ATE Project Talks: Authentic Student Research Projects and Student Workplace Navigation

Welcome to the 2025 InnovATEBIO series of virtual ATE project talks.  This series features leaders in biotechnology workforce education from across the US sharing their work on exciting projects funded by the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program.  The ATE program supports the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy.

Each talk will be 20 minutes, followed by 15 minutes for questions and discussion.

View the whole series of Spring 2025 ATE project talks.

Talk 1:  Training the Future Biotech Workforce Through Authentic Research Projects and Internships

Description: ASPIRE aims to address major regional needs for biotechnology talent by establishing a protein biomanufacturing training program equipped with an in-house internship in Biomanufacturing. By accomplishing this goal, the project will provide a pipeline for students from high school to two-year college, and then to employment or transfer to a four-year biomanufacturing program. The ASPIRE internship is structured to resemble a typical Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) with authentic industry-relevant research projects, including method/assay development, process improvement, formulation, and other Biomanufacturing projects. Los Angeles Pierce College collaborates with the DNA Learning Center at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to expand access to authentic research projects to the broader Bioscience community by providing free or low-cost Taq Polymerase.

Speaker:  Aron Kamajaya, PhD, PI, Los Angeles Pierce Community College, Woodland Hills, CA

Biography: Dr. Aron Kamajaya is an Associate Professor at Los Angeles Pierce College (LAPC) and the Director of the ASPIRE Biotechnology Training Program, offering Biotech Certificates, the A.S. Degree. In collaboration with the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the InnovATEBIO, Dr. Kamajaya has established an in-house student internship in protein biomanufacturing, producing enzymes (Taq and Pfu polymerase), fluorescent proteins, and nanobody to support bioscience classrooms regionally and nationally. Dr. Kamajaya has involved community college (Biotech) students in authentic research projects that have led to peer-reviewed publications (DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2014.08.009, and DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00499). Dr. Kamajaya received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and two Bachelor’s degrees from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Kamajaya is also an active member in the statewide Biotech community, InnovATEBIO (ATE center), and is also the institution representative for the MNT-EC (ATE center) and BioMADE.

• Learn more about the Training the Skilled Biomanufacturing Workforce Through Innovative Internships in Protein Biomanufacturing ATE project. 
   
• Learn about the IGD-LA, Raising Biotech Leaders in High Schools Through Innovative Mentoring and Industry Partnerships ATE Project.

Talk 2:  Workplace Navigation: Empowering Student Success in the Workplace

Description: Our project brings together a community college biotech program and a top-tier research university and employer of biotechnicians, in a collaborative approach to work-based learning to build inclusive labs. We have created novel parallel trainings for: 1) Employers to operationalize inclusivity in how they hire, train, and supervise, 2) Community college students to skillfully navigate the workplace and recognize and foster inclusive workplace practices. Over 1,500 scientists and 300 students have engaged in our trainings which have been adapted for academic and industry settings.

Speaker:  Dr. Karen Leung, PI, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA

Biography: Dr. Karen Leung has been a Biotechnology Instructor and internship coordinator at City College of San Francisco since 2013 where she is focused on supporting students to achieve their career and educational goals. For the past seven years she has been engaged in multiple grant projects to develop and implement: 1) innovative professional development training to foster inclusive workplaces for diverse workforce pipelines, 2) novel strategies for engagement between industry, alumni and diverse student populations, and 3) interactive virtual training and events including over a dozen Speed Networking Events. She is currently a co-PI on three NSF ATE project grants: 1) Increasing Student Retention and Recruitment through Alumni Programs, Speed Networking, and Industry Engagement, 2) A Collaborative Approach to Work-Based Learning: Building Inclusive Lab Environments, and 3) Journal of Advanced Technological Education (J ATE). She obtained her Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California, Davis and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco where she focused on mammalian epigenetics in early development.

• Learn more about the A Collaborative Approach to Work-Based Learning in Biotechnology: Building Inclusive Lab Environments ATE project.