Career counsellors web resource. Meet UniSA students from your schools

'There is going to be enormous opportunity for young laboratory medicine professionals in the future. I really think this particular profession is going to be in demand over the next fi ve to ten years. Genetic and Molecular Pathology are very much the new frontiers in laboratory medicine. We are now diagnosing at the level of DNA - looking at the molecular basis of disease, disease process, and of disease-causing organisms. That's been the biggest change over the last fi ve to ten years. There is a trend towards more rapid diagnosis. The other trend is for medical scientists to provide value- added diagnostic information rather than just a stack of numbers. It's important to provide information that allows doctors and other health workers to diagnose and treat.' Darryl Graham , Manager, Laboratory Medicine, Women's and Children's Hospital What do your students need to study to become a Medical Scientist? UniSA's Bachelor of Laboratory Medicine trains medical scientists who are ready to take on vital roles in the detection, diagnosis and management of diseases, in laboratories, hospitals and research organisations in Australia and around the world. Medical Science is a dynamic profession with excellent long-term career prospects including management, research, education and specialised laboratory work. Accredited by the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS), UniSA's four year program begins with core studies in physical and biomedical sciences, followed by specialised studies in the major pathology disciplines (including haematology, histopathology, microbiology, clinical chemistry, transfusion science, and molecular pathology). The degree includes a one year full-time clinical placement where students gain practical experience working alongside professionals in real world laboratories. Recent UniSA graduate Kelly Betterman talks about where her Laboratory Medicine degree has led. 'I'm working on a project that is investigating whether there is a link between lymphatic development and mammary development, which could lead to fi nding better treatments for breast cancer. My job involves a lot of hands-on work in the lab performing experiments, reading papers and working with other researchers. I like the unpredictability of it. You don't know what's around the corner, what result you might get and what those results might lead to. Working in medical research is very satisfying for me personally as I believe without research we couldn't have made all the wonderful, serendipitous and life-saving discoveries in health science that we have, now and into the future. I feel privileged to be a part of it all!' If you have students who are interested in science, are inquisitive, have an analytical mind and attention to detail, encourage them to look further at UniSA's Laboratory Medicine program and a career as a Medical Scientist.