Hello all,

I am a phd student in bioinformatics, I have got so many problems in understanding some parts of my research. My lab doesn't provide enough support and basically there is no one to ask questions. Does any one has any solution for my situation ? I have complained and talked about it with my lab members but it has been months and I feel I am going no where! Is there any one who can help me with my research? Do you know if there is any courses I can take at other universities to improve my skills? Please minimum help will be beneficial to me, am in a very desperate situation .

Sorry to hear that, Bioinformatics 1.

To whom did you make your complaint? Department Head or Research Program Leader? What did they say to you? Also did you talk to your supervisor? any advice from him/her? I think It is your supervisor's responsibility to help you out with all the problems. If you did and no further action was taken, then you could talk to the Head of the Graduate School to seek advice.

What types of skills do you want to improve on? I think your university should provide some different research courses for students like you. Check out the website of the Graduate School. I think you are not allowed to take any courses at other universities because you are not studying there. You can do so unless you apply for 'visiting scholar/student' to them. You can check their websites for further details.

If the situation keeps going worse, the only thing you could do is to leave and continue your PhD study in another university. But this is your last resort!

There should be someone facing the same problem as yours and they could give you more useful advice.

Hope it helps. Good Luck!

At a PhD level, it is assumed that the candidate has a good grasp of their subject matter, and the ability to acquire further knowledge. It isn't the role of your supervisor or faculty to provide you with courses or training to addess knowledge gaps. For research skills, that's another matter. Most universities provide workshops and seminars for postgraduates (e.g. how to review literature, put together a thesis etc). And of course, there is Amazon, which has some excellent books on the subject.

Apart from reading as much as you can (literature, text books etc), you could look for discussion groups on your suject on the web (e.g. Linkedin) - provided your work isn't too specialised.

I really appreciate your guidance, I am in a very difficult situation. Thanks a lot for your replies, that is very kind of you.
I have talked with several officials in the lab and to some people in the school. The problem is there is no one to ask questions about the research because my research project is focused on bioinformatics but my supervisors expertise is in purely biological sciences . There is no postdoc or any technicians to ask for advice either! Am planning to take a short term visit to another research group at another university, but I don't know how to ask for it, how to tell my supervisor, or whether it is appropriate to do so? As am afraid of doing such a step without compromising my relationship with my current supervisor, do you have any suggestions?


I have tried all sort of solutions and did talk to my school, therefore I don't know what else I can do.

Awaiting your kindly reply.

I think that is a great idea and your supervisors will hopefully see that too and support you. Just pick a great group and maybe someone that your supervisors have contact with and you should be able to get the skills you need.

Hello treeoflife,
Thanks for the reply, the problem is am afraid to tell my supervisor, my question is how to approach my supervisor and explain my plans? Am scared that the group will treat me in a bad way.