My Discipline: Molecular and Cellular Biology

      The discipline I am studying in college is Molecular and Cellular Biology. This seems like an oddly specific field for an eighteen year old to be pursuing, but I am here today thanks to an awesome high school teacher. Starting my junior year of high school, I signed up for a class called Biotechnology. I had the most inspirational teacher for this class, her name was Mrs. Musheno. Mush, as my class calls her now, had worked in this discipline for many years. Mush took her experience and tried to recreate it in a classroom. I did labs were I extracted our own DNA and searched for genes, as well as engineered bacteria to glow green, and even survive in -20 degree C freezers. The coolest thing I did, was second semester. Long story short, a few friends and I worked as a team, and got two plant genes published in a real scientific database, before graduating high school. (The genes are here for Hibiscus, and here for Lavender, if you are interested.) After getting my feet wet, I decided this field was really interesting, and I would love to pursue a career in the discipline of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
     Anyone who pursues a career in Molecular and Cellular Biology learns how to work in a research lab setting, as well as write reports and publish findings in a scientific journal. This major prepares you for any work situation you might encounter, from hospital labs, to work with the WHO or CDC. It really depends on what you want to pursue, as there is a lot of specialized training that follows undergraduate training.
     Students working in the field of Molecular and Cellular Biology learn how to work with and understand life on the microscopic level. This major can really be broken into two parts. Molecular Biologists tend to look at DNA and RNA to understand how life works. These people go off to work in research on cures for diseases using controversial techniques like gene therapy, or become genetic councilors. However, they require extra schooling after college, either in Medical School or working for a PhD. Cellular Biologists often look at how cells interact with their environment. These people study bacteria like, Streptococcus pneumoniae, viruses like Rubiola (causes measles virus), and do controversial research with stem cells.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867411001279

     Two big names in this field currently are Dr. Douglas Hanahan and Dr. R.A. Weinburg. They are responsible for publishing The Hallmarks of Cancer in 2000, and follow up research called The Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation. These articles focus on the biology of tumors, and why they are so difficult to treat. The major reason these two doctors are so important, is people had no idea tumors were so advanced. Before these articles, people assumed cancers were all the same, and could all be treated the same. Medicine and science advanced significantly thanks to their recent works, in the fight against cancer.  Since my field is so broad, there are many journals that publish data. The top three scientific journals are Nature, Science, and Cell. 
*Edit: After reading Micheal Gee's and Laura Shoemake's blogs, I realized everyone is pursuing a career they are truly passionate about. I feel like many years ago, people would pursue a career in something they were great at, not necessarily passionate about. I realize now that my career has so many options, thanks to advancements in both of my peer's fields of study. I also realize I will be applying concepts from both medicine and mathematics for the rest of my life, as these two majors are necessary for me to hold a job as a researcher. Thanks to people who are passionate about work, new fields of interest can be discovered and worked in, like Molecular and Cellular Biology.