hey peeps!!!

So after first year I yet again decided to change career paths. i dont wann be a biochemist, I'd ratheer be a cancer stem cell researcher. i've been looking around and I actually can't find requirements for that specific position Right now im in life sci (not honours i missed it by 0.1) and im shadowing honours bio (it was really hard to get into this year u needed a 7.8+ n the year be4 that u needed a 6.1 - not fair :( ) n e wayz so i think an honours Bsc in bio is good enough, but the i prob need grad school dont i eh? what graduate program wuld YOU recommend. And you prob dont need MCATs do you? Just a penny for ur thoughts!!

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

hey peeps!!!

So after first year I yet again decided to change career paths. i dont wann be a biochemist, I'd ratheer be a cancer stem cell researcher. i've been looking around and I actually can't find requirements for that specific position Right now im in life sci (not honours i missed it by 0.1) and im shadowing honours bio (it was really hard to get into this year u needed a 7.8+ n the year be4 that u needed a 6.1 - not fair :( ) n e wayz so i think an honours Bsc in bio is good enough, but the i prob need grad school dont i eh? what graduate program wuld YOU recommend. And you prob dont need MCATs do you? Just a penny for ur thoughts!!

You might want to see if you can get into genetics. There is a lot of cancer research currently in progress in the field of genetics.

Does Honours Biology have a thesis at the end? You'll want to do a thesis in the field of biology. You will have to go to graduate school, but I'm not sure which one. Cancer Stem Cell Research is very specific so there won't be an entire school/program dedicated to that.

Look for oncology programs at different universities, I personally think that the states would be the best place to look into schools that specialize in research.

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

hey peeps!!!

So after first year I yet again decided to change career paths. i dont wann be a biochemist, I'd ratheer be a cancer stem cell researcher. i've been looking around and I actually can't find requirements for that specific position Right now im in life sci (not honours i missed it by 0.1) and im shadowing honours bio (it was really hard to get into this year u needed a 7.8+ n the year be4 that u needed a 6.1 - not fair :( ) n e wayz so i think an honours Bsc in bio is good enough, but the i prob need grad school dont i eh? what graduate program wuld YOU recommend. And you prob dont need MCATs do you? Just a penny for ur thoughts!!

You'd likely need grad school, and you need pretty good marks to get into that (and an honours program). I haven't heard of any grad school that requires the MCATs, though, except for MD/PhD programs.
Some upper year courses you might want to look into are biochem 4E03 (gene regulation and stem cell development) and mol bio 4H03 (molecular biology of cancer). There are probably others, but I've got those two written down. Based on the departments offering those courses, you might want to look into going into either molecular bio or biochem--you said you don't want to be a biochemist, but the biochem program could definitely take you where you want to go, and if you do core biochem (ie, not a specialization), you'd have plenty of room for electives in 3rd and 4th year. Honours Bio could also get you there, but it would help if you take stem cell/cancer related courses and try to gain some experience working in that area (this is especially true for bio, which is a less focused program, but it's a good idea regardless of what program you end up going into). I believe there are some profs at Mac that focus on stem cells/cancer--take a look at the profs teaching the relevant courses to give you an idea. One guy that comes to mind is Mick Bhatia: http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/SCCRI/faculty/bhatia.html, but anyone at the McMaster Cancer and Stem Cell Research Institute would be fine

Academic or career advisors might also be able to help you out, since you have an ultimate goal in mind. Good luck!

see im not good in chem or physics hence why i chose honours bio cuz u dont need the orgos or physics to graduate, everything else u need orgos n physics. n yes i love Mick Bhatia, when i went to his lecture, hes wut inspired me to do cancer/stem cell research

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

see im not good in chem or physics hence why i chose honours bio cuz u dont need the orgos or physics to graduate, everything else u need orgos n physics. n yes i love Mick Bhatia, when i went to his lecture, hes wut inspired me to do cancer/stem cell research

You should look into whether or not you need it for grad school, though. I haven't actually looked into the requirements (I've been meaning to do that...) but it might put you at a huge disadvantage not taking orgo. I don't think physics is as relevant, but some professional schools like to see first-year physics--I'm not sure about grad schools. Definitely look into it though, because you don't want to be applying to grad school and realize you have no options because you didn't take a course or two. Don't let orgo or physics stop you from getting where you want to be!

