Certificate Programs in Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences
The School for Advanced Studies and the Center for Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences at Merrimack College are pleased to introduce two Certificate Programs in Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences.
What are Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences?
Biotechnology is the use of living organisms or life processes to solve problems or make useful products.
Biomedical sciences involves basic and clinical research in areas related to human health and disease.
What do Biotechnologists and Biomedical Scientists do?
Biotechnologists use a combination of biology and technology to address many of today's most urgent scientific and societal issues.
For example, biotechnologists:
- Discover new and potent pharmaceuticals and mass produce vast amounts of once rare drugs to treat a variety of human illnesses.
- Perfect forsenic technologies to identify criminals based on a single strand of hair or drop of blood left at a crime scence.
- Genetically program bacteria to "eat" toxic chemicals and help clean up the environmnet.
- Search for ways to grow new human cells and tissues to replace those lost to injury, illness or aging.
Biomedical scientists engage in research that advances the body of knowledge on topics related to health and medicine.
For example, biomedical scientists:
- Discover the causative agent of newly emerging diseases such as "bird flu" or "mad cow diseases."
- Investigate how certain diseases such as AIDS and cancer escape detection by the immune system and devise ways to enhance immunity and combat these diseases.
- Discover linkages between certain genetic traits, lifestyles, and/or behaviors and the onset of disease.
- Discover effective diagnoses and treatments of disease.
- Investigate the positive effects of diet on human health.
What are the Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences?
Career prospects are bright for someone trained in the life sciences, and especially for those with training and expertise in the areas of biotechnology and/or biomedical sciences.
Employers of people trained in these disciplines include biotechnology companies, the pharmaceutical industry, research laboratories in hospitals, colleges and universities, and government agencies.
Someone with training in biotechnology/biomedical sciences can use it:
- as a foundation for reasearch careers in biotechnology, biomedical engineering, clinical sciences and pharmacology.
- for jobs in management, sales marketing, and regulatory affairs in biotechnolgy and biomedical sciences related businesses.
- to attend graduate, medical, dental, veterinary, business or law school.
- to teach science in elementary, junior high, or high school.
- to pursue careers in technical writing and science journalism.
General Certificate Course Requirements: for students with a bachelor's degree but with limited or no background in biology.
Advanced Certificate Course Requirements: for students with bachelor's degree in biology, who wish to concentrate in biotechnology/biomedical sciences for career advancement.