In November 1949, with the seminal paper, "Sickle Cell Anemia, a Molecular Disease", offering Science magazine, Linus Pauling, Harvey Itano and their collaborators laid the groundwork for establishing the field of molecular medicine.In 1956, Roger J. Williams wrote Biochemical Individuality, a prescient book about genetics, prevention and treatment of disease on a molecular basis, and nutrition which is now variously referred to as individualized medicine and orthomolecular medicine. Another paper in Science by Pauling in 1968, introduced and defined this view of molecular medicine that focuses on natural and nutritional substances used for treatment and prevention.
Molecular medicine is a new scientific discipline in European universities. Combining contemporary medical studies with the field of biochemistry, it offers a bridge between the two subjects. At present only a handful of the universe offers the course to undergraduates. With a degree in this discipline, the graduate is able to pursue a career in medical sciences, scientific research, laboratory work and postgraduate medical degrees.
Core subjects are similar to biochemistry courses and typically include gene expression, research methods, proteins, cancer research, immunology, biotechnology and much more. In some universities, molecular medicine is combined with another discipline such as clinical chemistry, molecular biology, metabolomics, medical physics etc. functioning as an additional study to enrich the undergraduate/ graduate programs.
​Want to pursue career in Medicine?