At the cutting edge of technology, Army Laboratory Science Officers often work in medical research and development labs, medical centers, clinical labs, and blood banks and forensic toxicology labs in the U.S. and overseas. At the forefront of medical research, these Officers have a primary focus of researching drugs and vaccines that will protect Soldiers against diseases and chemical and biological warfare agents.

There are four broad biomedical career fields that are available to Army Laboratory Science Officers: biochemistry, clinical laboratory, microbiology and research psychology. Your academic training can be in medical technology, biochemistry, physiology, chemistry, toxicology, clinical microbiology, parasitology, immunology, molecular biology, research psychology or related biomedical and physical science fields.

To qualify for an appointment as a Laboratory Scientist in the Army Medical Service Corps, you must:

• Have a minimum of a master's degree to fulfill clinical duties if you'll be pursuing either biochemistry or microbiology as a career specialty
• Have a doctoral degree in order to work in research and development
• Have medical technology training and be certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) or the National Certification Agency for Medical Laboratory Personnel (NCAMLP) in order to pursue a career as a Clinical Laboratory Officer as a Medical Technologist
• Have a doctoral degree if you're pursuing research psychology graduate training programs, which are generally available on a competitive basis