What do you need to major in to be a cancer researcher?

Answer:
Biochemistry. I am a junior majoring in this field of science and it is a GREAT pre-health degree. You learn so much about why things inside cells behave the way they do, what kinds of molecules can influence cells %26 why, and the scientific methods to learn more on your own. At my univeristy they even let undergraduates do health-related research in labs, one girl in biochemistry I knew grew her own stem cells to do research on.

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A medical degree never hurts. There are so many aspects to cancer that there isn't any one major that covers it all. Cancer is being studies by physicists (biophysics), chemists (organic chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry), and biologists (genetics, cell biology, microbiology). Pick a field that you like, and then see how it applies to cancer. I'm sure I haven't covered all the possibilities.

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It would help to know what science majors are available at your university, but I've made it with a major in biology. If you want to be more than a technician doing mundane work, meaning that if you want to have intellectual input towards the experiments you do, you'll also need to go to grad school for a PhD in cell biology/genetics/pathology.

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I would suggest a medical degree first, then after about twelve years if your still interested you'll know the answer without asking.

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