Biochemist
Other Titles
Studies chemistry of living processes, such as cell development, breathing and digestion, and living energy changes, such as growth, aging, and death.
Researches methods of transferring characteristics, such as resistance to disease, from one organism to another.
Examines chemical aspects of formation of antibodies, and researches chemistry of cells and blood corpuscles.
Develops and executes tests to detect disease, genetic disorders, or other abnormalities.
Develops and tests new drugs and medications used for commercial distribution.
Design and build laboratory equipment needed for special research projects.
Analyzes foods to determine nutritional value and effects of cooking, canning, and processing on this value.
Cleans, purifies, refines, and otherwise prepares pharmaceutical compounds for commercial distribution.
Prepares reports and recommendations based upon research outcomes.
Develops methods to process, store, and use food, drugs, and chemical compounds.
Isolates, analyzes, and identifies hormones, vitamins, allergens, minerals, and enzymes, and determines their effects on body functions.
Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Operations Analysis — Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel Resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Research microbiological or chemical processes or structures.
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
Instruct college students in physical or life sciences.
Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
Analyze biological samples.
Develop biological research methods.
Research diseases or parasites.
Research genetic characteristics or expression.
Prepare compounds or solutions for products or testing.
Develop new or advanced products or production methods.
Research methods to improve food products.
Inductive Reasoning -- The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Deductive Reasoning -- The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
Memorization — The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Physics — Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of a language - English, French, Swahili et cetera - including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Analytical or scientific software -- Statistical software; Minitab, SAS; Statistical software; The MathWorks MATLAB; Fujitsu MOPAC etc
Computer aided design CAD software --e.g., Accelrys Insight II; ChemInnovation Software Chem -D
Database user interface and query software -- Sequence database software
Data mining software -- e.g., Golden Helix ChemTree; Golden Helix HelixTree
Electronic mail software -- e.g., Google Gmail; Microsoft Outlook
Enterprise application integration software -- e.g., Extensible markup language XML
Enterprise resource planning ERP software -- e.g., Odoo; SAP
Graphics or photo imaging software -- e.g., Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop; Microsoft Visio; Molecular Devices Corporation MetaFluor; Molecular Simulations WebLab ViewerPro etc
Information retrieval or search software -- e.g., Molecular Networks GmbH Biochemical Pathways
Internet browser software
Inventory management software -- e.g., ItemTracker
Object or component oriented development software -- e.g., Practical extraction and reporting language Perl; Python
Office suite software -- e.g., Microsoft Office
Operating system software -- e.g., Linux
Presentation software -- e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint
Spreadsheet software -- e.g., Microsoft Excel
Word processing software -- e.g., Microsoft Word
Amino acid analyzers
Analytical balances — Mettler balances
Benchtop centrifuges — Continuous flow centrifuges; Cytospin centrifuges; Megafuge centrifuges; Tabletop centrifuges
Binocular light compound microscopes — Large upright microscopes; Transillumination microscopes; Video enhanced differential interference contrast microscopes
Calorimeters — Differential scanning calorimeters; Isothermal titration calorimeters ITC; Microcalorimeters
Camera controllers — Video positioning equipment
Chemistry analyzers — Hemoglobin analyzers
Chilling units or cold water circulators — Circulating water cooling systems
Cryogenic or liquid nitrogen freezers — Biofreezers; Cryogenic freezers
Deoxyribonucleic sequence analyzers — Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA sequencers
Desktop computers
Digital camcorders or video cameras — Phosphorimager video cameras
Dropping pipettes — Pipettes
Dry baths or heating blocks — Heat blocks
Dry wall single chamber carbon dioxide incubators — Carbon dioxide CO2 incubators
Electroencephalograph EEG or accessories — Electroencephalography EEG equipment
Electron guns — Phosphorimagers
Electron microscopes — Cryomicroscopes; X ray microscopes
Electronic toploading balances — Sartorius balances; Top-loading electronic balances
Electrophoresis system power supplies — Electrophoresis power supplies
Flame ionization analyzers — Flame ionization detectors FID
Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators — Heat incubators; Incubators
Freeze dryers or lyopholizers — Flexi-dry lyophilizers; Freeze dryers; Vacuum freezers
Fume hoods or cupboards — Chemical fume hoods
Gamma counters — Auto gamma counters
Gas chromatographs — Gas chromatographs GC
Gel boxes
Gel documentation systems — Automated electrophoresis equipment
Heat tracing equipment — Thermal imagers
Heating mantles or tapes — Heating mantles
Hematology or chemistry mixers — Peptide synthesizers
High pressure liquid chromatograph chromatography — High-pressure liquid chromatographs
Homogenizers
Infrared spectrometers — Fourier transform infrared FTIR spectroscopes
Injectors — Microinjectors
Instrumentation for capillary electrophoresis — Capillary electrophoresis equipment
Inverted microscopes
Ion analyzers — Ionometers
Irradiation gamma sources — Gamma ray irradiators
Laboratory adapters or connectors or fittings — Glassware adaptors
