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A Newsletter Exploring Science
& Biomedical Research Issues
For School Educators
Volume 1, Issue 18, Winter 2008
page one page two
Careers in Biomedical Research
Spotlighting Dr. David M. Svinarich
By David M. Svinarich, Ph.D.
Providence Hospital
Choosing a Career in Biomedical Research
Imagine a job where you are asked to use your powers of reasoning and creativity each day to address problems of real medical significance? Imagine that your discoveries may actually cure a disease or eliminate the suffering of millions of humans and animals? These goals have motivated many individuals, including myself, to pursue a career in biomedical research. So are you interested in science and medicine but are not sure what a career in biomedical research is all about? If so, read on as I try to answer some basic questions about research and describe for you the journey that I took to become a scientist.
What is Biomedical Research?
Biomedical research is a very broad description for work that may involve biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology, genetics, statistics and a host of other disciplines. The work may be conducted in a test tube, with cells in culture flasks or even in humans or animals. In general, biomedical research seeks to understand a disease process or explore various ways to treat disease. My own work is in genetics, looking at various genes in humans and studying their DNA and RNA. In specific, I am interested in how we are capable of fighting infections and what those mechanisms are. In the process of doing this work I was able to discover several new genes in humans and determine their exact nucleotide sequence (the order of DNA bases that code for a particular gene). The discoveries that I have made are now being used by other scientists to learn new things about genetics and disease. An important point to remember is that all scientists stand on the shoulders of those who came before them and that knowledge is usually accumulated in small steps.
What Type of Person Becomes a Successful Research Scientist?
The best researchers are individuals who are both curious and self-motivated. These people are often very perseverant, not giving up easily, and are willing to learn from their mistakes. Many times experiments will fail or your work will lead you down a blind alley, but you must always remain fixed upon your goal and ready to try new approaches. I knew that I wanted to become a scientist from an early age because of my interest in the natural world and my curiosity about how things worked. While in high school, I began taking classes at the University to gain a greater understanding of science and during my undergraduate years I volunteered in a research lab looking at the genetics of disease causing bacteria.
What Type of Education Do I Need?
People interested in this type of a career have a choice of how much education they wish to take before entering the job market. Higher educational levels will generally equate with greater responsibility, more decision making ability, more administrative duties and a higher salary. Individuals with a 4-year Bachelor's degree, often enter the job market as a Research Assistant, and they are the closest to the research action but may have limited decision making power. Individuals with a Master's degree may also be at the bench but may also have some managerial responsibilities and scientists with a Doctoral degree generally run the laboratory
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