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Top hiringMD West ONE · Midwest Regional · Nebraska Medicine · CHI · OneWorld · Heritage
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👨⚕️ Shadowing Programs profile-fit scored
Med schools want shadowing across multiple specialties. Aim for 40+ hours across 3+ specialties before applying. UNMC's free program is the lowest-friction first step.
Cold-email templates
Click "Open in mail" to launch your client with a tailored draft. Replace [BRACKETS] before sending.
🤝 Extracurriculars by Category 35+ opportunities
From the UNO HCRC volunteer directory + Nebraska Medicine's 19 active volunteer roles + free-clinic + UNO mentoring databases. Lyndsey Rice's advice: pick 2-3 sustained activities (50+ hrs each) over many scattered ones. Tap a tab to filter.
🧪 Research Opportunities
From advising notes, UNMC summer programs are competitive. NEUR 4960 in-school is the lowest-friction option.
📍 The Plan Taiwan track · med school Fall 2029
Committed timeline. Electives semester at NDHU Taiwan in spring 2028, apply to medical school June 2028, return for a final term, graduate December 2028, matriculate fall 2029. Costs and dates confirmed with UNO Education Abroad, August 2026.
✓ Taiwan, spring 2028
NDHU exchange. Enrolled through UNO, so all grants and loans still apply.
✓ MCAT summer 2027
After Biochemistry, which is 25% of the exam. Before Taiwan, so they never collide.
✓ Graduate December 2028
One term back at UNO after Taiwan, required by Freeman-ASIA, and it keeps Pell at 11 of 12.
✗ INBRE, dropped
Its first summer is 40 hrs/wk at UNMC, which collides with both MCAT prep and the Taiwan commitment.
Fall 2026, nowenrolled
Land a lab. Protect the science GPA.
BIOL 3340 + 4140 + 4640 = 11 BCPM hours. Straight A's move science GPA 3.46 → 3.55; B's drop it to 3.38. Start sustained volunteering (the 24-month clock is already running) and a part-time scribe role to keep clinical current.
Book Biology advising this semester. You need to know which requirements can be deferred to Fall 2028 and which are spring-only. A required spring-only course collides with Taiwan and reshapes the whole plan, and you need this answer before the Freeman-ASIA decision in April 2027, not after. Also check your Pell LEU on StudentAid.gov.
Spring 2027enrolled
Biochemistry, the MCAT prerequisite that matters
CHEM 4610 Biochem of Metabolism and BIOL 3240 Immunology. Research continues.
Feb 2027, Freeman-ASIA opens. ~April 2027 the funding decision is due, six months before the exchange deadline. This is the real Taiwan commit point, not October.
Summer 2027no classes
MCAT
May–August is a clean prep block with no competing coursework. Test August or September; score returns roughly a month later. A FUSE-funded summer research project ($2,500) can run alongside.
Fall 2027enrolled
Committee letter, the tightest semester
UNO requires a posted MCAT score before you seek the committee letter, so this can only start once the score lands, and it must finish before mid-February. Write your personal statement and activities section in December and January.
Oct 1, 2027, UNO exchange application for NDHU and the Gilman deadline, same day. Confirmed by Education Abroad: most spring programs use an Oct 1 portal deadline, then UNO nominates you to NDHU, they accept, and you complete their paperwork. Spring 2028 is expected to post in the portal over the coming months.
Spring 2028Taiwan
NDHU, mid-February to end of June
Take electives, not required courses. This is the single design decision that makes the semester work, Education Abroad warns that a final semester carries the most restrictive course needs, and an exchange needs flexibility.
Billed as 12–15 UNO credit hours through MavLINK, so Pell, NOG, University Assistance and loans all still apply. Funding on top: Freeman-ASIA $5,000 + Gilman $5,000 base + $3,000 Critical Need Language Award if you take Mandarin at NDHU.
Out of pocket $3,091–$5,157, $300 exchange admin, ~$300/semester dorm housing, $250–450/month living, $225 insurance, $1,200–2,400 round-trip flight, $66–132 visa.
The Taiwan visa must be applied for in person at the consulate in Denver, budget another $150–300 for that trip.
June 2028Taiwan
Submit AMCAS, from Taiwan
AMCAS is online, and because NDHU bills through UNO, AMCAS only needs a UNO transcript, no Taiwanese one.
Submit the first week it opens. Verification takes 1–2 weeks if you're early and six weeks once the queue builds. Everything must be pre-written before you fly.
Fall 2028enrolled
Final semester + interview season
Home from Taiwan in late June. Secondaries July–September, interviews from August. This term back at UNO does two jobs. It makes you Freeman-ASIA eligible (the award requires an enrolled term after returning), and it gives NDHU's transcript a full semester to arrive and transfer in. If Taiwan were your final term, you could not graduate until UNO received those credits, and NDHU does not finish until late June.