Laboratory balances — Balances; Specific gravity balances
Laboratory beakers — Beakers
Laboratory flasks — Erlenmeyer flasks
Laboratory funnels — Filtering funnels; Funnels
Laboratory graduated cylinders — Graduated cylinders
Laboratory heat exchange condensers — Glassware condensers
Laboratory hotplates — Hot plates
Laboratory mechanical convection ovens — Laboratory convection ovens
Laboratory vacuum pumps
Laminar flow cabinets or stations — Laminar flow hoods
Laser printers
Lasers — Argon lasers; Laser tweezers; Laser tweezers; Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Nd:YAG lasers; Sapphire lasers; Solid state diode lasers
Light scattering equipment — Laser Doppler zeta potential analyzers; Laser particle sizers; Light scattering devices; Multi-angle elastic-light scattering systems
Liquid scintillation counters — Scintillation counters
Mainframe computers
Manual or electronic hematology differential cell counters — Cell sorters
Mass spectrometers — Multichannel detectors
Medical computed tomography CT or CAT scanners or tubes — Computerized axial tomography CAT scan equipment
Medical imaging wet darkroom or daylight processors — Automatic x ray film developers
Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI scanners — Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI equipment; Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI microscopes
Medical positron emission tomography PET units — Positron emission tomography PET scanners
Medical x ray darkroom equipment or supplies — Darkroom equipment
Microbiology analyzers — Flow cytometers
Microcentrifuges
Microplate readers
Microscope slides
Microtomes — Cryocut microtomes; Cryostat tissue microtomes; Ultramicrotomes
Mobile or transportable medical linear accelerators — Linear accelerators
Multipurpose or general test tubes — Test tubes
Notebook computers
Nuclear magnetic resonance NMR spectrometers — Liquid nuclear magnetic resonance NMR equipment; Nuclear magnetic resonance NMR spectroscopes; Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance NMR equipment
Optical beamsplitters — Dichroic beamsplitters
Orbital shakers
Orbital shaking water baths — Shaking waterbaths
Osmometers — Basic vapor pressure osmometers
Paramagnetic susceptibility analyzers — Microsusceptometers
Pasteur or transfer pipettes — Pasteur pipettes
Personal computers
pH meters — Microphysiometers
Photo attachments for microscopes — Charge-coupled device CCD cameras
Piezo electric crystals — Magnetic piconewton-force transducers
Plotter printers — Plotters
Polarimeters — Spectropolarimeters
Polarizing microscopes — Brewster angle microscopes
Pressure indicators — Langmuir balances
Protein analyzers — Protein sequencers
Radiobiological effect microdosimeters — Microdosimeters
Reactors or fermenters or digesters — High-pressure high-temperature reactors
Refrigerated and heated reach in environmental or growth chambers — Growth chambers
Refrigerated benchtop centrifuges — Refrigerated centrifuges
Rheometers
Robotic or automated liquid handling systems — Automatic pipetters; Liquid handling robots
Safety hoods — Biological safety hoods
Scanners
Scanning electron microscopes — Scanning electron microscopes SEM
Scanning light or spinning disk or laser scanning microscopes — Confocal microscopes; Near-field light microscopes; Scanning laser microscopes
Scanning probe microscopes — Atomic force microscopes; Nanoscopes
Shaking incubators
Signal conditioners — Power amplifiers
Signal generators
Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters — Fluorescence spectroscopes; Spectrofluorimeters; Ultraviolet UV spectroscopes
Spectrometers — Circular dichroism spectroscopes; Dual wavelength spectroscopes; Electron paramagnetic resonance EPR spectrometers; Electron spin resonance spectroscopes; Laser induced temperature jump nanosecond relaxation spectrometer systems; Mossbauer spectroscopes; Raman difference spectrometers
Spectrophotometers — Stopped-flow spectrophotometers
Standard fermentation units — Fermenters
Steam autoclaves or sterilizers — Autoclaves
Tissue processors — Vibratome tissue sectioning systems
Transilluminators — Ultraviolet UV transilluminators
Transmission electron microscopes — Cryotransmission electron microscopes; Transmission electron microscopes TEM
Tweezers — Magnetic tweezers; Optical tweezers
Ultra violet water purification units — Water purification units
Ultracentrifuges — Analytical ultracentrifuges
Ultrasonic cleaning equipment — Ultrasonic cleaners
Ultrasonic disintegrators — Sonicators
Vacuum or centrifugal concentrators — Sample concentrators
Viscosimeters — Viscometers
Water baths
X ray diffraction equipment — X ray crystallography equipment
X ray generators — Rotating anode X ray generators; Synchrotrons
Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Integrity→ Job requires being honest and ethical.
Analytical Thinking→ Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Persistence→ Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attention to Detail→ Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Achievement/Effort→ Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Dependability→ Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Initiative→ Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Innovation→ Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Adaptability/Flexibility→ Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Stress Tolerance→ Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Self Control→ Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation→ Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Independence→ Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Leadership→ Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Concern for Others→ Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Recognition→ Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Achievement→ Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions→ Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.