Biotechnology Institute
News Digest
September/October 2007
The News Digest looks at the world of biotechnology education, with Biotechnology Institute news, links to recent biotechnology education articles and a schedule of upcoming events. The News Digest is published by the Biotechnology Institute, the national organization dedicated to biotechnology education.
In this issue:
- Minority Leadership and Career Development Program Announced
- Developing Biotechnology’s Women Leaders
- Stem Cell Workshop for Massachusetts Teachers
- Minority Fellows Program Applications Now Accepted
- Genome Workshop at Biology Teachers Conference
- Genome Resource Guide Now Available
- Operation Biotech Turns to Chemistry
- Biotechnology Education News Headlines
Minority Leadership and Career Development Program Announced
The Biotechnology Institute will host the Minority Leadership and Career Development Training Program at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Austin, TX, November 7-10. The professional development and career training sessions will provide graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career scientists with the opportunity to develop job-seeking skills that can lead to successful industry employment as research scientists, entrepreneurs, and business professionals. Participants will undergo intensive training in the areas of interviewing techniques, case study management, and networking skills. Over the course of the training, each participant will have an opportunity to practice career-building skills and learn more about the differences between university and industry research positions. The activities of the Leadership Training Program coupled with research presented at 2007 ABRCMS will provide participants with the career development they need to further enable successful entry into the professional scientific workforce. Genentech is the sponsor of the program.
The application deadline date is October 5. For information and to download the application visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/MinorityLeadershipProgram.html.
Developing Biotechnology’s Women Leaders
The Biotechnology Institute is partnering with Nektar, a biopharmaceutical company based in San Carlos, CA, to deliver a leadership training program for women biotechnology professionals. “BioNOW” will allow participants to develop skills that can lead to executive level industry positions as research scientists, business managers, HR officials, and other types of senior management roles. Participants will undergo facilitated training in the areas of interviewing techniques, case study management, and networking skills. Over the course of each training activity, participants will have an opportunity to practice career-building skills and learn more techniques on how to create competitive resumes, meet critical decision-makers, and attract and retain career mentors. The program is available to any woman who is currently employed in a biotechnology or biopharmaceutical company and is interested in professional development training from career pathways to executive management. The program will be held November 29-30 in San Carlos, CA.
The application deadline is October 12. For more information and an application, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/BioNow.html.
Stem Cell Workshop in Massachusetts
The Biotechnology Institute will present a workshop for teachers titled “Exploration of Teaching Stem Cells” at the Massachusetts STEM Summit IV: Accelerating Forward, which will be held October 17 in Sturbridge, MA. Sponsored by Millipore Corporation, this workshop will be presented for teachers who are alumni of the Institute's National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program or MassBioEd's BioTeach program. Participants will hear from and discuss the teaching of stem cells with leading science education experts and scientists.
For more about the STEM Summit, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/events/event_list.php.
Applications Being Accepted for Minority Fellows Program
Applications are now being accepted for the Minority Fellows Program, which pairs graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty from underserved populations at colleges and universities with industry Mentors. Fellows are introduced to the biotechnology industry during the Biotechnology Institute's Conference on Biotechnology Education, where Mentors and Fellows attend sessions on new and emerging technologies, mentoring, scientific content updates, and field visits to local industry and research facilities. All Fellows attend the BIO Annual International Convention. The program continues with a year of mentoring. Companies that have provided mentors are Amgen, Exelixis, Novartis, Genzyme, Pharmanet, and several law firms involved in the development of patent law and intellectual property.
The application deadline date is December 1. For information and to download the application visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/minority_fellows_program.html.
Genome Workshop at Biology Teachers’ Conference
The Biotechnology Institute is partnering with the Fernbank Science Center of DeKalb County, GA, to deliver a professional development workshop for middle school, high school and college science teachers. The free workshop will be held November 28 at the Professional Development Conference of the National Association of Biology Teachers, which will be held November 28 to December 1 in Atlanta, GA. The workshop will be based on Genome: The Secret of How Life Works, a teachers resource guide that’s vital reference tool on genomics for biotechnology teachers that has been recently been published by the Biotechnology Institute.
For more about Genome: The Secret of How Life Works, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/resources/genome.html.
