BIOTECH INDUSTRY'S GROWTH YIELDS NEW CAREER OPTIONS

[Source: Houston Chronicle, Sunday, January 23, 2000 - Alice Adams, Employment Correspondent]

A love for biology or the life sciences can lead to a fulfilling career in any of a number of fields.

George M. Stancel, dean of The University of Texas at Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, said graduates of the master's and doctoral programs at GSBS can be found in laboratories around the Texas Medical Center, conducting research in the Arctic Circle or researching the causes of epidemic diseases in populations around the globe.

Students accepted into graduate studies at the GSBS can select from more than 18 disciplines, but biochemistry and molecular biology, cancer biology, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology and neuroscience attract the largest numbers of students.

Those completing their studies at the school find jobs in research, education, governmental agencies, regulatory settings, pharmaceutical firms, environmental firms, public health settings, and conducting interdisciplinary research in formal programs such as the Houston Advanced Research Center in The Woodlands and medical science institutions.

A recent survey of alumni found 95 percent of the school's graduates were employed. The majority of Ph.D. respondents were employed outside of Texas but within the United States and most of the master of science respondents were employed outside of Texas but within the U.S. (44.4 percent) or within the Houston area (37.3 percent).

"About 80 percent of our students are involved in basic research and they were involved in the areas they trained for," Stancel said. "But it is important to understand that we are organized differently than most schools.

"To be a successful scientist in this new century, you have to be an expert in your own discipline -- any of the classical biological sciences -- but you also have to have a breadth of knowledge if you want to maximize your contributions."

To equip students for successful careers, the curriculum provides each student with the ability to take course work that includes a variety of disciplines, not just his or her single major.

"For example, a student may come into our program with an interest in pharmacology, but in addition to the core courses, they may take genetics, statistical courses and computer science courses to give them the tools to research problems in the future," Stancel said. "In the old days, we could only handle small research groups using hand-held calculators. Today, with the help of computers and statistical programs, researchers can work with groups numbering in the thousands.

"The point is that our grads must be better than we were because there's a greater knowledge base to understand and more tools to analyze and compare scientific data."

The other unique aspect of the school is the ability to draw upon current research and academicians working in the Texas Medical Center.

"You can go to a lot of schools around the world and get terrific training in any of the biological sciences, but in the Texas Medical Center, you can study any of those disciplines in the context of M.D. Anderson Cancer or any of the UT schools." Stancel said. "If you want to study pharmacology, you can study with a Nobel Prize winner, and we have fine resources from the UT-Houston School of Public Health as well as faculty drawn from the Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences and Technology on our graduate faculty."

This value-added aspect of the school is coupled with the dualism of studying the biological sciences and then having the opportunity to study these basic disciplines in specific environments....

Employment opportunities for graduates from biomedical and life sciences programs range from jobs in the Texas Medical Center and in medical research centers around the state and across the country to private industry.

"There are also wonderful opportunities for those interested in going into the academic areas," Stancel said, "as well as in pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology, genetics engineering and toxicology, and many other areas of government and private industry."

Those earning a bachelor's degree in life sciences can expect entry-level salaries to begin in the mid-$20,000s. Someone with a master's degree can expect entry-level pay to range between $30,000 to $45,000 annually, and for a Ph.D., salaries usually start between $60,000 and $80,000.

Each year the GSBS will receive between 500 and 600 applications with admission typically offered to about 200 of these applicants.

"We look for students with B-plus grade-point averages, from strong undergraduate programs, and who have worked in summer research on the college level," Stancel said. "We also require a strong Graduate Record Exam score and coursework in calculus, biochemistry and physics.

"But we also go out of our way to look for positives in the backgrounds of our applicants -- and if we see something that makes us think someone has innate talent and wants to work hard, we're on the lookout for those people, too."