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Asked by nucleardisciple to Clare, Mariana, Pedro, Robert, Susanne on 12 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by stfb.
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Clare Taylor answered on 12 Nov 2012:
Most of the research I have done so far has helped to increase our scientific knowledge and I hope it has helped other scientists have a better understanding of some things. I have been inspired by other scientists so I also hope that my work and what I do is an inspiration to other people especially young people like you – I’ve had lots of students and young people through my lab on work experience and projects who have told me that they enjoyed it so much that they decided to follow a science career, so I like to think that I have helped them to become the next generation of scientists.
I’ve also worked with some companies and helped them to do things better which indirectly helps everyone because it helps to make things like food products safer. I also lecture to students and I hope that I help them too, to give them knowledge and develop their skills so that they can build confidence in themselves and choose a career that they will enjoy.
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Susanne Muekusch answered on 13 Nov 2012:
Hi nucleardisciple,
No.
And that’s not only true for my research but for most of all research in all kind of fields. But the point is: it MIGHT help people in the future.
We are all knowledge gatherers and hope if we have gathered enough, we will get new insights on how to help people with cancer, for example. If it is important to you that you help people with your work, you probably don’t want to become a scientist. Your contribution will be small and there is no way in telling whether or not there will be a real benefit for patients based on your work.
Do you want to have a job where you help people?
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Mariana Campos answered on 14 Nov 2012:
I wouldn’t say so, not till now. Usually in research, specially when you do very fundamental research, like the one I do, it may take years, decades to become important to clinical science. Sometimes it never does. But the point is that, as Susanne said, it might, at some point. And before we try it it’s impossible to know what will help people in the future. So that’s why I think that even the research that might not look like it will be useful for medicine in a couple of years time is still very important. What do you think? Should we restrict ourselves to something that would help people tomorrow or should we plan to a longer future?
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Robert Insall answered on 18 Nov 2012:
Not yet.
The thing we just discovered will help a bunch of people, though, because we’ve worked out the way doctors treat some patients is wrong. In the future those few patients will be treated better, and some of them will survive, because of the work my group has been done.
I won’t get to meet them, and they won’t know about my work, but they will get to see their children graduate or their grandchildren be born or to do things they wouldn’t have.
Comments
Robert commented on :
PS – I see from your page you want to be a scientist – GO FOR IT!!!!