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InnovATEBIO Community News
February 2021
 

Welcome to InnovATEBIO Community News February 2021!

It seems longer but it was only a year ago that our local schools were closing their doors and moving online for the foreseeable future.  I know it's been a tough year.  It is not easy waiting to get vaccinated.  Nor is it pleasant to contemplate the question of whether our vaccines will protect against all of the new variants. 

Even with the hardships our students and colleges suffered during the last year, there have been some good elements.  The biotech industry has done well and demand for our graduates is strong in many areas. It's also been an amazing time where science is concerned.  Biotech companies went from having a DNA sequence in January to a vaccine a year later.  The previous record, in the case of mumps, took four years.

Another benefit of the new vaccines is that some are made from RNA, making them programmable.  Once the manufacturing processes are in place, it's pretty straightforward to make new RNA sequences.  We synthesize DNA, put it into plasmids, and use enzymes to carry out transcription. If we can identify new variants quickly, while taking measures to slow the spread of new variants, we can outrace them.

Teaching and travel have suffered this year.  But, our community, kicking and screaming, has been learning to adapt.  We miss our students and we miss the lab, but we're tough.  We'll survive.  

We also miss each other.  We're learning how to meet virtually from the comfort of our homes.  It may not be as fun. We're not staying up until 3 am excitedly sharing ideas and dreams, but our meetings are far more accessible. InnovATEBIO has had webinar attendees from all over the world.  This never would have happened if there hadn't been the need to experiment with new ways of working.

This year, we're continuing to plan some great webinars and opportunities for virtual professional development opportunities.  

We look forward to "seeing" all of you online and in-person when we get to the other side.

Sandra

Sandra Porter, PhD
InnovATEBIO Digital Community Manager
Community news

Dr. Fauci and Dr. Leroy Hood chat about COVID-19

Dr. Leroy Hood, from the Institute for Systems Biology, presented the Precision Medicine World Conference Luminary Award to Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday, January 25. The two renowned scientists had an hour-long conversation discussing a range of topics including the extraordinary speed of COVID-19 research, the efficacy of mRNA vaccines on COVID-19 and the potential for creating effective vaccines for other diseases (including some cancers), lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.  We included a link to the video so you can enjoy their chat.

InnovATEBIO Events
Photo Credit: City College of San Francisco

InnovATEBIO Spring 2021 Webinar Series: Developing, Sustaining & Utilizing an Alumni Network for Student Recruitment & Retention

Outreach and recruitment are a top priority for most biotech training programs. City College of San Francisco (CCSF) instructor, Dr. Karen Leung will discuss strategies that the CCSF Biotech program has used to help students connect with alumni including collecting student testimonials, alumni speed networking and informational interviews.

Join us on February 19, 2021, 3:00 pm EST  (12:00 pm PST)

Register Today!
Watch the video from the Feb. 8th information session to learn more about the InnovATEBIO Undergraduate Research Experience.  This video and slides can also be found in the Presentation section at InnovATEBIO.org

Call for Applications: InnovATEBIO Undergraduate Research Experiences

To support the development of Undergraduate Research Education (URE) in biotechnology programs, InnovATEBIO is inviting colleges with an interest in developing or expanding URE in biotechnology to apply to attend the InnovATEBIO URE Strategic Planning Workshop, held virtually in Spring 2021. The workshop will educate faculty on best practices of URE implementation and highlight existing research occurring in community college biotechnology programs.

Applications for teams to participate in the workshop will be accepted through March 1, 2021.

Learn More and Apply Today!
Photo credit:  Todd Smith, PhD, Digital World Biology

InnovATEBIO Leadership Institute

Apply now to take part in the InnovATEBIO Leadership Institute. The Leadership Institute is a professional development program for community college and K-12 bioscience instructors who are interested in joining the next generation of leaders in biotech education. Senior industry, workforce, and academic experts will work with participants on the subject of leadership, not from an academic perspective but from a workplace point of view.  The program will stress strategizing, problem solving, and leading people.

Due to the pandemic, the Leadership Institute will be held over a period of 12 months staring in June 2021. The first part will consist of a series of asynchronous lectures and dialogues followed by team problem-solving sessions in Zoom.  The second part will be in person for three full days in June 2022. All Leadership Institute travel will be arranged by Forsyth Tech, with plane tickets and hotels paid for directly by the grant.