Oct 15, 2028, the earliest date any MD school is permitted to issue an acceptance. AAMC rule, not a school preference.
December 2028
Graduate, B.S. Biology
Pell used: 11 of 12 semesters, with headroom. You can walk at commencement in May 2029.
Jan – Jul 2029gap
Work, earn, rest
Interviews run through March. Best use of this window is a full-time paid research technician role, ideally in the same lab, which means continuity, a possible publication and a strong mid-cycle update letter.
Grad PLUS ended 1 July 2026. Medical school federal borrowing is capped at $50k/yr, $200k total against UNMC's ~$306,800 cost, a ~$107k gap. Every dollar earned now is private debt avoided.
Fall 2029
Medical school, first day
Pell does not apply to medical school; it is undergraduate-only. Your undergrad federal loans do not reduce the $200,000 professional-degree limit, they are separate caps.
The three things that break this plan
1. Missing the Freeman-ASIA decision in April 2027, Taiwan then costs $3,000–5,000 out of pocket instead of being funded.
2. The committee letter slipping past January 2028, you'd be finishing it from Taiwan.
3. A required major course offered only in spring, colliding with the exchange. That is what the advising session is for.
SourcesFreeman-ASIA eligibility ·
AAMC traffic rules (Oct 15) ·
AMCAS deadlines ·
Pell eligibility ·
AMCAS study-abroad coursework
Education Abroad: Emily Krueger, ekrueger@unomaha.edu, 402-554-5033 · FUSE aid impact: Jean Phillips, jphillips@unomaha.edu Still open: whether Freeman-ASIA and Gilman can be held simultaneously · whether returning for Fall 2028 satisfies Freeman-ASIA's "one term remaining" rule · which major requirements are spring-only.
Why not a summer program instead
Education Abroad suggested a summer term as the easier option, and normally it would be. It does not work here: summer 2027 is the MCAT block and summer 2028 is AMCAS submission plus secondaries. Spring 2028 is the only clean window.
NDHU context
A new UNO partner, one student has completed the exchange, another is going Spring 2027. Advisor Yue Song has spent time in Taiwan and is available from August.
🔬 Lab Prep Dr. Lu, meeting Wed 26 Aug 3:00 PM
What his lab actually works on, how hard each project is for someone with no programming background, and a four hour study plan that makes you conversational before the meeting.
Dr. Guoqing Lu
Isaacson Professor · Biology and the School of Interdisciplinary Informatics · Allwine Hall 514D · glu3@unomaha.edu
Formerly directed the Bioinformatics Research Core Facility at the UNL Center for Biotechnology. His group works on sequence analysis, genome comparison, and system-level biological interactions. He publishes short genome announcement papers with large undergraduate author lists, which is a realistic route to genuine co-authorship rather than a hypothetical one.
156 publications5,040 citationsIsaacson ProfessorshipPublishes with undergradsNIH, NSF and USDA grantsUNO Excellence in Research Award
PhD in Biology from Laval, plus master's degrees in both Biology and Computer Science, and a postdoc at McGill's Centre for Bioinformatics. He sits on both sides of the wet lab and computing divide, which is part of why his group takes biologists who cannot yet code.
And they solve your elective problem at the same time
You need electives in fall 2027, spring 2028 and fall 2028 purely to stay at 12 credits for financial aid. Bioinformatics courses are Biology courses, so they count as BCPM credit, they teach the exact skills his lab uses, and one of them may let the lab work itself count.
Course
Why it matters
BIOL 4560
Bioinformatics Internship. A course number for doing lab research for credit, taught by him.Ask about this on Wednesday.
BIOL 4160
Bioinformatics for Biologists. Built for biology students without a computing background.The on-ramp course. This is you.
BIOL 4030
Introduction to Bioinformatics
BIOI 3000
Applied Bioinformatics
BIOL 4760
Genome Technology and Analysis
BIOL 4860
Comparative Genomics, and Bioinformatics Algorithms
His research lines, ranked by how hard they are to start
The difficulty gap between these is large. It is worth knowing which one you are agreeing to before you agree to it.
Phage genomics and genome announcements
Start here
Isolate a bacteriophage from a local water sample, sequence it, annotate the genome, publish a short paper. UNO has done this repeatedly with undergraduate authors. The 2024 UNO-G1W1 paper has twelve authors, nearly all UNO students, and Dr. Davis is one of them.
Wet lab side is filtration and plaque purification, learnable in a fortnight with supervision. The computational side is running existing tools with flags, not writing code.
Tools: Pharokka for annotation, Polypolish, standard command line. Ramp up: contributing within about two weeks.
