My Field of Study

For this blog post, I asked to formulate answers centered around a research question, "What kinds of public debates and arguments are taking place in my field / major / discipline?  More specifically, I will provide more detailed answers of questions regarding my field of study.

AllyUnion. "Science-symbol-2". 14 Feb. 2008 via Wikimedia Commons Create Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported 

What do students in your program learn how to do?
For my undergraduate degree I am studying biochemistry.  According to The University of Arizona Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry undergraduate studies information page students are given a strong theoretical background and the ability to apply what they know to a wide range of biological and physical systems.  Students also must complete the "experiential" component which allows students to get more intimately involved with science through research to be able to develop a greater sense of what they are studying.

What do people who get degrees in this field usually go on to do for work?
Students are prepared upon graduation to work as chemists and biochemists in academic, industrial, and government settings.  This program also provides an excellent foundation for advanced studies, for example graduate/professional schools in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and osteopathy.

What drew you to this field?
Being a younger sibling in my family, I have always my brother to look up to.  He is currently a graduate at The University of Arizona studying pharmaceutical sciences.  In fact, he graduated from the school with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology.  Not many people have the advantage of having a sibling who went to the same university as they do, while also completing their undergraduate degree with the same major.  I have always had a strong interest in science, math, and technology ever since I was in elementary school.  I did not come to appreciate biochemistry, or for that fact biology or chemistry, until I was in high school.  After doing well in my science and math courses in high school I knew that I would major in this field.  The fact that this field provides students opportunities with innovative technology to make this world a better place is what helped me decide to major in Biochemistry.

What are the leading companies or agencies involved in your field right now?
Many companies or government agencies innovate new therapies or methods to advance the field of biochemistry or science in general.  Companies such as Pfizer, Roche, and Gilead have all set their footprints in this field for their extraordinary contributions to the science world.  They have come out with treatments that have helped patients with issues with health complications.  Gilead, for example, has recently come out with a Hepatitis C treatment that, although being an extremely expensive treatment, has already helped hundreds perhaps thousands of patients.  Government agencies such as the CDC and the FDA have contributed to the science world by working on preventative measures to help keep the citizens of the world safer from diseases and health hazards.

Beall, Jeffrey. "Tenofovir/embricitabine". 26 May 2012 via Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 

What are the 3 leading academic/scholarly journals in your field?  Where are they published?  What are their names and where are they located?
The first, third, and fifth, accordingly, leading academic journals for biochemistry in 2014 according to SCImago Journal & Country Rank include Annual Review of Biochemistry, Annual Review of Biophysics, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society.  All three were published in the U.S. and their publications were all in the 20th century.  Annual Review of Biochemistry's date of publication was 1932, Annual Review of Biophysics' date of publication was 1972, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society's date of publication was 1879.