Careers

Laboratory Medicine graduates are qualified medical scientists who are employed in clinical diagnostic laboratories of hospitals, public and private pathology laboratories, medical and biological research laboratories, secondary and tertiary education, forensics, and veterinary medicine. They also work for biotechnology, medical supply and pharmaceutical companies as product specialists and in research and development.

With the current expansion of gene and DNA technology, biotechnology expertise is in demand and graduates are employed by hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, research organisations, government and in business. The UniSA medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology program prepares students for a career in any area of the medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology industry, including drug formulation and production, nanotechnology, genomic technologies, molecular pathogenesis and diagnosis of disease, biotechnology commercialisation, bioinformatics (the application of IT to biological science) and bioethics.

Many opportunities exist for qualified food scientists and nutritionists in Adelaide, interstate and around the world. Graduates are employed by breweries and wineries, soy and dairy manufacturers, confectionary companies, bakeries, snack food manufacturers, beverage manufacturers, meat and seafood processors, as well as a range of allied technical and support industries. Depending on specialisations and postgraduate pathways chosen, studying nutrition and food sciences at UniSA can also lead to research work, policy evaluation in public health, and providing nutrition support and advice to medical and health foundations.

Pharmaceutical scientists are employed by hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, research organisations, government and regulatory agencies. UniSA pharmaceutical science graduates will have the skills to work in a variety of areas within the pharmaceutical industry, including drug discovery, formulation and evaluation; manufacturing, quality control and clinical trials; and sales, marketing and commercialisation.

Pharmacy graduates enjoy a range of career options working in community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, government and regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, research and academia. Many graduates go on to own their own pharmacies, and some work as private consultants. Internationally, UniSA graduates have gone on to work in the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.

UniSA’s postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy programs are designed to improve the skills and career prospects of qualified pharmacists. The programs train clinical pharmacists capable of providing specialist pharmaceutical services in hospitals and other clinical environments. Graduates will be able to take a leading role in the decision making process of drug and drug product selection for individual patients, provide specialist drug information and education programs to patients and health care providers, effectively monitor a patient's therapy and critically evaluate clinical research.

Studying Surgical Pathology Preparation opens up career opportunities for medical scientists and technicians working in diagnostic laboratories. While in the past pre-assessment and macroscopic selection of tissue samples in anatomical pathology laboratories was performed by medical pathologists, recent changes to national guidelines mean that suitably experienced technicians are now permitted to carry out such procedures. The UniSA program gives graduates the skills they need to take on such specialised work.