Viral genotyping
Easier than it sounds
Compare viral sequences to identify strains and variants, then build phylogenetic trees. The standard tool, MEGA, is a free point-and-click program with a graphical interface, and BLAST is built into it under the Align menu.
The published protocols are explicit that a novice can go from a single sequence to a publication quality tree by following the steps. No command line required.
Tools: MEGA (GUI), NCBI BLAST (web). Ramp up: you can build your first tree in an hour.
Environmental DNA
Harder than it looks
Detect which species are present from a water or soil sample by amplifying and sequencing barcode regions. The wet lab half is routine kit work. The analysis half is not.
QIIME2 is command line with a plugin architecture, DADA2 is an R package, and both require judgment on read truncation and reference database choice.
Tools: QIIME2, DADA2 in R, reference databases. Ramp up: roughly 40 to 60 hours before you are genuinely useful.
Pathogen, host and drug interaction networks
Destination, not a start
Systems biology. Model how a pathogen, its host and a drug interact as a network. The most biomedically relevant line in the lab and the most computationally demanding.
Needs real fluency in R or Python plus network analysis. Worth aiming at after a year in the lab, not on day one.
Tools: R or Python, network analysis libraries. Ramp up: months.
Comparative genomics of ray-finned fishes
Capable, but weak fit
Genome comparison and phylogenetics across fish lineages. Technically similar to viral genotyping, but evolutionary biology rather than anything biomedical.
Fine science, weaker story on a medical school application than the pathogen or phage work.
Tools: alignment tools, phylogenetics, R. Ramp up: moderate.
Four hour study plan, before Wednesday
The target is conversational, not competent. He already knows you do not program and invited you anyway. This is enough to follow the conversation and ask real questions.
30 min
What a viral genome is, and what annotation means
Annotation is identifying which stretches of a genome are genes and what they probably do. It is the core activity of a genome announcement paper.
BLAST compares a sequence against a database to find similar ones. It is free, browser based, and needs no account. Paste any sequence and read the output.
This is the highest value hour on the list. MEGA is free, graphical, and designed for beginners. Working through one tutorial tree lets you say you have actually touched the phylogenetics side rather than only read about it.
Organisms shed DNA into water and soil. Sequencing that DNA tells you what lived there without ever seeing the organism. Conceptual understanding is enough for now.
Not programming. Navigating folders and running a tool with flags. Every bioinformatics program in this lab is invoked this way, so this is the real unlock.
Twelve authors, nearly all UNO undergraduates, Dr. Davis among them. This is what a realistic first publication looks like for you. Read the methods, not the results.
"I said viral genotyping in my email. I also saw the phage genome announcements your lab has published with undergraduates. Is something like that a realistic first project, and does it build toward the genotyping work?"
Then ask
Which language does the lab use, R or Python?
What does a new undergraduate typically start on?
How many hours a week do you expect?
Does the lab run on HCC, the Holland Computing Center?
What would you want me to learn first?
What does a realistic path to co-authorship look like?
You teach BIOL 4560 Bioinformatics Internship and BIOL 4160 Bioinformatics for Biologists. Would either make sense alongside working in the lab?
Be straight about
You do not program yet. He already knows, you told him, and he offered a meeting anyway.
If you have downloaded MEGA or started the shell lessons, say so. That is proof the willingness was real.
Longer term, if he takes you
Understanding takes hours. Being useful takes weeks. Neither needs to happen before Wednesday.
Every UNO research lab still open to you, ranked by social density, sustained interpersonal load, not team size. Drafts are pre-written against each lab's stated requirements. No claimed programming, no claimed research experience.
Classes begin Mon Aug 24
Davis + Denton reviews close Mon Aug 24
Chemistry RA closes Sun Aug 30
FUSE reopens Tue Sep 1
Med school value %, my judgement, not a published metric. Built from how biomedical the topic is, the chance of a poster or publication, whether the lab is grant-funded, and how strong a letter the PI is likely to write. Use it to sort options against each other, not against zero.
A 25% lab beats no lab. Sustained work anywhere, long enough to earn a real letter and ideally present a poster, outranks one abandoned semester in a 95% lab. If the top scorers say no, take a lower one and stay.
Quiet enough for you, more bars is better. Measures sustained interpersonal load, not team size: a six-person lab where everyone works heads-down scores higher than a two-person project running human participants all afternoon.
Density:▪ solo ·
▪▪ small lab, parallel independent work ·
▪▪▪ coordinated team ·
▪▪▪▪ human subjects ·
▪▪▪▪▪ sustained rapport work
Three live feeds proxied through Cloudflare Pages Functions. They pull fresh data on every page load, no API keys to manage. Use this to find PIs to email, trials needing volunteers, and jobs posted today.
