Can I get a PhD in genetics, molecular biology, or related subject without performing experiments on animals?
You would be hard-pressed to find an entire program that doesn’t use animal models at all; however, when you’re working toward a PhD, your research is based directly on your interaction with your mentor and very few others. If you can’t handle knowing that animal research is being done by people down the hall, any type of medical research probably isn’t for you. There ARE professors that don’t use whole animals in their labs, so you may be able to find someone that doesn’t expect or want you to do animal experiments; I know of one right off the top of my head. Also, many biochemistry/molecular biology type labs work with cell cultures instead of whole animals. If this isn’t an option either, you may still find something that works, such as bacterial work, but it will be much more difficult. These are things you’ll want to keep in mind when you’re applying to programs. I am working on my PhD and do medical research that requires me to work with animals, and there are times when it is di
