Who are Microbiologists?

This lesson is a career connection article. It should help you see some real-world applications of the study of cells.

Career Connection: Microbiologists

The most effective action anyone can take to prevent the spread of contagious illnesses is to wash his or her hands. Why? Because microbes (organisms so tiny that we can only see them with microscopes) are ubiquitous. They live on doorknobs, money, your hands, and many other surfaces. Let's say someone sneezes into his hand and touches a doorknob. If afterwards you touch that same doorknob, the microbes from the sneezer’s mucus are now on your hands. In fact, if you touch your hands to your mouth, nose, or eyes, those microbes can enter your body and could make you sick.

However, not all microbes or microorganisms cause disease. In fact, most are actually beneficial. You have microbes in your gut that make vitamin K. We use other microorganisms to ferment beer and wine (see image below).

Fermenting tanks with yeast for brewing beer. Image Attribution: "Modern fermenting tanks" by Kafziel via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Microbiologists are scientists who study microbes. In fact, microbiologists can pursue a number of careers. Not only do they work in the food industry, they are also employed in the veterinary and medical fields. They can work in the pharmaceutical sector, serving key roles in research and development by identifying new sources of antibiotics that could be used to treat bacterial infections.

Environmental microbiologists may look for new ways to use specially selected or genetically engineered microbes for the removal of pollutants from soil or groundwater, as well as hazardous elements from contaminated sites. We refer to these uses of microbes as bioremediation technologies. Microbiologists can also work in the field of bioinformatics, providing specialized knowledge and insight for the design, development, and specificity of computer models of, for example, bacterial epidemics.