Biogerontologists study the aging process at different levels and using different techniques and models. If you would like to do research on the biological process of aging and/or you are a student thinking about pursuing a career as a biogerontologist then this brief essay is for you.
Key words: age-related diseases, gerontology, gerontologists
By and large, biogerontologists work at research institutions, typically universities or laboratories, though a few also work in the industry and a few companies research aging. The vast majority of biogerontologists have a PhD (or sometimes an MD or both), so if you want to become a biogerontologist you should be prepared to go to graduate or medical school. While it is possible to study aging in a private company or as a staff member of a research institution, the majority of well-known biogerontologists have their own research group at a research institution. Again, you can certainly contribute to research on aging in a variety of ways and even without making of it your main job, yet if you are serious about becoming a biogerontologist and doing independent research at the highest level then this usually implies developing an academic career.
You will find many resources on pursuing an academic career on the Internet. Briefly, an academic career is highly competitive and usually entails having good grades in high school (particularly in science classes), getting a bachelor's degree with honors and later a doctoral degree (and maybe a master's degree in between, though I normally don't recommend it), obtaining strong recommendation letters from advisors, and eventually developing a publication record, teaching, and securing grants. If you are a student, you should have a counselor at your institution that can guide you through the process.
One major doubt of students is which topics they should study to prepare themselves for a career in biogerontology. Because aging is a biological process I would suggest that you include biology courses in your education. With the sequencing of the human genome and recent progress in the genetics of aging and longevity, I would also recommend some basic knowledge of genetics. Nevertheless, many different techniques and skills can be employed to study aging. There are physicists, physicians, engineers, biologists, geneticists, computer scientists, mathematicians, and many other different professionals studying aging right now. Therefore, my advice is for you to learn different skills, understand the science of aging, and focus on the area you find more exciting or more adequate to your personal situation. (As a side note, I would also recommend you develop good communication skills, both written and oral, as these are crucial not only in academia but in many other careers as well.) In the end, remember that who you are is more important than what you learn. To quote Einstein: "Creativity is more important than knowledge."
Even though my opinion might be biased, I definitely think my essays on the biology of aging are an excellent introduction to anyone wishing to pursue a career in biogerontology. Nonetheless, I also suggest you take a look at my book recommendations since there may be other sources that better fit your personal tastes.
As an undergraduate, I would recommend you gain some research experience. This might also help you decide whether doing research is the career for you. For example, you can do an internship in a research group and often your college or counselor will help you arrange this.
Similar to the point made above about how there is no right topic to study, there is no right school. Assuming your priority is research on aging then having a PhD has advantages over having an MD since it is difficult to balance research and clinical work, but more often than not this is a personal choice and many people enjoy clinical work. The US and European systems are slightly different in regard to graduate and medical schools. For example, graduate students in the US usually take longer to receive their PhDs. I'm European and I normally would not recommend for an European to get his/her PhD in the US, but like many other suggestions in this essay this is often a personal decision.
Once you become more familiar with research in general you will start reading academic papers. The main bibliographical database in the biomedical sciences in PubMed and you will need to become familiar with it at some point in your career, possibly in high school or college.
At some point before going to graduate school, it is important for students to start identifying those researchers in the field whose work they most admire. This can be done through their publications, though often it is difficult for beginners to search through the massive archive that is PubMed. Therefore, I would also advise you to look at the list I maintain of researchers working on aging, which also includes links to the researchers' websites (if available) and links to PubMed that allow you to more quickly find relevant publications by each of the researchers.
Overall, working on aging has its challenges, such as the lack of adequate models of human aging and a lack of funding (even when compared to other biomedical disciplines). Salary-wise, working in the academia is not the wisest career choice. Scientists usually do research because they love it, not because they want to become millionaires. On the other hand, since the field of aging is still largely mysterious with many unanswered questions, bright young minds have a great opportunity to make important contributions to science by studying aging. I hope you will be one of those minds and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions not covered in this essay.
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