Biotechnology Institute News Digest


September/October 2006

The News Digest looks at the world of biotechnology education, with Institute news, links to recent articles and a schedule of upcoming events. The News Digest is published by the Biotechnology Institute, the national organization dedicated to biotechnology education.

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In this issue:

  • Education Conference Application Deadlines Announced
  • Webcast Highlights Partnerships with School Systems
  • Chicago Workshop Continues Education Legacy Initiative
  • Post Your Biotech Ed Event on Institute Website
  • Funders in the News
  • Institute People in the News
  • Biotechnology Education News Headlines
  • Events and Professional Development Sessions

Education Conference Application Deadlines Announced
Planning is already underway for the Biotechnology Institute’s 2007 Conference on Biotechnology Education, which will be held in Boston, May 3-6. The conference integrates the Institute’s core programs into a unique national conference that offers professional development sessions for teachers focused on best practices and linked to education and skill standards. For students, the conference offers a minority mentorship program and a research competition, both of which introduce them to the biotechnology industry.

To attend the Biotechnology Institute's Conference on Biotechnology Education, qualified teachers and students may apply through one of the Institute’s core programs. Application deadlines for the programs have just been announced. Mark your calendars with the deadlines below.

  • Minority & Indigenous Fellows Program (Application Deadline: December 1) The yearlong Minority and Indigenous Fellows Program pairs undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from underserved populations at colleges and universities with industry Mentors.
  • National Biotechnology Teacher–Leader Program (Application Deadline: February 2) The Teacher-Leader Program provides teachers with the skills, strategies and knowledge to spread awareness of biotechnology to their students and peers. Online application now available!
  • Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award (Application Deadline: February 16). The award recognizes exemplary educators at the high school level that have positively impacted students’ understanding of biotechnology.
  • BioDreaming Poster Competition (Submission Deadline: March 2). K-12 students are invited to submit a poster to showcase their artistic talent and their commitment to the public understanding of the promises and challenges of biotechnology.
  • sanofi-aventis International BioGENEius Challenge (regional competition dates vary). The challenge is an annual competition for high school students that recognizes outstanding research in biotechnology.

For information about the programs and the Conference on Biotechnology Education, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/events/annualconference/annual_conference.html

Webcast Highlights Partnerships with School Systems
Paul Hanle, president of the Biotechnology Institute, and Scott May, vice president for Systems and Curriculum, appeared August 24 on BioLive, the webcasting service of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. The webcast focused on the Institute’s Systems and Curriculum Program and how it is working with a small number of interested communities to create sustained and systemic biotechnology education programs in their regions at the K through 12 and college levels. Hanle and May discussed how local biotechnology companies, nonprofit organizations and foundations, government agencies, school systems, and academic institutions can partner with the Institute to advance biotechnology education in their communities at the school system level.

To view the webcast, see http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/school_systems_initiative.html.

 

Chicago Workshop Continues Legacy Initiative
In partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Biotechnology Institute conducted a professional development training program August 21-24 for 25 Chicago Public School (CPS) biology teachers from seven high schools that are involved in the High School Transformation Program underwritten by the Gates Foundation. The Biotechnology Institute has provided extensive training to a cadre of Chicago and Illinois teachers as part of the BIO 2006 Education Legacy Initiative, which was launched to have a lasting impact on education in Chicago and Illinois long after the BIO convention held in Chicago earlier this year. The Biotechnology Institute’s involvement in Chicago has been supported by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO); department director Jack Lavin welcomed the teachers to the workshop. Other speakers included Ray Williams, acting deputy director of IDCEO’s Bureau of Technology & Industrial Competitiveness; Dave Miller, president of the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization; and Dennis Sienko, president of Sienko and Associates, representing World Business Chicago. Invitrogen generously contributed an e-gel system to each of the seven schools to assist them in implementing biotechnology into their classrooms. The Education Legacy Initiative is part of the Institute’s School Systems Initiative. See more about the initiative at http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/school_systems_initiative.html

Post Your Biotech Ed Event on Institute Website
The Biotechnology Institute welcomes the submission of biotechnology education events to the "Events and Professional Development Sessions" calendar on its website. The “Events Calendar” is an effective method for promoting your biotechnology education conference, workshop, or meeting if it is targeted to teachers and students. To submit your event, go to http://www.biotechinstitute.org/news/intake.html.

 

Funders in the News

More than 2,000 employees from Invitrogen Corporation's 25 global offices headed into their communities on July 13 to improve the areas where they live and work. Invitrogen's Annual Global Volunteer Day, with the 2006 theme of "Invitrogen Goes Green," provides employees worldwide with a half-day of company time to participate in employee-organized volunteer activities. This has enabled the company to impart thousands of volunteer hours to dozens of organizations, moving its passion for philanthropy out of the office and into action. Invitrogen is a cosponsor of the Biotechnology Institute’s Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award. For information, about the award visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/biotecheducatoraward.html.

