<p>I want to study cancer biology and maybe find solutions to treat it. That's why I'm looking for PhD in this area, but I'm still not very confident which programs would be better for me.
I'm going to finish my education (Bachelor) this year, majoring in biophysics(it is based on Physics Department, not Biology).
I'm seeking for interdisciplinary programs, biology+engineering (maybe, something like nano scale drugs), but I'm also wondering if it is possible to conduct PhD research in the pure Medicine or Biology with my Physics (not-medical) background?
ps. I'm not the US citizen</p>
<p>If you have the appropriate pre-requisites, yes.</p>
<p>“Cancer” is a broad area, and you can study cancer biology from a variety of different programs - biomedical science, neuroscience (for brain cancer), immunology, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, medical physics, with an MD, other programs I’m not thinking of. What changes is not your research questions but your approach - the methods and theoretical orientation you will take.</p>
<p>If you have a physics background and you want an interdisciplinary program that incorporates biology and engineering, medical physics sounds perfect ([What</a> do medical physicists do?](<a href=“http://aapm.org/medical_physicist/default.asp]What”>AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS IN MEDICINE)). There’s the professional master’s practice and then there’s the PhD, which trains you to develop and research new treatments. Cancer/radiation research is a big area in medical physics.</p>
<p>Another area that may be of interest is biomedical engineering; I’m sure some departments are studying nano-scale drugs (one innovation that I know is happening is developing a nanochip that can go inside of a pill, so that your physician can monitor whether you’ve actually taken the pill!). A biomedical science program somewhere with engineers or physicists on faculty might also be an option.</p>
<p>Any kind of biomedical program that incorporates biological knowledge will probably require some coursework in biology (and perhaps chemistry). Pretty sure a medical physics program will want you to have a little bio and a little chem. For example, Duke’s programs in medical physics require a BS in physics with one semester each of chemistry, biology, programming/CS and electronics (or a degree in the natural sciences with substantial physics coursework). Many programs may admit you provisionally, with the requirement that you take and pass the undergrad prereqs in biology and chemistry before you begin your graduate work (although personally, I wouldn’t do that - I would take the classes at a community college or cheap public 4-year college so that you are in line with your classmates during the PhD. You don’t want to be the only one stuck taking biology 101, and that also makes you less useful in the laboratory and slower to start your research).</p>
<p>If you want to get a biology degree, you’re going to need the biology prerequisites. I would imagine that most programs will require the equivalent of a major or close to it. An interdisciplinary biomedical science program will probably be somewhere in between medical physics (with minimal biology/chem requirements) and a biology or biochemistry program (which would require close to a major).</p>
<p>Another option is to get an MD and do a residency in medical physics - there are several of them. MDs are clinical degrees, but many MDs develop an interest in research and do a postdoc and a residency that trains them to practice and do research. You would have the flexibility of being able to practice - although if you go to an accredited medical physics program you could also practice. You’d have to take the pre-med prerequisites; if you were a physics major you probably would only have to take 1 year of biology and 1-2 years of chemistry (general and organic), as you’d likely have the others.</p>
<p>Dear Julliet,
thanks for such a broad answer. It contains so many things, and your thesis, which approach I should choose, is absolutely to the point. I’m a little bit ashamed that my answer is not as big as yours. many thanks!</p>