BioTech SYSTEM is a Northern California consortium supporting STEM education in grades K-14 and fostering a collaborative network that includes diverse stakeholders in the biotech community. Founding members of BioTech SYSTEM include representatives from public colleges and universities, community organizations, local governments, school districts and the biotech industry.
We aim to address regional challenges in STEM education by facilitating professional development opportunities for life science educators, mobilizing resources in support of student activities, and educating stakeholders on potential life science training programs and career paths. Ultimately, we hope to engage diverse segments of society in conversations about life science impacts on health care, agriculture, and the environment.
Director's Corner - Latest & Greatest
Following science journals and news media outlets on Twitter is a fantastic way to keep up with the latest biotech research efforts and discoveries. Check out the recent articles that have caught my eye:
A combined Fall-Winter meeting will be held on February 15, 2012, 4:30-6:30pm, at UC Davis. Details on room location, parking and driving directions will be conveyed to consortium members via the listserv.
Regional News - Biotech Educators & Students
Congratulations to CIRM Stem Cell Fellows 2011
by Marianne Hunter, UC Davis Biotech Program
Four Teen Biotech Challenge winners completed summer internships at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures in Sacramento.
For these high school teens, this was a very busy summer! Jaskaran Dhillon (incoming senior at Sheldon High School – Biotechnology Academy in Elk Grove), Rex Reyes (will be a senior at Hogan High in Vallejo), Kalani Ratnasiri (will be a junior at Davis HS), and Thomas Gepts (will be a senior at Davis HS; he is the son of Prof. Paul Gepts) were all granted summer research internships sponsored by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine as part of a pilot program. Rex Reyes is especially commended for spending 4 hours each day commuting by train and bus to the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures in Sacramento where they all interned and his home in Vallejo.
Dr. Jan Nolta, who was a keynote speaker for the 2010 TBC Awards Banquet and is also the stem cell program director at UC Davis and one of the nation’s leading stem cell researchers, was very impressed with the teens and was able to secure funding for their internships. Jaskaran, Rex, Kalani and Thomas were selected from the pool of 2011 TBC winners by Dr. Judy Kjelstrom, Director of the UCD Biotechnology Program and Dr. Denneal-Jamison-McClung, Assoc. Director of the UCD Biotechnology Program and TBC Director. Dr. Gerhard Bauer, the director of the Good Manufacture Facility (GMP) at UC Davis, was the key mentor for these four students and he helped them with their posters.
"The BayBio Institute's efforts to prepare and train a capable biotechnology workforce took another step forward after receiving a planning grant from a major Bay Area philanthropy.
The Walter & Elise Haas Fund committed $30,000 to the BayBio Institute to develop a training partnership, in the form of a contract research organization, between City College of San Francisco and local biotechnology firms. The grant award is part of the Institute's strategy to bring industry-relevant experience to hundreds of community college students in San Francisco and throughout the Northern California region." -BayBio website
Also, see the newly launched Bio-Community.org site, built on the National Lab Day platform by Bay Bio.
Teen Biotech Challenge 2011
Thanks to all that participated in our May 11th Reception & Awards event. Only with the generous support of our industry and academic sponsors is this contest possible!
Event Partners: Genentech, UC Davis Biotechnology Program
Platinum Sponsors: Bio-Rad, HDR Architecture, Novozymes, North Valley Biotech Center at American River College
I love this educational website by the Nature Publishing Group. It serves as a free science library and "collaborative learning space". You'll find eBooks, career information, links to current articles, "Spotlight" topic explorations and many other great resources related to biotech education.
Keep Up With the Latest Biotech Advances
The Current Progess in Biotechnology seminar (MCB294) is open to the UC Davis campus community and to the public. Seminars are held each Friday throughout the academic year from 11am-noon in Rm 1022 Life Sciences at UC Davis. Though talks are geared for an interdisciplinary audience of graduate students (biologists, chemists, engineers, biostatisticians, etc…), local K-14 educators are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Biotech Fun!
"The PCR Song"--If you haven't heard it, you are missing out! Check out the rockin' music video put together by our colleagues at Bio-Rad.
DNA Fingerprinting Laboratory--Solve a forensic mystery! The Partnership for Biotechnology & Genomics Education has developed free software for teachers and students.