Live from NIH RePORTER, every NIH-funded research project at UNMC/UNO/Creighton. Email the PI listed; mention you're a UNO bio undergrad pre-med looking for lab experience.
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Live from Adzuna, aggregator of Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, CareerBuilder. Server-side keys configured (250 calls/month trial); auto-loads on every visit. Each result is auto-classified for schedule fit + your CMA/optical/EKG profile.
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⏱ Clinical Hours Tracker
Saved locally in your browser. AAMC says 200 minimum, but successful applicants average 500–1,000.
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📋 Resume Quick Reference
Quick view of your professional profile, useful when filling out applications and AMCAS Work/Activities.
Johnny Luu
Omaha, NE · UNO Biology · jluu@unomaha.edu · (402) 805-8899
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certified March 2026 through Quality Career Pathways, with additional Pediatric CNA add-on training. Experienced in direct patient care, vital signs monitoring, ADL assistance, and clinical support across inpatient transplant and optometry settings. Pursuing a B.S. in Biology at UNO with a long-term goal in healthcare. Known for strong communication, attention to safety protocols, and compassionate patient-centered care.
Certifications & Education
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Quality Career Pathways · March 2026
Pediatric CNA Add-On Training, Quality Career Pathways · 2026
Basic Life Support (BLS), American Heart Association · 2026
Clinical Medical Assistant (CMA), Stepful / National HealthCareer Association · 2025
B.S. Biology (Chem minor, in progress), University of Nebraska at Omaha · Expected 2028
Assisted optometrists during patient exams, supporting clinical workflow and patient comfort
Operated and maintained advanced diagnostic equipment with precision and care
Educated patients on contact lens hygiene and follow-up care instructions
Managed scheduling and coordinated follow-up visits to ensure continuity of care
Volunteer, Heartland Food Bank
Omaha, NE · Aug 2024
Assisted in community outreach and food distribution to underserved populations
Supported daily operations and inventory management in a team-oriented environment
📝 Application Prompts ready answers
Universal answers for healthcare job applications (Nebraska Medicine, Methodist, Children's, CHI, VA, etc). Each one is written to be reused. Where you see [EMPLOYER NAME] or [SPECIFIC REASON], swap in the actual employer or detail before pasting. Edit anything you want, then hit Copy.
🩺 DO School Game Plan osteopathic · big-city targets
Aiming for a DO (osteopathic) school in or near a big city, from Omaha. Good news: your zip code isn't the barrier. Most big-city DO schools are private and take out-of-state applicants freely, so the play is to build a strong app right here, then apply nationally, early and broad.
~3.5 / 504
Avg DO Matriculant
GPA / MCAT · vs MD ~3.77 / 511
35–40%
DO Applicants Who Get In
More forgiving than MD, still competitive
3.654
Your Cum GPA
BCPM 3.46 is the number to lift
✓ Clinical
CNA @ Nebraska Medicine
Hours + a likely physician letter
Your build checklist
The order that actually moves the needle for DO admissions. 🔑 = the step most pre-meds skip.
Shadow a DO & get a DO letter of rec, the #1 thing pre-meds miss. DO schools want proof you understand osteopathic medicine. Find a DO at Nebraska Medicine / CHI Health. Non-negotiable for DO.
◻
GPA 3.5+ science, your BCPM is 3.46, just under. BIOL 3340 / 4140 / 4640 are 11 BCPM hours this fall: straight A's lift BCPM to ~3.55, B's drop it to ~3.38.
◻
MCAT 505+ (aim 508+ for the desirable city schools). Track A: test by ~April 2028. Track B: spring 2029. ⚠ Your ACT composite was 16, build a long runway and take a diagnostic full-length early.
◻
Volunteering, clinical and non-clinical / community service. DO schools are mission-driven.
◻
2 science-professor letters, build those relationships at UNO now (plus the DO letter above).
◻
Research, a bonus for DO (not required like MD), but it helps at competitive city schools.
Big-city DO schools, out-of-state friendly
Mostly private, so no in-state wall. Highlighted = closest to Omaha, great "I can get in" anchors while you reach for the big metros.
All 47 COCA-accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine, teaching at 74 locations (branch campuses listed separately, they admit their own classes). Sorted by distance from Omaha. Type to filter by school, city, or state.
⚡ The strategy that actually gets you in: DO apps go through AACOMAS (now counting down on your Dashboard ↑) and it's rolling, it opens in early May and seats fill as people apply, so submit in the first couple of weeks. Apply broad (~15–20 schools: a few reach city programs, several targets, 2–3 safer anchors like DMU / KCU). Gap years are normal, your CNA role is the perfect gap-year résumé builder. Official current stats live in the Choose DO Explorer (AACOM) and the MSAR.