<p>Hello all! I have been researching for months and I cannot figure out what I should major in if I want to create vaccines. My goal in life is to research the Ebola Z virus and I cannot figure out whether I should major in biochemistry, pre-med foccusing on infectious diseases, or genetic engineering. I have absolutely no idea which one is correct for what I want to do once I graduate. Possibly a double major is necessary? PLEASE HELP! thank you!!!</p>
<p>Molecular bio or microbio for undergrad. Pre-med is not a major, it’s just a series of classes required for med school. Med students don’t do research/vaccine development.</p>
<p>Make sure you take an immunology class in undergrad.</p>
<p>You won’t get to the specialization required for vaccinology at the undergrad level so you’ll need to apply for grad school in microbio/virology at a school with a vaccine center or vaccinology emphasis, ideally one where a vaccinologist is working on the organism in question. For Ebola, it’s somewhat unlikely that even at the grad student level you’ll be allowed to wok on it, so you would have to apply for post-doctoral positions with PI that is working on an Ebola vaccine. Search PubMed for papers on Ebola vaccine development and see what school/center the authors work at. That should be your goal for grad school or a postdoc position.</p>
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You would also need a security clearance, which could be problematic if you have foreign ties, a criminal record or a history of mental health problems.</p>
<p>@B@r!um Or a history of drug use, as well. The security background check is pretty extensive.</p>
<p>Ebola is on the possible bioweapons watch list and research on it is highly regulated and limited. Approved labs are pretty much only at USMARIID, the NIH, and the CDC. I’m not sure if the new Gavelston BSL4 lab is approved for Ebola.</p>
<p>Any science degree will be ok. Biochem, mol/cell bio, even chemistry. You will probably want to go to grad school to reach your goals. The beauty of grad school is that so long as you have a solid biology (at times chemistry) background, you can rotate into labs you want.</p>