Biomedical scientist

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A biomedical scientist (biomedician, biomedical doctor, medical scientist, clinical scientist) is a scientist trained in biology, particularly in the context of medicine. These scientists work to gain knowledge on the main principles of how the human body works and to find new ways to cure or treat disease by developing advanced diagnostic tools or new therapeutic strategies. The research of biomedical scientists is referred to as biomedical research.

Biomedical scientists can have a particular focus on basic, pre-clinical, or translational research. While biomedical scientists specifically focus on understanding the human body and disease, scientists educated in other fields also contribute greatly to advancements in medical knowledge, including biologists, biomedical engineers, chemists, and physicists.

In the United Kingdom, the term "biomedical scientist" as related to the health service has a different meaning than in other parts of the world, specifically referring to a class of healthcare professional that performs clinical pathology services.

Description

The specific activities of the biomedical scientist can differ in various parts of the world and vary with the level of education. Generally speaking, biomedical scientists conduct research in a laboratory setting, using living organisms as models to conduct experiments. These can include cultured human or animal cells grown outside of the whole organism, small animals such as flies, worms, fish, mice, and rats, or, rarely, larger animals and primates. Biomedical scientists may also work directly with human tissue specimens to perform experiments as well as participate in clinical research.

Biomedical scientists employ a variety of techniques in order to carry out laboratory experiments. These include:

Level of education

Biomedical scientists typically obtain a terminal academic degree, usually a doctorate. (PhD, DSc, DPhil, etc.) This degree is necessary for faculty positions at academic institutions, as well as senior scientist positions at most companies. Some biomedical scientists also possess a medical degree (MD, DO, MBBS, etc.) in addition to an academic degree.

Work environment

Academics

This category includes tenured faculty positions at universities, colleges, non-profit research institutes, and sometimes hospitals. These positions usually afford more intellectual freedom and give the researcher more latitude in the direction and content of the research. Scientists in academic settings, in addition to conducting experiments, will also attend scientific conferences, compete for research grant funding, publish scientific papers, and teach classes.

Industry Industry jobs refer to private sector jobs at for-profit corporations. In the case of biomedical scientists, employment is usually at large pharmaceutical companies or biotechnology companies. Positions in industry tend to pay higher salaries than those at academic institutions, but job security compared to tenured academic faculty is significantly less. Researchers in industry tend to have less intellectual freedom in their research than those in the academic sector, owing to the ultimate goal of producing marketable products that benefit the company.

Non-Traditional Career Paths

In recent years, more biomedical scientists have pursued careers where advanced education and experience in biomedical research is needed outside of traditional laboratory research. These areas include patent law, consulting, public policy, and science journalism. The primary reason for growth in these areas is that in recent years fewer positions are available in traditional academic research relative to the number of seekers; approximately 15-20% of PhD life scientists will obtain a tenure-track position or lab-head position in industry.[1]

United Kingdom

"Biomedical scientist" is the protected title used by professionals qualified to work unsupervised within the pathology department of a hospital.[2] The biomedical sciences are made up of the following disciplines; biochemistry, haematology, immunology, microbiology, histology, cytology, bacteriology and transfusion services. These professions are regulated within the United Kingdom by the Health professions council. Anyone who falsely claims to be a biomedical scientist commits an offence and could be fined up to £5000.

Each department specialises in aiding the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Entry to the profession requires an Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) accredited BSc honours degree followed by a minimum of 12 months laboratory training in one of the pathology disciplines, however the actual time spent training can be considerably longer. Trainees are also required to complete a certificate of competence training portfolio, this requires gathering extensive amounts of evidence to demonstrate professional competence. At the end of this period the trainees portfolio and overall competence are assessed if successful state registration is achieved. State registration indicates that the applicant has reached a required standard of education and will follow the guidelines and codes of practice created by the health professions council.More recently a co-terminus degree has been implemented to bring the profession into line with the other professions allied to health care. Students now participate in a placement year,which lasts 15 weeks, in either the second or third years of their degree. Students are then awarded their state registration on completion of their degree. Placements are not guaranteed and places are limited to the top students, those who do not get placements can follow the old style of registration but are at a serious disadvantage when applying for posts.

Biomedical scientists are the second largest profession registered by the Health Professions Council and make up a vital component of the health care team. Many of the decisions doctors make are based on the test results generated by biomedical scientists. Despite this, much of the general public are unaware of biomedical scientists and the important role they play. This lack of awareness extends to many doctors and nurses; often biomedical scientists are incorrectly referred to as laboratory technicians.

Biomedical scientists are not confined to NHS laboratories. Biomedical scientists along with scientists in other inter-related medical disciplines seek out to understand human anatomy, genetics, immunology, physiology and behaviour at all levels. This is sometimes achieved through the use of model systems that are homologous to various aspects of human biology. The research that is carried out either in Universities or Pharmaceutical companies by biomedical scientists has led to the development of new treatments for a wide range of degenerative and genetic disorders. Stem cell biology, cloning, genetic screening/therapies and other areas of biomedical science have all been generated by the work of biomedical scientists from around the world. Leading UK biomedical science academics and researchers include: Prof Mark Ferguson, Prof P G (Gerry) McKenna MRIA, Prof David Rogers, Prof Val Randall and Prof Robert May.