Genzyme Corporation announced that it awarded more than $250,000 in community grants in the first half of this year to support non-profit organizations located in areas where Genzyme has operations. The grants support programs relating to science education and health. Two of the non-profit organizations to receive funding support from Genzyme include Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, which received $7,500 to increase its collection of digitally-recorded science and technology textbooks in its central audio library, and The Guidance Center, Inc., which received $5,000 to help support its Universal Screening in Child Care program. Both organizations are based in Cambridge. In addition to the grants awarded to the Cambridge-area organizations, other major groups benefiting from Genzyme’s support include Massachusetts Science Fairs, BioTeach , and the Boston Children’s Museum. Genzyme is a co-sponsor of the Biotechnology Institute’s Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award. For information, about the award visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/biotecheducatoraward.html.

Chicago-based Xomix Ltd. and Roosevelt University recently held the 2006 Summer Biotechnology Institute, a six-week program for training high school students for jobs and further study in biotechnology. Sixteen Chicago high school students participated in the program. The program culminated on August 18 with an award ceremony held at Roosevelt University for the students and their families. Guest speakers included Kathy Frame, Biotechnology Institute vice president for educational programs; Dave Miller, president of the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization; and Roxanne Nava, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO). Started in 2003 by Xomix Ltd. and funded by the High Tech School-to-Work Program of IDCEO, the Summer Biotechnology Institute has been conducted since 2005 with Roosevelt University as an educational partner. Roosevelt University and Xomix Ltd., a biotechnology accelerator focused on intellectual property development, licensing, and commercialization of medical biotechnologies, were important supporters of the Biotechnology Institute’s 2006 Conference on Biotechnology Education, which was held at Roosevelt University, April 6-9. For more about the 2006 Conference on Biotechnology Education, see http://www.biotechinstitute.org/events/annualconference/2006conferencehighlights.html.

Institute People in the News

Irelene Ricks has joined the Biotechnology Institute as director of biotechnology talent. Ricks will oversee and expand the impact of the Institute’s Minority and Indigenous Fellows Program, a yearlong mentoring program sponsored by Amgen that pairs industry Mentors with Fellows who are undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral researchers from underserved populations at colleges and universities. Ricks will also lead the Institute’s initiatives to encourage development of a biotechnology workforce through two- and four-year college programs and to link those programs to industry.

Claire Cornell has joined the Institute as director of development. She will be managing the Institute’s fundraising efforts and developing federal and foundation grant proposals. Cornell’s arrival represents an important strengthening of the Institute’s capacity in non-corporate fundraising. Claire will shape and articulate projects that address the Institute’s mission by working closely with the rest of the Institute management team and responding to government and foundation mandates and priorities.

Biotechnology Education News Headlines

Below is recent biotechnology education news. See more news at http://www.biotechinstitute.org/news/.

Maine Tech Schools Branching Out to Biotechnology. Today's vocational schools have proven adept at changing to meeting the increasingly advanced educational needs of their students. They have become institutions that not only prepare students to pursue professions in traditional trades that require a high level of technical preparation, they are also offering courses that prepare students to advance in science careers like biotechnology. For example, in Augusta's Capital Area Technical Center, students enroll in the biotechnology program to study DNA fingerprinting, bacterial transformation and cloning. The course is hands-on and the skills students will learn are applicable to laboratory settings in research, medical school, or industry. (Portland Press Herald, 9/5/06.)
 

From ‘CSI’ to the Classroom. A new genetics curriculum will be introduced in all of Delaware’s public seventh-grade classrooms this year, affecting about 9,200 students. Its implementation follows a successful pilot program in five schools last year and is an attempt to answer Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s challenge to make Delaware a leading state in biotechnology. DuPont underwrote the curriculum, and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Delaware Biotechnology Institute also provided support. (The (Wilmington, DE) News Journal, 9/3/06.)

In Biotech Hubs, Labs Help Educate Non-Scientist Students. Knowledge of biotechnology by non-scientists has become essential in the Washington area's biotech hubs along the Dulles corridor in Northern Virginia and in the suburbs flanking Interstate 270 in Maryland. The region's lab scientists have trained teachers in the Montgomery school system and short courses accommodate the schedules of full-time workers in such fields as criminal justice and health policy. (The Washington Post, 8/28/06.)

Manitoba High School Biotech Program Receives Grant from Monsanto Fund. A Winnipeg, Manitoba science program aimed at bringing the concepts of modern biotechnology to high school students in Manitoba has been awarded a USD$150,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund. The Agricultural Biotechnology Enrichment (ABE) program--developed by Pembina Trails School Division science teacher Bob Adamson--was introduced to Manitoba high school students in 2001 and had previously received annual funding through Monsanto Canada's corporate giving program. Adamson, who teaches at Fort Richmond Collegiate, serves as ABE program director and Sheri Mackie, a science teacher at Vincent Massey High School, serve as the curriculum specialists. Adamson was the second place awardee of the 2005 Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award. (CCN Matthews Press Release, 8/24/06.)

Events and Professional Development Sessions

Below are upcoming biotechnology education events. See http://www.biotechinstitute.org/events/event_list.php for more events and information.

AGU Fall Meeting Session
NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration is convening a preplanned session at the 2006 AGU Fall meeting focusing on “New Marine Resources: Recent Findings, Challenges and Future Directions.” The session will include presentations of recent discoveries of new marine resources, including but not limited to, marine natural products exhibiting bioactivity, potential for pharmaceuticals, marine biotechnology, food additives, or gas hydrates. Additionally, participants will address future opportunities for discoveries of new marine resources: identifying challenges, benefits, and directions.

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