Contributors:

1. Subhendu Bandopadhayay (Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).
2. Srijan Haldar (Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).
3. Arnab K Ghosh (Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Science and Biotechnology).

A career in medicine is always like a dream for a student after HS (10+2) results as it provides the opportunity to serve the society and at the same time brings huge financial stability and honor. At the same time, we all know that cracking the medical entrance is not easy at all and sometimes students with very good preparations falter. But what we don’t know is that there are several other options which are also good or even better in scope and opportunities. One such option is graduation in Biochemistry followed by a research career that is closely related to medical sciences. Even a graduate in Biochemistry can serve the healthcare industry with other roles i.e increasing in demand day by day. Let’s find out what is common between Biochemistry and Medical Science and why it is worth studying as an alternative option.

The total health care system starting from diagnostics, drug development, and prescribing medicines by a doctor heavily depends on medical research data. It is a fact that a battery of biomedical scientists is always working on these aspects of medical sciences and coming out with valuable inputs which are implemented by front line medical practitioners. As an example, we can simply think about the development of Covid-19 test kits which have been developed by research scientists working in different laboratories. Likewise, the total effort going on for the development of a Covid-19 vaccine is also undergoing in a laboratory set up performed by biomedical scientists. Therefore, it can be rightly said that medical research is the backbone of medical science. Here comes the scope of studying biochemistry and ensuring a career in medical research.

Biochemistry is the study of chemical aspects of life. Life on earth is nothing but a bunch of biochemical reactions and pathways.  The goal of medical science indeed is not only to expand our knowledge of the nature of life but also it exists in the practical application in the clinical field. Biochemical analysis is the key thing to facilitate and understand the molecular phenomena and the data collected from these researches provide strong support to the health workers to serve mankind in a better way. The advancement occurred in the field of genomics like the discovery of artificial gene silencing techniques through RNA interference, artificial induction of pluripotent embryonic stem cells for the creation of transgenic animals opened up the strategies to treat diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many more. Shortly with the help of patient genetic data doctors will treat patients so that he or she can be supported with an individual specific medicine.  The path of medicine in the upcoming years lies in the outcome provided by biochemists in the laboratory environment. The cumulative effect of scientific wisdom and practical application strategies help to increase the life span by understanding the molecular cause of different disease and potential treatment possibilities.  Biochemistry students in their curriculum learn different papers like cell biology, immunology, microbiology, clinical biochemistry, cancer biology, etc. which give them wholesome knowledge to understand modern biological research. They perform hands-on practice using sophisticated instruments like microscopes, centrifuges, PCR machines, spectrophotometers, colorimeters, etc. which help them to grow the analytical mind. All these learning and training modules help them to become future medical scientists.  

In developed countries, there is a greater focus on medical research which resulted in excellent medical expertise. Developing countries like India have now focused on this area and more funding is also available to develop our medical systems. The present pandemic situation has increased this aspect many folds and there is a greater need both in academic and professional terms of studying biochemistry as a stepping stone to become medical scientists. Apart from being a scientist, a biochemistry post-graduate and Ph.D. holder can also choose a career in academics where he/she can guide and encourage young minds.

Biochemistry postgraduates can also find a career in clinical diagnosis and pathology. In clinical diagnosis, they have to identify the disease based on the signs, symptoms, and medical history. A pathologist on the other hand works in hospital labs or pathology groups to analyze different samples and assist diagnosis and treatment for patients. A medical transcriptionist is another very upcoming career choice for biochemistry graduates nowadays. It is an allied health profession in which professionals transcribe voice messages dictated by health practitioners and make clinical reports. They not only write medical reports based on voice messages but also review and edit these messages to create new medical reports. Hence people with knowledge in biochemistry can opt for this profession which is related to medical science.

The clinical coordinator is another very promising career aspect for young biochemistry graduates where they have to oversee the daily operations of a healthcare program. Big healthcare groups are now hiring people from bioscience background for clinical coordinator post where they act as a liaison between patient families and healthcare professionals. These professionals also oversee budgets, hire people, and train staff to implement company policies.

Each year medical device manufacturing companies hire lots of people with bioscience background as marketing executives to market their products, they need people who understand the science behind instruments. All these marketing executives go to scientists or doctors to promote their products and maximize profit by developing sales strategies. In this way, they play an integral role in brand making and success.

A biochemistry graduate or postgraduate can also serve the healthcare system after getting into government health systems through different posts like pathologists, epidemiologists, medical officers, scientific officers, patent officers, etc. Post-COVID era will see an increase in all these jobs and a biochemistry degree will certainly help a student to acquire all these jobs easily as the knowledge of biochemistry will give them an extra edge over other bioscience people as it provides in-depth knowhow of all the life processes.

Adamas University, the best private university in eastern India, provides both graduation, post-graduation, and five-year Integrated (BSc. + MSc.) courses in Biochemistry. The department has an array of highly qualified faculties and state of the art lab infrastructure to guide young minds. Therefore, it is the right time to pursue Biochemistry for a better future in medical sciences.