A biologist is a scientist who studies living things, such as animals, plants, bacteria, and how they interact with each other and their environment. Biologists can specialize in many areas, from cells to entire ecosystems.
From “biology” plus the person-ending “-ist,” meaning someone who practices or is expert in a field. “Biology” itself comes from Greek “bios” (life) and “-logia” (study).
Biologists can spend their days doing wildly different things: diving with coral reefs, programming simulations, or staring at cells through microscopes. The common thread is curiosity about how living systems manage to stay alive.
Biology as a profession historically excluded women from formal roles, even as they contributed as assistants, illustrators, or unpaid researchers. The term “biologist” is neutral, but public images of biologists have often been male.
Use “biologist” as a gender-neutral term and avoid assuming a biologist is male. Highlight contributions from biologists of all genders when giving examples.
["biology researcher","life scientist"]
Many women biologists made foundational discoveries but were denied positions, funding, or authorship equal to their male peers.
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