alumni

Please note : this article was written by Susana El Souki El Assal, and originally appeared in the Valencia Voice . This is cross-posted with permission from the Valencia Voice.

On January 25, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences Lab Technician and Valencia College Biotechnology Lab Sciences alumni James Velazquez presented at Valencia College’s Lake Nona Campus on recent research of DNA and transfection alongside Principal Investigator Dr. Annette Khaled. The presentation was an opportunity for students to learn about the studies and listen to influential people in the career of Biotech.

Recently, the Tissue Culture Class from Palm Beach State College went on an amazing field trip to the FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center Orchid lab.

A special thank you to our Biotech Program Alumni, Bethany Simpson and Bennett Niemi, who both work at the lab and were fantastic hosts.

They shared their passion of working to repopulate native, rare, endangered Florida orchids.

They walked us through the process of taking orchid seeds and propagating... Read more

Summer's career path : Biology major > Undergraduate research > internship project "DNA barcoding a College Campus Arboretum" > 3D printing courses > Boys and Girls Club job tutoring students > internship at U.S Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) > full-time position at Aberdeen Proving Ground as a Research Fellow with the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory.

Credentials earned : A.S. in Biology from Harford Community College, Professional Certificate in Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Article and photo contributed by Harford Community College... Read more

An interview with Tyson Crary, a Biotech Program graduate from Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin.

1. Where did you attend college?

I completed an Associates degree in the Madison College Biotechnology Program in Madison, Wisconsin.

2. What do you currently do (what is your job or what educational program are you attending)? Please elaborate on your career pathway or education after finishing the biotech program.

I am currently a Research associate II at Invenra. We are a research and development company doing novel antibody discovery. We are focused... Read more

An interview with German Umana, a Biotech Program graduate from Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin.

1. Where did you attend college and what degree did you complete?

I completed a Biotechnology Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Biotechnology at Madison College in Wisconsin.

2. What do you currently do (what is your job or what educational program are you attending)? Please elaborate on your career pathway or education after finishing your college program.

Since I graduated from Madison College, I have been working at the Wisconsin Energy Institute-Great Lakes Bioenergy Research... Read more

An interview with Ryan King. King completed an Associate's degree through the Madison College Biotech Program.

1. What do you currently do (what is your job title/company)?

I currently work at Aldevron as an Associate Scientist 1. I provide assistance with making buffers, packing columns, and writing methods for the AKTAs, using a spectrophotometer to test concentrations, doing Tangential Flow Filtration and doing aseptic dispenses. Also, there have been opportunities to assist in improving purification methods involving scaling up and getting a high protein purity during certain parts of projects.

2. How... Read more

An interview with Kayla DeGuire. DeGuire completed an Associate's degree through the Madison College Biotech Program.

1. What do you currently do (what is your current job title/company)? Please elaborate on your career pathway after finishing our program if needed.

I am a biomanufacturing senior associate at Catalent Pharma Solutions. I have worked at Catalent since 2017, developing experience in both biomanufacturing and quality control microbiology positions. In my current role, I manufacture clinical phase biologic pharmaceuticals to treat illnesses ranging from cancer to the COVID-19 pandemic to genetic diseases. Our manufacturing department covers a variety... Read more

An interview with Nihaarika Mohanarangan, Madison College graduate.

1. Where did you attend college and what degees (or certificates) did you complete?
I hold a B.Tech in Biotechnology degree from SRM University in India. After that, I went on to do a 1 year Post Graduate Diploma in Plant Tissue Culture and Micropropagation that also included an internship from Bioseed Research India. Subsequently, I came to the US and pursued the Post Baccalaureate Biotech certificate at Madison College. Shortly afterwards, I was admitted to the Masters in Biotech program at UW-Madison, which I completed.... Read more