By Joseph Altman Jr.
Arizona Daily Wildcat
What exactly can someone do with a biology degree?
Prominent biologists from Arizona and around the United States will be on hand to answer that question and many others at Biology Career Day tomorrow.
The schedule of events begins at 9 a.m. in the McClelland Hall auditorium, where Carlos Campbell, assistant to the associate director for international health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will present the keynote address.
The remainder of the day will consist of concurrent panel discussions. Panelists will discuss their jobs and career opportunities available in the biological sciences, including biotechnology, law, education, science writing and others.
Carol Bender, director of the Undergraduate Biology Research Program and one of the event's coordinators, said, "There are an awful lot of careers in biology that people are unaware of. This will expose (students) to the options available with a bachelors degree, a masters degree, or more."
In a news release, Gail Burd, associate professor of molecular and cellular biology and Biology Career Day coordinator, said, "This is not a job finding program, but a chance for students to hear professionals in biology, who have interesting careers, talk about what they do and what kinds of education and skills are needed to get into those careers."
Panelists include: the chairperson of natural sciences at Pima Community College, an epidemiologist and acting director of the Mexican-American Studies and Research Center at the University of Arizona, a research entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a research microbiologist at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and a pharmacology reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration.
Bender said more than 200 students have already registered for the event, but anyone who would like to attend can register at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow at McClelland Hall. Lunch will be provided for $5.
The conference is being organized by members of the biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology departments at the university, and is sponsored by those departments and by a training grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute with matching funds from seven other campus departments and colleges, as well as a UA research training grant in analysis of biological diversification.