Episode L: I am a Molecular Biologist

The purpose of this post is to update you on my teaching duties, and to prevent the following conversation from occurring:

“So what kind of research do you do?”

“Well, I do molecular biology”

“Ooohh… sounds hard… boy, Microbiology, that’s impressive!”

Believe me, numerous conversations like this have in fact occurred. So the purpose of this brief post is to explain the significant difference between Microbiology (which I taught last semester) and Molecular Biology (which is what I research, and what I am currently teaching).

Microbiology

Microbiology is in essence the study of microscopic, often single-celled, organisms, such as bacteria, fungi (including yeast), and even viruses. Interesting experiments in microbiology could include things like: what makes Salmonella bacteria so pathogenic, and how can its outbreak be prevented? Or: how do I identify this unknown infectious organism that was found in this patient? Or: what are the ideal conditions for using yeast in bread making?

Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology, on the other hand, is concerned with biology at the molecular level, and processes that are involved at the cellular level, such as DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, and the interactions among these molecules. My lab, for instance, is interested in how various genes and proteins are involved in maintaining the cell’s ‘skeleton,’ and how these proteins can be persuaded to reorganize and induce the cell to move. The techniques in molecular biology are many and varied, but some of the most ubiquitous and important are DNA gels and Western blots (protein gels), shown here.

Caveat

Of course it is possible that one could perform Molecular Biology on microbes, in which case one would be studying both Molecular Biology and Microbiology. This, however, is not really the case for me. Therefore, I am merely a Molecular Biologist. Thank you for asking.