Careers in biomedical research provide an opportunity for discovery, and each day professionals in this broad field know they are making a difference in the lives of people and animals. Their work provides hope to millions suffering from medical conditions or diseases-hope for new and better treatments, hope for a better life, and hope for a cure.

Through their individual contributions, biomedical researchers have the potential to improve the lives of countless people and animals all over the world. From engineers to scientists, from nutritionists to computer scientists, and from technical writers to laboratory animal technicians, these people have chosen to accept the challenge to care.

You can too — by choosing a career in the exciting, demanding, and rewarding field of biomedical research.

This broad field of research includes many important areas of both the life and physical sciences and requires a team of people drawn from different backgrounds and specialties.

Such a team might include medical doctors, veterinarians, computer scientists, engineers, animal care technicians, research technicians, and a variety of scientists working together to study the biological processes of a disease in order to develop an effective treatment and search for a permanent cure.

They design and conduct experiments that help them understand what causes the problems and to identify ways to either treat or cure the disease. Depending on their area of expertise, researchers investigate many conditions from spinal cord injuries to cancer, from viruses to antibiotics, and from asthma to diabetes. They seek to cure medical conditions and diseases that affect our families and friends, our pets, and wildlife and zoo animals.

Depending on your interests and the field of science you like best, there are many career options in biomedical research!

• Research scientists work in a research laboratory designing and conducting experiments.
• Computer programmers and statisticians work with computers creating programs, tallying data, and doing statistical analysis of research results.
• Technical writers use their good writing skills to prepare grant applications, write research plans, and summarize results.
• Medical doctors work with human patients.
• Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and animal care technicians care for research animals.
• Engineers design and maintain medical devices, research equipment, animal housing, and laboratory facilities.

The main characteristics these careers have in common are a joy for discovery, a need to further our understanding of disease, medical conditions, and health, and the desire to help both humans and animals. There is a job in biomedical research that will suit you perfectly!