They train and supervise laboratory personnel and analyze research materials. They must also prepare reports. They study animal parasites and develop methods and agents to combat them. Medical scientists identify changes in cells and organisms. A medical scientist who works in cancer research might put together a combination of drugs that will lessen the effects of the disease.
Some medical scientists have medical degrees.
These scientists might then give the new drugs to patients in clinical trials. These clinical trials are tests to see how well a drug works. They monitor the reactions of patients to the drug, and observe the results. Medical scientists who do not have a medical degree normally work along with a medical doctor who deals with patients. Then the medical scientist might return to the laboratory to study the results.