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takyon writes:

Why gene editing could create so many jobs

As more treatments that rely on gene editing move from research laboratories into hospitals around the world, the demand for the skilled genetic engineers who make it possible is expected to soar. The UK government predicts there could be more than 18,000 new jobs created by gene and cell therapy in Britain alone by 2030, while the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates it will see a 7% increase in jobs for biomedical engineers and a 13% increase in medical scientists, together accounting for around 17,500 jobs.

But there will also be a need for people away from the laboratory bench, including those who can help make sense of the huge amounts of data that will be generated as medical treatment becomes increasingly personalised to patients' individual genomes.

"Gene therapy is rapidly becoming an accepted and growing part of the medical research and development industry," says Michele Calos, president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and a professor of genetics at Stanford University. "The growth of established and new gene therapy companies is expected to be accompanied by an increase in jobs, as these companies recruit scientists to staff their expanded operations.

"The gene therapy industry requires a range of graduates, with backgrounds in scientific fields like genetics, medicine, molecular biology, virology, bioengineering and chemical engineering, as well as business graduates."

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