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Bio-Research & Development Growth Park at the Danforth Center. St. Louis Community College. Bio-Research and Development Growth (BRDG) Park Elizabeth Boedeker Coordinator-Senior Research Scientist Adjunct Faculty Member Biotechnology Program.
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Bio-Research & Development Growth Park at the Danforth Center St. Louis Community College Bio-Research and Development Growth (BRDG) Park Elizabeth Boedeker Coordinator-Senior Research Scientist Adjunct Faculty Member Biotechnology Program
First Biotechnology Program in the State of Missouri Started Fall 1999 Research and Development based AAS and Certificate of Specialization degrees Half of declared majors - BS or higher
Very Successful Over 100 AAS & CS Degrees Awarded 58 Declared Majors (2011) 91% life science job placement
How did we get there? Partnerships with Industry in local area These will be the employers for graduates Asked the right questions
So what do they want? General laboratory skills Pipetting skills Record-keeping skills (notebook) MATH skills Soft skills
Once Developed…Keep Going! Not done! Molecular biology changes Maintain curriculum to keep it “cutting edge”
How to Maintain Curriculum Training for faculty National Science Foundation Workshops Genomics: From Mendel to Microchips BIO Manufacturing Conference and Workshop RNA Interference Workshops Adjunct Faculty from Industry Who better to teach it
Program-specific Advisory Board Made up of similar folks polled initially Meet annually to share updates or changes to programs Receive important feedback from Board
Advisory Board from Industry Centocor Pfizer Monsanto Microbe Inotech Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Solae Kelly Scientific Sigma Aldrich Nestle Purina
Advanced Topics Courses Changes to the curriculum can be slow Need to be more quickly adaptive at times General course that can be applied to many different “specialties” Allows flexibility
Advanced Topics In Biotechnology • Forensics • Proteomics • Quantitative PCR • Plant Transformation • RNA interference • Bioprocessing
Continue to Grow? Outgrow lab space What to do?
Center for Plant and Life Sciences (CPLS) Expanded Laboratory Space Can offer additional sections of courses Moved in Oct 2009 Classes started Jan 2010 Centralized to all STLCC Campuses Embedded in Industry-rich Location Professional Building Good exposure for our students
Contract Research Organization (CRO) November 2009 Clients Define projects Determine if we have capabilities to do Supervise students Train in skills if necessary Keep on task Maintain timelines in many cases more “real world” than classes
Multiple CRO Benefits Education Biotechnology Support of Industry locally Start up companies Other
How Things are Moving Now Community Outreach Activities NON Local Industry
Summary Successful program requires input Must be adaptive to accommodate changes Adjunct Faculty from the field Workplace learning in CRO extra bonus Promotes more interaction with industry Helps support industry as well as students
Thank You! Thank You!
CERTIFICATE OF SPECIALIZATION CORE BIOTECH COURSES Post Baccalaureate
Overview: What are we? Research for hire Academic institutions Local companies RESOURCE Additional training for our students Internship opportunities within the CRO
General Molecular Biology Nucleic Acid Protein Cell Culture Specialized High end equipment Available for use Can We Help?
Interns Successful placement out of CRO Past CRO interns 5 hired within BRDG Park (3) Monsanto (Divergence) (2) Phycal 1 hired Danforth 5 interns currently BRDG Park 1 engineering student Potentially 1 horticulture intern for fall