Health and Biomedical Sciences

Cottey offers a BS in health and biomedical sciences.

Program Description

The health and biomedical sciences program at Cottey College is designed to serve students who intend to enter a health science career or seek an advanced degree in biomedical sciences.

In our diverse and supportive environment, students develop their potential through engagement in a broad variety of learning opportunities, including academic coursework in the sciences and mathematics; participation in research, internships, and service-learning; attendance at conferences; completion of seminar courses and a senior capstone project; and an optional international experience.

Through completion of our program, you will

Gain scientific knowledge and use it to form questions, propose hypotheses, develop experiments, and analyze results.
Demonstrate an understanding of ethics, individual and group behavior, social inequities, and human dignity.
Use verbal, non-verbal, written and visual forms of communication to convey information and build relationships.

Research Program

Undergraduate Research Opportunity

Dr. Manjira Kumar also has a research program that allows a few students each year to conduct high-level laboratory research.

The project is ongoing and focuses on over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen and their links to algal bloom, infertility in men, and other harmful effects from NSAIDs polluting waterways.

Research Program

Signature Courses

HBS 390 Health & Biomedical Sciences Seminar III

Presents an introduction to professional skills, including protection of human research participants; institutional review board protocols; bioethics of laboratory research; the creation of CVs, resumes, and cover letters; searching for jobs and/or graduate programs; creation of job/program applications; and interviewing.
HBS 410 Principles of Medical Diagnostics

This course presents basic principles of current medical diagnostic methods and the scientific principles behind those methods. Will include topics such as protemic mass spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and FRET, and the applications of these spectroscopic techniques in the diagnosis of disease.
HBS/BIO 440 Molecular Mechanism of Disease

Provides insight into how molecular studies can be employed to expand medical research and aid in the development of novel treatments and therapeutics. The course will cover a number of areas selected by the participants. Possible topics include neurodegenerative disorders, prion diseases, cancer, and diabetes.

Career Outcomes

Career Outcomes
Students who choose to pursue a graduate degree in a health profession or the biomedical sciences have the ability to pursue careers in numerous fields related to health, including
- Medicine, MD or DO
- Pharmacy, PharmD
- Dentistry, DDM
- Veterinary Medicine, DVM
- Podiatry, DPM
- Optometry, OD
- Biomedical Research, M.S. or Ph.D.
- Biochemical Research, M.S. or Ph.D.
- Toxicology, M.S. or Ph.D.
- Medical Sales and Marketing, M.S. or Ph.D.

Students at Cottey College getting hands-on learning in the science lab

Why Cottey’s health and biomedical sciences program is unique.

The health sciences and biomedical sciences are not located in any single scientific discipline but are instead found at the intersections of biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The HBS program was created to reflect the reality that our students do not need an intense focus on any one of these areas, but instead they need a broader focus that includes all of them.

Due to our small class sizes, students in the health and biomedical sciences program are able to work closely with faculty in the biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and other departments as they progress through their coursework, participate in undergraduate research, and learn what it means to be practitioners of science.

We understand the importance of hands-on laboratory experiences. Our laboratory spaces are well-stocked so that all students routinely work with lab samples and research-quality scientific equipment and instrumentation. We understand the ways in which students learn from each other, and our lab spaces are designed to allow students to communicate and share with one another. Each year, a small number of students gain additional experience by working with our laboratory manager to help prepare the chemicals, biological samples, and equipment needed for each week’s lab sessions; perform standard maintenance of equipment and instrumentation; and generally help keep the laboratories in good working order.

As faculty, we love being with our students, and relish the opportunities to spend time with them as they move toward their future careers. We develop and participate in research and service-learning projects so students may gain knowledge and develop independence. We make it possible for students to attend professional conferences, which helps them gain an understanding of how they are part of the greater scientific and healthcare community.

Our series of seminar courses, I – III, are designed to help students gain the professional skills that will be needed in their future work:

Familiarity with the professional literature
Ability to use the knowledge this literature imparts
Ability to speak, listen, and communicate effectively in professional settings
Understanding of the differences in peoples’ lived experiences
Willingness to bridge the divide between the student and the people with whom they work