COVID-19

The biotech industry is ramping up production. In some states, like North Carolina, companies are talking about hiring 100's of people, and maybe as many as 5000, total. On the one hand, this is great news for the industry and for biotech education programs. On the other hand, for biotech programs that graduate fewer than twenty students a year, this increased demand might prove too much of a good thing. If the community college biotech programs are unable to meet industry demand, industry might look elsewhere.

Montgomery College, in Germantown, Maryland, has found an innovative... Read more

There is A LOT of information out there about COVID-19....and not all of it is accurate. And even the accurate information can be overwhelming! The Pennsylvania State University has constructed an introductory course that takes that information and breaks it down into three modules: Virology, Epidemiology, and Public Health Preparedness. Experts in virology, epidemiology, agent-based modeling, and public health preparedness co-developed the course which is free for everyone.

I was curious, and so registered for the course (a quick step) and then launched right in. The first module is virology, and has two lessons, several activities, self-check questions and... Read more

This article was written and contributed by Lisa Proulx , Public Information Officer, Great Bay Community College

The Life Sciences Department of Great Bay Community College offers programs in three specialized areas in Bioengineering, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences. Information is available at https://www.greatbay.edu/life-sciences/ Great Bay Community College is part of the Community College System of New Hampshire, a public system of higher education consisting of seven colleges in Berlin, Claremont, Laconia, Concord, Manchester, Nashua, and Portsmouth.

Graduates of Great Bay Community College are working in the research labs where vaccines for Covid-19... Read more

Article contributed by Dr. Shelly Thai, Glendale Community College, CA, and Andreh Fiterz, PerkinElmer, Photo credit: Ken Allard/El Vaquero News

From Dr. Thai:

I'm a Biology faculty at Glendale Community College in California.

A few years ago, I developed a research course, Biology 298 - Undergraduate Research in Microbiology and Molecular Biology, to give undergraduates at our community college authentic, an opportunity to do hands-on research experience and also practice the associated critical thinking, analytical, and technical skills.

Many of our students transfer to the university and have been able to obtain either student research positions... Read more

Please note : This article was written by Eric Devlin, Montgomery County Community College. Mr. Devlin also contributed the photos. The photos and text in this article are used with his permission.

Montgomery County Community College Biotechnology Program alumni are among the researchers on the front line against the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve helped develop an antibody that’s used to detect the virus in patient testing samples.

Alumni Amber Sawyer, Sean Heron and Seethal Meda are employees at the Limerick Township-based Rockland Immunochemicals Inc. , which earlier this year, developed the Anti-SARS-CoV Nucleocapsid (N) Protein... Read more

Please note : This article was written by Valencia College. The photos and text in this article are used with permission from Valencia College , Florida.

From the moment Naia Kasik walks through the doors of Applied Ingenuity Diagnostics, she knows exactly what she has to do as she comes face-to-face with the COVID-19 virus. She puts on her personal protective equipment, her lab coat, glasses, gloves and an N-95 mask before she sits down to begin a series of testing procedures with RNA/DNA sequences.

Naia, a Biotechnology Laboratory Services student at Valencia’s... Read more

During the Spring semester of 2020 colleges and universities were forced to transition to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unexpected transition left many faculty members searching for resources on how to deliver biotechnology courses in a distance learning format. In response, InnovATE BIO coordinated and delivered a series of webinars and resources for remote teaching and learning. With the Fall 2020 semester upon, us and the ongoing pandemic forcing colleges to reduce density and face-to-face course offerings, InnovATE BIO was interested to learn about the teaching modality that biotechnology programs will use during these unprecedented... Read more

This morning I noticed the following article and thought I would share it with you --this update by Pharmaceutical Technology Editors-- is an update on one of the vaccines being developed. There are several more that also show promise. I encourage people to keep up with the news on vaccines as the faster they are developed, shown effective, and distributed to the public --the more likely the pandemic will be brought under control. Remember it is biotechnicians and biomanufacturing technicians who are involved in the development and production of vaccines --biotech programs produce essential workers!

AstraZeneca Vaccine... Read more

I have always been excited to work in Biotech, I think it is the most exciting field of science around—a field that can help improve not only the human condition but more universally improve the condition of the entire world. And now the biotech stakes are higher than they have ever been, as hundreds of companies, universities, and partnerships are working around the clock as they try to find a vaccine against the virus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Much of the world is closely following the efforts as we look for preventative measures, treatments and ultimately a... Read more