Genome Teacher’s Resource Guide Now Available
Genome: the Secret of How Life Works, a vital reference tool on genomics for biotechnology teachers, has recently been published by the Biotechnology Institute. The 112-page, full-color guide is full of hands-on activities that have been welcomed for their simplicity and for using low-cost, easily found equipment and materials. The activities are written at the upper elementary level through high school, but are easily modified for all ages. All the activities in the Teacher’s Resource Guide have been field-tested nationally in elementary, middle, and high schools and science and museum centers. Background material on the related science, as well as pedagogical information, is included, allowing teachers to choose information tailored to their levels of experience and expertise.
The guide is funded through a grant from the Pfizer Foundation to support a five-year professional development initiative for teachers in conjunction with the Pfizer, Inc. exhibit, Genome: The Secret of How Life Works. The discounted price for teachers is $25, a fraction of the cost of producing the field-tested guide. Orders of six or more book receive a 20% discount.
For more information, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/resources/genome.html.
Operation Biotechnology Turns to Chemistry
The US Department of Education-funded program, Operation Biotechnology, is now being moved into second year and will focus on chemistry. New lessons, based on the Institute's NSF-funded Shoestring Biotechnology curriculum, are being piloted with chemistry teachers in Chicago Public Schools. The inquiry approach is being enhanced and the coverage of the nature of science concepts is being increased in partnership with the faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Part of Operation Biotechnology included training of a national contingent of biology teachers during the Institute 2007 Conference on Biotechnology Education, held earlier this year in Boston. Those teachers are this school year implementing the biology focused units into their classes. They are also conducting curriculum implementation workshops with their colleagues.
For more information about Operation Biotechnology, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/OperationBiotechnology.html.
Biotechnology Education News Headlines
Below is recent biotechnology education news. See more news at http://www.biotechinstitute.org/news/.
'City Lab' in Nauset, MA, to Spread Word on Biotechnology. Future scientists and researchers at Nauset Regional High School took a journey on a bus this week. A learning journey, that is. About 115 students studied with their science teachers on the 40-foot City Lab mobile laboratory, part of the statewide BioTeach high school education program sponsored by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, the Boston University School of Medicine and several other science and education institutions. (Cape Cod Times, 9/14/07.)
Genzyme Awards Community Grants. Genzyme Corporation announced that it awarded more than $85,000 in community grants and sponsorships in the third quarter of this year to support 11 non-profit organizations located in areas throughout the United States where Genzyme has operations. The grants are designed to further science education and access to health programs and are consistent with Genzyme's commitment to encouraging innovation in science and addressing areas of unmet medical need. Genzyme is also a co-sponsor of the Biotechnology Institute's Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award. (CSR Newswire, 9/10/07.)
College Lab's Training Fits Well with Colorado Bioscience Jobs. Richard Sullivan may have a head start on some of his classmates starting a Ph.D. program in molecular biology because of skills he gained - at a community college. For the past 13 years, Community College of Aurora has been offering hands-on training in what it's like to work in a professional laboratory. The community college has built a biotechnology laboratory that rivals some four-year schools' and is similar to lab setups found at national research centers and startup companies. Students rarely get to see, let alone work in, labs with such advanced equipment, such as a DNA sequencer, so early in their academic careers. (Denver Post, 9/10/07.)
Biotech High School Program Celebrates First Year. Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and local school and state officials gathered Friday at John Muir High School to celebrate the first year of a new program that gives middle and high school students hands-on biotechnology experience. The Biotech Pathways Project is a product of a 2005 state bill that set aside $20 million for education in technical careers. A collaboration between Pasadena City College, Moorpark College and College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, the Biotech Pathways Project received a grant of nearly $500,000 from the state fund for an initial two-year effort to bring biotech into local schools. (Whittier Daily News, 8/23/07.)
Courses Gear Students Toward Biotechnology Jobs. They swished the Gatorade around in their mouths like it was mouthwash, trying to remove enough cells from inside their cheeks while also trying to keep from laughing--and squirting the liquid out. It was the beginning of an exercise on DNA in Tom Smith's biotechnology class in Waterford, Michigan,--a class officials hope will spur more students to consider careers in that field. This class is part of a summer of coursework offered to students by Oakland Schools, Oakland County's intermediate school district, that is designed to expose them to so-called emerging career fields. (Detroit Free Press, 8/7/07.)
If you enjoy the News Digest, please forward a copy to friends and colleagues. To unsubscribe from this mailing, please send an email to news@biotechinstitute.org with the subject line “unsubscribe.”
For more about the News Digest and to sign up for a free subscription, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/news/news_dig.html.
|
