About the Life Sciences Program
2012 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Life Sciences program at Queen's University. The first graduating class in 1972 numbered four; thirty-five years and over 3,000 graduates later, the class of 2008 numbered over 200 students. As one of the largest B.Sc. programs on campus, it is in high demand by students who wish to pursue careers in biomedical research and health care. Other universities have paid Queen’s the ultimate compliment by attempting to build similar programs.
The hallmark of this program is a unique blend of disciplines represented by basic and applied biomedical science departments in the Faculty of Health Sciences. These departments include Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry (which also offers degree programs in Biochemistry), Community Health and Epidemiology, Microbiology and Immunology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Physiology in collaboration with the Cancer Research Institute, the Centre for Neuroscience Studies, and the Cardiac, Circulation and Respiratory Group.
The subjects that fall under the umbrella of the Life Sciences program range from traditional basic biomedical disciplines devoted to the anatomical, biochemical, epidemiological, immunological, microbiological, pathological, pharmacological, and physiological sciences. In addition, there are streams dedicated to contemporary trans-disciplinary themes that are in the cardiovascular and respiratory sciences, drug development and human toxicology, cancer biology and genetics, and neuroscience.
To illustrate the breadth and depth of the program, some of the key basic biomedical sciences and trans-disciplinary themes are briefly described below.
Basic biomedical sciences
• ANATOMY deals with the microscopic and macroscopic structure of living organisms and includes a consideration of the formation and functional importance of all parts of an organism.
• BIOCHEMISTRY has its roots in two major scientific disciplines, biology and chemistry. It is the study of chemical processes associated with living organisms.
• COMMUNITY HEALTH AND EPIDEMIOLOGY addresses questions relevant to public health, the statistics of health and disease and the operation of health care system.
• IMMUNOLOGY began as a branch of microbiology; it grew out of the study of infectious diseases and the body's defense responses to them. In general terms it is the study of the body's response to foreign substances.
• MICROBIOLOGY is the study of organisms that exist as single cells or cell clusters and usually too small to be seen by the naked eye. Many microorganisms play important roles in the environment, some are harmful to animals and plants, while others have beneficial effects.
• PATHOLOGY seeks to understand disease processes. In its broadest sense it is literally abnormal biology.
• PHARMACOLOGY studies the interactions of chemical substances with biological systems. While some interactions have beneficial effects, others can be extremely toxic.
• PHYSIOLOGY is the study of the functions of tissues and organs and the way in which these functions are integrated; in other words, it is the study of how the body works.
Trans-disciplinary sciences
• CANCER BIOLOGY AND GENETICS takes advantage of a multi-pronged strategy to unravel the molecular, cellular, and genetic processes that are fundamental to understanding the causes and progression of cancer and the design of new therapies.
• Cardiac, Circulatory and Respiratory Sciences represent a consortium of scientists involved in basic molecular, clinical, and population health research that is directed to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
• Drug Development and Human Toxicology combines expertise drawn from chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and the pharmaceutical industry to address fundamental principles governing the development and delivery of therapeutic interventions.
• NEUROSCIENCE brings together scientists of diverse backgrounds to understand the function of the brain and the nervous system at all levels of biological organization and to apply this knowledge to develop improved disease treatments and cures.
Opportunities for more advanced studies leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees are also available and provide a segue into a wide range of world-class research programs devoted to unravelling the fundamental mechanisms that sustain life and ameliorate the ravages of disease.