Education

Biomedical science graduate programs are maintained at academic institutions and medical schools around the world, and some biomedical graduate programs are administered jointly by an academic institution and a business, hospital, or independent research institute. While graduate students historically committed to a particular research specialty, such as molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, or developmental biology, the recent trend (particularly in the United States) is to offer interdisciplinary programs that do not specialize and instead aim to incorporate a broad education in multiple biological disciplines. Historically people entering biomedical graduate programs have held a master's degree, although many universities (particularly in the United States) currently accept applicants holding a bachelor's degree with exceptional credentials such as high undergraduate GPA and entry examination scores as well as extensive research experience.

Initially, biomedical graduate students usually rotate through the laboratories of several faculty researchers, after which the student commits to joining a particular laboratory for the remainder of his or her tenure. The remaining time is spent conducting original research under the direction of the principal investigator to complete and publish a dissertation. Unlike undergraduate and professional schools, there is no set time period for graduate education. Students graduate once a thesis project of significant scope to justify the writing of their dissertation has been completed, a point that is determined by the student's principal investigator as well as his or her faculty advisory committee. The average time to graduation can vary between institutions, but most programs average around 5–6 years.[3]

Biomedical scientists typically study in undergraduate majors that are focused on biological sciences, such as biochemistry, microbiology, zoology, biophysics, etc.

United Kingdom (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland)

Education programmes[4] have traditionally encompassed an initial bachelors degree, which is presupposed for two years of further studies eventually earning the students a medicine master's examina. Many students choose to study on (for as much as) another 4 years to earn a PhD degree, at this time the students specialize in a certain areas such as nephrology, neurology, oncology or virology.

In the UK specifically, prospective undergraduate students wishing to undertake a BSc in biomedical sciences are required to apply via the UCAS application system (usually during the final year of college or sixth form secondary school). Although many students are genuinely interested in pursuing this degree, a small proportion of places offered on biomedical science courses around the country are made available to those applicants who are unsuccessful in applying for Medicine. As a result, those who are unable to gain admittance into undergraduate medicine courses often re-apply as postgraduates upon completion of their three year BSc degree.

A PhD in Biomedicine is however required for most higher research and teaching positions, which most colleges and universities offer.[5] These graduate degree programs may include classroom and fieldwork, research at a laboratory, and a dissertation. Although a degree in a medicine or biology (biochemistry, microbiology, zoology, biophysics) is common, recent research projects also need graduates in statistics, bioinformatics, physics and chemistry. Abilities preferred for entry in this field include: technical, scientific, numerical, written, and oral skills.

University departments offering degree programmes and/or research in biomedical science are represented by the Heads of University Centres of Biomedical Science (HUCBMS). HUCBMS has an international membership.

Areas of specialization

Biomedical scientists can focus on several areas of specialty,[5] including:

However, recent trends in biomedical graduate education (particularly in the United States) are for biomedical scientists to remain interdisciplinary and to not specialize. This approach emphasizes focus on a particular body or disease process as a whole and drawing upon the techniques of multiple specialties. (See also: Systems biology)

Salaries and job growth

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the salaries for biomedical scientists range from £20,000 to £60,000, depending on experience, education, and position. Job growth for the profession has been forecasted as follows:

Job growth[citation needed]
10-year job growth 17.05%
Total jobs (2004) 29,442
Forecast (2014) 34,461
Average annual growth 1,424

United States of America

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the 2010-2011 occupational outlook report suggests that biomedical scientist employment is expected "to increase 40 percent over the 2008-18 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations."[6]

According to the 2010 BLS report, the median salaries for biomedical scientists in the United States in particular employment areas are:

Industry Median Salary
Drugs and druggists' sundries merchant wholesalers $90,640
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing $87,500
Scientific research and development services $79,210
General medical and surgical hospitals $74,230
Colleges, universities, and professional schools $52,880

It should be noted that these figures include the salaries of post-doctoral fellows, which are paid significantly less than employees in more permanent positions.[6]

Reference: http://www.ibms.org/go/biomedical-science/careers-jobs

See also

  • Medical Research Council (UK)

References

  1. ↑ "The Scientific Workforce Policy Debate: Do We Produce too Many Biomedical Trainees?". Retrieved 19 November 2011. 
  2. ↑ Paul D. Ellner (2006). The Biomedical Scientist as Expert Witness. ASM Press. ISBN 1-55581-345-3. 
  3. ↑ "Admission FAQS for The Basic and Biomedical Sciences Division of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Medical School, Worcester". Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
  4. ↑ http://www.ibms.org/go/education-development:ibms-courses
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Health Careers". Retrieved 2007-03-11. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Medical Scientists - US Bureau of Labor Statistics

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