Growth a factor for biochemistry major
The number of students majoring in biochemistry at UC Davis has grown enormously since the early 1990s. Here Professor Carl Schmid, chair of the Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, shares his thoughts on the increased interest in the discipline. "The biochemistry major has always
provided students with a rigorous foundation for exciting careers in advanced research,
medicine and applied techniques, so the program has consistently been one of Davis' most
popular. However, recent fundamental advances in molecular genetics have now
completely redefined both biochemistry and genetics, creating entirely new opportunities in
science, medicine, and biotechnology. The news is inescapable: Yesterday's TV news reported
the use of gene therapy for treating heart conditions; today's newspaper examined
ethical issues of cloning and so on. Each day, we learn of even more exciting discoveries
and advances in molecular biology. Naturally, these new opportunities have captured
even greater student interest, causing huge enrollment increases in biochemistry. For the
same reasons, the number of genetics majors is also significantly increasing, and our new
cell biology major is attracting students. Faculty members in Molecular and Cellular
Biology take great pride of ownership of each of these three undergraduate majors. We
are entirely committed to maintaining the high quality of these programs while
teaching increasingly large enrollments."
UC Davis Biological Sciences Newsletter - Winter 1998