Edit: These are graduate research fields in the dept of biology at Mac: http://www.biology.mcmaster. ca/g_research.htm
None of them really seem to relate to stem cells/cancer at first glance, but if you look through all of the profs under "genetics and molecular biology" you might find something. I believe you can still do grad school in genetics & molecular bio if your undergrad is honours bio, but you should probably double-check that

plusi cant even tke the orgos cuz im not in honours

im not sure about specific courses but there are cancer research institutions at mac that you can probably apply to do your thesis at or just volunteer now to get experience.
ex. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/SCCRI/

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

plusi cant even tke the orgos cuz im not in honours

Actually, you could take Chem 2E03, which is an easier version of 2OA3 without labs. However, if you ever end up wanting/needing to take any other orgo courses, you'll have to take 2OA3/2OB3, which will result in forfeiting your 2E03 credit, so I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea (unless you know for sure you won't need 2OA3/2OB3).

If you're going to go to grad school though, you'll need to get into an honours program. So yeah, you couldn't take 2OA3/2OB3 this coming year, since you're not in honours, but hopefully next year you'll get into honours and you would then have the option of taking it.

Edit: Biochem 4E03 (Gene regulation/stem cell development) requires orgo--not directly, but the listed prerequisites have orgo as prerequisites

An academic advisor can help you plan your courses, so you should definitely go see one to figure out how to get where you wan to be!

It would be a good idea to take relevant courses (e.g. Molecular Biology of Cancer).

Try to do a 9 unit thesis in the field of cancer and stem cells. You can try volunteering in a lab to get experience and to make sure that research is something that you want to do for the rest of your life.

Originally Posted by paperplanes

im not sure about specific courses but there are cancer research institutions at mac that you can probably apply to do your thesis at or just volunteer now to get experience.
ex. http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/SCCRI/

omg i didnt even know mac had this ... this is soooooo perfect !!!! thanks and ya i plan on takin the micro bio of cancer, i want to volunteer in a cancer research lab ...its just way harder than i thought

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

omg i didnt even know mac had this ... this is soooooo perfect !!!! thanks and ya i plan on takin the micro bio of cancer, i want to volunteer in a cancer research lab ...its just way harder than i thought

Don't expect to get a crazy volunteer position with a research lab, you usually start by washing beakers and stuff like that.

thats ok ... baby steps lol im not expecting much but something is better than nothing right. i spoke with an academic advisor n she suggested that i take chem 2e03 (which im doing n e wayz) n that i shuldnt even attempt 2a03 n 2b03 (which i thought was rude) but i guess she knows her thing. Dr.wilson was the worst though she said i shuld go see if i shuld be in like a special program ... i felt flike smacking her (this was at the level 2 course fair thing)

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

thats ok ... baby steps lol im not expecting much but something is better than nothing right. i spoke with an academic advisor n she suggested that i take chem 2e03 (which im doing n e wayz) n that i shuldnt even attempt 2a03 n 2b03 (which i thought was rude) but i guess she knows her thing. Dr.wilson was the worst though she said i shuld go see if i shuld be in like a special program ... i felt flike smacking her (this was at the level 2 course fair thing)

If you can get into a specialization then you should. Like I suggested, Genetics could be something to look into, so is biotechnology or biomedical sciences (in biochemistry).

Originally Posted by jhan523

If you can get into a specialization then you should. Like I suggested, Genetics could be something to look into, so is biotechnology or biomedical sciences (in biochemistry).

i wud but trust me i can't it requires the orgos n physics 1b03 n i just don't get them at all nd i dont wanna waste money of courses i know im not gonna do good cuz i have to get a good CA this year to switch into an honours program. after first year the only courses i know i like are bio ones its my strength.

Originally Posted by MCHEDDENITE

i wud but trust me i can't it requires the orgos n physics 1b03 n i just don't get them at all nd i dont wanna waste money of courses i know im not gonna do good cuz i have to get a good CA this year to switch into an honours program. after first year the only courses i know i like are bio ones its my strength.

I was just saying that Dr. Wilson gave good advice and you shouldn't be so hostile against her.