Biotechnology Institute
News Digest
March/April 2008
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:
- Education Secretary to Keynote Education Awards Banquet
- Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award Applications Accepted
- Shoestring Biotechnology Manual on Sale
- Partnering with Bayer to Inspire Students in Bay Area
- Panel on Biotech Technician Education
- Biotech Educator Alumni Conference Announced
- Biotechnology Education News Headlines
Education Secretary to Keynote Education Awards Banquet
M
argaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education, will be the keynote speaker at the Biotechnology Institute’s Annual Biotechnology Education Banquet, to be held June 16 in San Diego, CA. The banquet is the signature networking event of the Institute’s International Conference on Biotechnology Education, the nation’s premier professional development program for biotechnology teachers, students and their supporters in the biotechnology community. The conference will be held June 14-19 in San Diego. Other highlights of the banquet include presentation of the Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award, which recognizes educators who serve as models for their colleagues on how to incorporate biotechnology into the classroom. The winning posters from the Lilly BioDreaming Poster Competition, which encourages K-12 students across the nation to use their artistic talents to create posters that showcase their understanding of the promise and challenges of biotechnology, will also be on display. The banquet is sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which will be holdings its International Convention in San Diego, June 17-20.
For registration information, visit www.biotechinstitute.org/banquet.
Applications Being Accepted for Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award
Applications are now being accepted for the Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award. The award recognizes exemplary educators at the high school level that have positively impacted students’ understanding of biotechnology. The program showcases outstanding biotechnology Teacher-Leaders who have participated in the Institute’s National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program. The National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program is building a network of dedicated advisors, or "Teacher-Leaders", committed to teaching biotechnology to students and serving as a resource for other teachers. Through professional development, resources and other support materials, the Teacher-Leader Program provides teachers with the skills, strategies and knowledge to spread awareness of biotechnology. The application deadline for the Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award is April 18.
For information, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/biotecheducatoraward.html.
Shoestring Biotechnology Manual on Sale
Shoestring Biotechnology, the premier laboratory manual that provides low-cost, practical, teacher-tested activities for high- schools and two-year colleges to support the integration of biotechnology into the classroom, is now available for purchase on the Institute’s website. Published by the Biotechnology Institute and in conjunction with the National Association of Biology Teachers, the manual provides the basis for the teacher professional development programs that the Biotechnology Institute conducts around the nation. Cost of the comprehensive 312-page manual is $40.
For information, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/yourworld/index.php#sourcebook1
Partnering with Bayer to Inspire Students in Bay Area
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the San Francisco Bay Area’s second-largest biotechnology employer, and the Biotechnology Institute, the national biotechnology education organization, will launch an intensive program this spring to teach and inspire local young people to consider careers in science and technology. The two-pronged program will focus on students from less advantaged communities. The partnership will establish the “Bayer Minority Fellows Program,” a mentoring program pairing Bayer scientists and executives with ten top-quality graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in life sciences disciplines. Bayer Minority Fellows will be selected from universities with proximity to Bayer’s West Coast facilities including Washington State, northern California, and San Diego. The program, modeled after the Institute’s national Minority Fellows Program, will kick off with a two-day training session, to be held April 24-25, 2008, at Bayer’s global biotech headquarters in Berkeley, CA. The Bayer partnership with the Biotechnology Institute also includes professional development for teachers in November.
For information, visit http://www.biotechinstitute.org/programs/BayerFellows2008.html.
Enhancing Biotechnology Technician Education
The National Science Foundation is sponsoring a conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, April 28-30, 2008, on biotechnology technician education. Because the biotechnology industry is growing and changing rapidly, community colleges, in close association with businesses and industry, universities, professional associations, and government, must educate versatile technicians who can meet present and future needs for technicians in all areas of biotechnology. Biotechnology areas for discussion include health/medical, industrial/environmental, education, food/agriculture, and emerging areas. The conference will to involve 50 key individuals from all sectors. Scott May, Biotechnology Institute’s Senior Vice President for Education Programs, has been an advisor to NSF as it plans this meeting. He will facilitate the education panel at the conference. James C. Greenwood, President of BIO, will be a keynote speaker.
Biotechnology Educator Alumni Conference
The first San Diego County Biotechnology Educator Alumni Conference, sponsored by Amylin, will be held at San Diego City College, on June 16. The workshop will feature the following sessions:
- The latest research being done in biotechnology at some of the leading San Diego County biotech companies
- Poster session about best practices in biotechnology education in Southern California
- Introduction to new biotechnology curriculum and online resources
- Networking with other educators who are committed to teaching students the fundamental science of biotechnology
- Participation in the Biotechnology Institute’s Biotechnology Education Awards Banquet, featuring U.S Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings as the keynote speaker.
The San Diego County Biotechnology Educator Alumni Conference will provide attendees with enhanced knowledge about biotechnology education. It will also connect the educators who are engaged in biotech education in the county so that they can share best practices. Participants will become involved with a county-wide initiative that is being launched to bring biotechnology science literacy to all county students.The attendees will be San Diego County educators who are alumni of the Biotechnology Institute’s National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program and the Life Sciences Summer Institute. This event is being presented by the Biotechnology Institute, BIOCOM Institute, and the San Diego Workforce Partnership and it is being held in conjunction with the Biotechnology Institute’s International Conference on Biotechnology Education and the BIO International Convention.
Biotechnology Education News Headlines
Below is recent biotechnology education news. See more news at http://www.biotechinstitute.org/news/.
Parkinson's Research Sends Burlington, NC, Student to China. After spending last summer researching a protein that's significant in Parkinson's disease, writing a research paper about it and presenting it to educators, a Burlington teen is heading to China to share what she's learned.Melanie Wiley, 18, who currently attends the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, is one four students from the state representing the American delegation in Beijing, China this week at the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition. On March 14, Wiley won third place for the research in the biotechnology section at the N.C. Student Academy of Science competition. (Burlington Times News, 3/21/08.)
Distance Learning About Biotech. A cake isn't just a tasty treat. It's also a science experiment full of chemical reactions and molecular structures. Through the ACCESS Distance Learning program, teachers across Alabama recently got to watch a lesson on the science of cooking, including a group at Bob Jones High School. From Montgomery, Dr. Daniel Adamek and Judy Brown prepared 14 cakes, with variations in each cake's ingredients, to show how teachers can talk about science in what can seem like just an everyday activity. Brown, a state education specialist and a former culinary arts teacher at Bob Jones, said she had been working on the Savory Science& lesson since September. It is the first in what she hopes will be a series of distance learning programs. Adamek, who is with AZ Technologies in Huntsville, worked with Brown to develop their cake experiments, write the script for the ACCESS broadcast and to write a lesson plan teachers can use in their classes. About 80 teachers took part in the first lesson, heading to Bob Jones and eight other ACCESS sites after school. Huntsville's HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology did the filming for Savory Science free of charge. (Huntsville Times, 3/17/08.)
Invitrogen Launches Philanthropic Foundation. Invitrogen Corporation, a provider of essential life science technologies for research, production and diagnostics, today announced the launch of the Invitrogen Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organization aimed at increasing participation in and understanding of the life sciences among students, teachers, scientific professionals and the public. Invitrogen has granted an initial $1 million to the Foundation and plans to provide additional funding in the future. (Business Wire, 2/22/08.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
|
