Biochemist

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A biochemist could...

Overview Listen to this section

Growing, aging, digesting—all of these are examples of chemical processes performed by living organisms. Biochemists study how these types of chemical actions happen in cells and tissues, and monitor what effects new substances, like food additives and medicines, have on living organisms.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Biochemist?

1. Science: ? Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
2. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
3. Writing: ? Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
4. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
5. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

6. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
7. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
8. Active Learning: ? Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
9. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
10. Learning Strategies: ? Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Biochemist might do:

• Prepare reports and recommendations based upon research outcomes.
• Develop new methods to study the mechanisms of biological processes.
• Manage laboratory teams, and monitor the quality of a team's work.
• Share research findings by writing scientific articles and by making presentations at scientific conferences.
• Develop and execute tests to detect diseases, genetic disorders, and other abnormalities.
• Develop and test new drugs and medications intended for commercial distribution.
• Study the mutations in organisms that lead to cancer and other diseases.
• Study spatial configurations of submicroscopic molecules, such as proteins, using x-rays and electron microscopes.
• Study the chemistry of living processes, such as cell development, breathing and digestion, and living energy changes, such as growth, aging, and death.
• Determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules.
• Prepare pharmaceutical compounds for commercial distribution.
• Research the chemical effects of substances such as drugs, serums, hormones, and food on tissues and vital processes.
• Research how characteristics of plants and animals are carried through successive generations.
• Develop methods to process, store, and use foods, drugs, and chemical compounds.
• Investigate the nature, composition, and expression of genes, and research how genetic engineering can impact these processes.
• Study physical principles of living cells and organisms and their electrical and mechanical energy, applying methods and knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology.
• Produce pharmaceutically and industrially useful proteins, using recombinant DNA technology.
• Isolate, analyze, and synthesize vitamins, hormones, allergens, minerals, and enzymes, and determine their effects on body functions.
• Design and perform experiments with equipment such as lasers, accelerators, and mass spectrometers.
• Teach and advise undergraduate and graduate students, and supervise their research.
• Research transformations of substances in cells, using atomic isotopes.
• Examine the molecular and chemical aspects of immune system functioning.
• Design and build laboratory equipment needed for special research projects.