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 Biotechnology Institute News DigestSeptember 2004 Each month, the News Digest looks at the world of biotechnology and biotechnology education, with links to current articles, Institute news and a schedule of upcoming events. The News Digest is published by the Biotechnology Institute, the national organization dedicated to biotechnology education. Headlines:
Biotechnology Institute Launches California Biotechnology Workforce Development Initiative Biotechnology executives, community college leaders and state policy makers kicked-off the first meeting of the Biotechnology Workforce Development and Community Colleges in California Program at the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences in Claremont, California on September 17. Richard J. Riordan, Secretary for Education in California, gave the keynote address to an audience that included industry representatives and state community college faculty and administrators. The program featured two panels: The first included state community college leaders Dr. Tim Dong, retired President of MiraCosta College, Dr. Maureen Harrigan, Associate Professor, Moorpark College Industrial Biotechnology Program and Mary Pat Huxley, Director, California Community Colleges Biotechnology Initiative, who discussed their efforts to meet the industry’s workforce needs. The second panel had industry executives, including Dr. David Broad, Vice President of Manufacturing at Biogen Idec, Anthony Caracciolo, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at Gilead Sciences, Inc., and Paul Marshall, Vice President of Recombinant Protein Manufacturing at Baxter BioScience, who shared their expectations of and experiences with community college workforce development programs. The goal of the new program, directed by the Biotechnology Institute with sponsor Gilead Sciences, is to develop an awareness among employers that today’s community colleges are producing graduates with the hands-on skills needed for jobs in manufacturing and R & D, and to alert community colleges to the current and future needs of companies. By focusing on best practices and the hiring requirements of biotechnology companies, the program will foster dialog, partnerships, and action among the biotechnology industry, community colleges, and state policy makers. For more information, contact the Biotechnology Institute at 703.248.8681. Fall Issue of Your World Coming to Classrooms in October…Is It Coming to Yours? Your World combines balanced, in-depth information on a single biotechnology topic with an online teacher’s guide, correlations to the National Science Education Standards, tips on how to use the magazine and additional labs and exercises. Published bi-annually by the Biotechnology Institute, Your World is an indispensable tool for bringing biotech to life in the classroom! Click here to start your subscription today and to order back issues. Planning for Institute’s Annual Conference on Biotech Education Underway Planning for the Institute’s 2005 Conference on Biotechnology Education in Philadelphia is in full-force. Kathy Frame, Vice President of Educational Programs at the Biotechnology Institute, co-chairs the Outreach & Education Committee of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Committee members help organize and coordinate the event each year. The committee will hold monthly meetings in Philadelphia in advance of the Institute’s Conference on Biotechnology Education, which is slated for June 17-19, 2005, immediately prior to the BIO International Annual Convention. The Institute’s annual conference is comprised of several programs, including a professional development program for biotechnology educators called the National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program, an industry mentoring program for Minority and Indigenous Fellows, the Aventis International BioGENEius Challenge, the BioDreaming Poster competition and the National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Award. Activities range from hands-on labs and workshops to tours of local biotech companies. Please contact Kathy Frame, 703.248.8681 or kframe@biotechinstitute.org for more information. To apply for a program, click here to download an application. Upcoming Events October 9 & 10, 2004: Biotechnology Institute Genome Workshop for teachers, at the New Detroit Science Center, Detroit, Mich. The Biotechnology Institute is conducting two, one-day professional development workshops to accompany the traveling museum exhibit Genome: The Secret Of How Life Works funded by Pfizer, Inc. Each workshop provides teachers with hands-on lab experience, the Genome issue of Your World magazine and teacher’s guide, draft copy of the Genome Resource Teacher’s Guide, a virtual tour of the exhibit online and certificate of participation. To enroll, click here. The application deadline is October 7. The program is funded through a grant from the Pfizer Foundation. October 26, 2004: Laboratories of Innovation at Gilead Sciences, Foster City, starting at 4PM. BayBio joins with the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the California Healthcare Institute to bring you this Northern California perspective on the recently released report, Laboratories of Innovation, including a program keynoted by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. All 50 U.S. states now have biotechnology strategies and economic development incentives, and many are targeting California's most successful companies for expansion. Join us in a close-up examination of Northern California's biotech success and prospects for the future. For more information, visit the Laboratories of Innovation. To register, please click here. November 11-13, 2004: California Institute of Technology (Caltech) will be hosting its annual GradPreview@Caltech. Caltech is extending an invitation to high-achieving college sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are traditionally underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. The program is specifically designed for students interested in continuing their graduate study in biology, engineering or chemistry. The deadline for applications is September 30, 2004. Click here for more information. Biotechnology News Headlines The following selection of news stories appeared in scientific journals this month. The Institute staff thought these articles would be of particular interest to our teacher and student readership. Enjoy! Associated Press, September 28, 2004, In development: A nasal spray to fight obesity Could squirting a little medicine up the nose before mealtime be the Holy Grail for people trying to shed pounds? Pharmaceutical giant Merck appears to be betting on it, with a multimillion-dollar partnership with a company that last year began small-scale testing of a nasal spray drug designed to make the stomach feel full faster. Click here for the complete story. Seattle Times, September 24, 2004, Adding women's voices to debates over bioethics Kathryn Hinsch's fascination with bioethics was sparked on weekly runs around Seattle's Green Lake in the mid-'90s. She went there with her running partner, Debbie Cool, a scientist who was jazzed about how biotechnology was advancing medicine. Click here for the complete story. Nature.com, September 24, 2004, Dogs sniff out bladder cancer Dogs have always taken an inordinate interest in urine. But now UK researchers have put that penchant to good use, and shown that the animals can detect signs of bladder cancer in human urine. Click here for the complete story.
Nature.com, September 16, 2004, Experiments may herald treatment for retinal breakdown An injection of stem cells saved the sight of mice that would otherwise have gone blind, researchers reported this week. The study raises the prospect that some forms of human blindness might be treated with cells from a patient's own bone marrow. Click here for the complete story.
About the Biotechnology Institute The Biotechnology Institute’s mission is to engage, excite and educate the public, particularly young people, about biotechnology and its immense potential for solving human health, food, and environmental problems. To learn more about opportunities to support the Institute’s programs, please contact Paul A. Hanle, Biotechnology President, at 703.248.8681 or phanle@biotechinstitute.org.
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