Molecular Biologist
Molecular biologists design and perform experiments to better understand the molecular processes in cells essential to life. They examine plant, animal or human cells at the molecular level and use that information to understand diseases, create new medical treatments and engineer new plant varieties.
What Responsibilities Will I Have?
- Design and execute experiments
- Compile data on research conducted
- Collect, analyze, interpret and make projections from data
- Operate lab equipment
- Utilize statistical tests during data analysis
- Create models of cell biology
- Develop new methods to diagnose and treat diseases
- Detect and identify environmental pollutants
- Serve as a scientific advisor for business, government or education
- Conduct continued testing of new crops or other products
- Test the effectiveness of drugs used for treating diseases and gene growth
- Examine the sequence of DNA
- Report findings through writing or presentations
- Create proposals for funding of research projects
- Grow bacteria to determine product effectiveness
- Translate research into technologies that consumers can use or benefit from
- Extract DNA and RNA from cells and tissues
Recommended High School Courses:
- agricultural education
- animal science
- plant science
- mathematics
- focus on sciences such as chemistry, biology and physics
Education/Training Required:
A bachelor’s degree in molecular biology, biochemistry, cellular biology, biotechnology, biology or a related field will allow you to obtain some roles. However, a master’s or doctorate degree will be required for the majority of the opportunities because of this career’s heavy research emphasis.
