Medical Research?

[abel]

I've always been interested in physics and math, but I've always felt that a lot of the problems they deal with are too abstract. However, medicine grounds these subjects, for me anyway. I could be getting ahead of myself here though. I'm interested in preclinical research but I'd like to get some more info on what you guys actually do...

 

So what are the differences between bioengineers, biomedical engineers, and other medical researchers? Is it rewarding work?

 

I know UWO has a biomedical engineering major and I was thinking about pursuing that. But I've also read that it'd probably be better just to get a mechanical engineering degree with the pre-reqs for a biomedical engineering program in graduate school.

 

What are your thoughts?

[bj89]

"Pre-clinical research" (research on animals) = research performed before moving onto "clinical research" (which is on humans)

 

Pre-clinical research often involves developing an animal model for the issue you are studying (e.g. parkinsons, alzheimers, stroke) and testing drugs to see if they impact the progression of these diseases. Since you're more into physics/math, this area might not be the most interesting for you/