Will I be missing out on much if I cannot work with mice for cancer research?

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My lab I uses mice somewhat but I may be allergic, will I be missing out on much, particular cancer research?

 

[Halfling]

My lab I uses mice somewhat but I may be allergic, will I be missing out on much, particular cancer research?

I think this depends on you. If you enjoying doing research being allergic shouldn't really stop you. [I'm allergic to mice/rats and have been working with them for 2 years. You can always put on a mask, wear gloves and a lab coat when you handle them.]

If you feel like you don't really enjoy it, then I'm sure you can do other stuff that will still help you.

This is what I think, and I like doing research so I may be a bit biased. It's all up to you. All I'm saying is that you can still do it if you want and if you're allergic (like me 🙂)

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

My lab I uses mice somewhat but I may be allergic, will I be missing out on much, particular cancer research?

Yes, you'll miss out on some things. But you can still get a great research experience without working with animals. A lot of research starts off with cell culture and wet lab work (ie. running gels, etc). Promising results in the dish can then move on to animal models. So you can still be involved in meaningful research without working with mice. Find an area of research you're passionate about and you'll enjoy the work without worrying about missing out on things. Good luck!

 

[DaisyBuchanan]

Everyone in my lab is allergic to the mice we work with. Apparently it's a very easy allergy to develop. If you feel like you're missing out, take one of the better OTC allergy medications. I think they're worth working with if your allergies aren't too terrible, and since you say you "may" be allergic, I'm guessing they aren't 🙂

 

[CoolWhipp]

Yes, you will be missing out.

 

[Raziela]

I'm not sure why everyone is convinced the OP is missing out. I have been working in a cancer lab for over a year now, and I am very happily doing culture only work. No. You don't need to work with the mice to have a great research experience, unless the lab you are in ONLY does mouse work.

 

[DancinSarah]

It depends on what your lab does. Is your lab 100% based on mice? If so, you would be missing out on a lot as I'd imagine you'd be restricted to computer work, with the only wet work being perhaps dissection of tumors that have already been harvested. There are a lot of cancer labs that do other things such as cell culture in which case you can do quite a bit. I have been working in cancer bench research full time for several years now and I have never worked with mice, even though there are some other people in the lab that do mice work 100% of the time.

Again, it depends on your particular lab and what they do.

 

[DrYoda]

If you're allergic enough where you can't work with them you might miss out in particular labs.

But the correct general statement is: no you will not miss out. There is cancer research that does not involve mice. I'm not sure why all these people think you will be missing out.