Which Biomedical Science career is right for you?

Going to the doctors and giving a sample is a common task, you wait a couple of weeks, and you get your results back. On the face of it, the doctor is the only person involved, what most patients don’t realise is that the true heroes are the biomedical scientists in the background.

Your sample is sent to the relevant department ready for testing in order to diagnose any of your illnesses. As a Clinical and Biomedical Sciences student, you can get an insight into multiple departments, but here are summaries of what day-to-day life looks like in some of the most common laboratories.

Haematology

This department focuses on the blood samples which come through the labs, but with a more in-depth focus on diagnosing blood-related illnesses. These can be as severe as sickle-cell or leukemia, through to deep-vein thrombosis.

If you work in this department, you’ll not only need to be able to diagnose but also treat blood disorders regularly.

Microbiology

This department studies all living things, but we don’t mean you’ll find a frog in this department, we’re talking about the smallest living creatures. You’ll be studying bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, and more, also known as microbes.

Possibly one of the most famed departments in biomedical sciences, as these are the people who create cures for diseases such as smallpox and discover medicines such as penicillin. Microbiology is also vital to keeping water and food healthy for our population.

Pathology

Illnesses and diseases are discovered or diagnosed in pathology, and it is one of the most diverse roles in biomedical science. Once a sample is brought into the laboratory, the pathologists will run the necessary tests to diagnose the patient.

As the bridge between science and medicine, pathologists study the intricate details of disease to underpin the causes, effects and preventative treatments. Samples in this department can vary from blood, urine, saliva or other body fluids as well as tissue.

Biochemistry

Another department that focuses on living things is biochemistry, but here the focus is on the chemical and physicochemical processes and substances that live inside the microbes.

Still, within a laboratory, microchemists use their knowledge and techniques to understand and solve biological problems. Here, scientists develop new drugs and medicine to treat and detect genetic disorders and other illnesses such as cancer.

Immunology

This department focuses on autoimmune disease, hypersensitivity, immune disorders and immunodeficiency. The study of the immune system is vital to helping cure and prevent disease and illness. Here you will diagnose and well as treat various immune-related illnesses.