process, and a suitable individual to cultivate in you the skills necessary to succeed in scientific research. In fact, it could be argued that the identification of your scientific mentor(s) may be beneficial prior to choosing a specific field of study or research interest.