Applications are due by March 15, 2021.

Learn more and Apply now!
Photo Credit: City College of San Francisco

InnovATEBIO Webinar: Empowering Students to Recognize and Foster More Inclusive Workplaces

On March 19, 2021 'zoom' in and learn how community colleges can empower their students to recognize, request, and foster more inclusive workplace practices. This includes tools to help establish better training protocols, make workplace expectations more explicit, identify knowledge gaps and/or misunderstandings, and learn how to give and receive feedback so as to build greater trust and engagement.

Time:  3:00 pm EST (12:00 pm PST)

Presenters:

  • James Lewis, Biotechnology Program Director, City College of San Francisco
  • Karen Leung, PhD, Biotechnology Instructor and Internship Coordinator, City College of San Francisco
Register Now
Faculty Opportunities

Professional Development from BETA Skills

The BETA Skills ATE Project is offering two virtual courses this summer for college and high school faculty. Both courses will be online and use a combination of synchronous and asynchronous delivery.

Course 1:  BETA Skills (Biomedical Emerging Technology Applications)
Major Topics:

  • Introduction to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)
  • Introduction to Biomedical Devices  
  • Introduction to Regenerative Medicine & 3D Printing

Dates:  June 9, 15, 16

Course 2:  Cyberbiosecurity – "Where Bio and Cybersecurity Worlds Intersect"
Major Topics:

  • Introduction to  Biomedical  Principles
  • Introduction to  Cybersecurity Principles
  • Introduction to Cybersecurity bio interactions

Dates:  June 28, 29, 30 at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Eastern time

The BETA project and these courses are funded by NSF DUE 1800909.

Learn more

Moving Up! Strategies for Preparing YOUR Next ATE Project Proposal

Has your college been an ATE grantee? Did you have a "New to NSF" grant? Take advantage of what ATE funding can do for your college's technician education programs and students by "Moving Up" to an ATE Project. Attend the American Association of Community Colleges' webinar on March 11, 2021 and learn strategies, insider tips, and mistakes to avoid while seeking your next ATE grant.

Time:  1:00 pm EST

Presenters:
Elaine Craft, Elizabethc(Liz) Teles, and Pamela Silvers

Learn more and Register!

NSF Proposal Development Course by STELAR

Are you thinking of writing an NSF grant proposal? The STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR) is offering a course on this very topic. STELAR's course is geared towards the NSF ITEST program, but most of the information should apply to any type of educational NSF grant. Listen to the Introductory webinar on February 18, 2021 and visit the InnovATEBIO events page for more information.

Register Now
Faculty Resources
Multi-color image of a whole brain for brain imaging research. The image was created using a computer image processing program (SUMA) that's used to make sense of data generated by functional magnetic resonance imaging. 
[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants BCS 1554105 and DBI 1707398.]
Photo Credit: National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health

Open Datasets Support Virtual Science Education

Open data sets are a rich resource of real-world information that can help prepare students for the workforce. The Seattle-based Allen Institute has a collection of datasets based on its mission: "to unlock the complexities of bioscience and advance our knowledge to improve human health." Take a look at three ways instructors are using the Allen Institute's data to support virtual science education. 

InnovATEBIO's Blog
BHK cells
Photo Credit: BTEC21B fluorescent microscopy class at
City College of San Francisco

Syllabus for Teaching Stem Cell Biology

Stem cell research is a rapidly changing field, and keeping up with it can be challenging. To help, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has designed a dynamic syllabus and learning guide that supports teaching undergraduates and medical students the fundamentals of stem cell biology. The Core Concepts in Stem Cell Biology: Syllabus and Learning Guild incorporates key learning objectives and annotated foundational papers for an informative and rigorous review of the field.

Read about and Download the Syllabus
Faculty Positions

Gloucester Biotechnology Academy Lead Teacher

The Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute in Gloucester, MA is looking for a lead teacher for their biotechnology academy. Recently, the Academy was awarded a Workforce Skills Capital Grant by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the funding being used to build-out and equip a state-of-the-art biomanufacturing facility with the purpose of adding this in-demand skill set to their standard curriculum, and to double their student capacity.

Read about this Amazing Opportunity
Events

Important Dates 

Feb 18th Introductory Webinar for NSF proposal development course by STELAR
Feb 19th InnovATEBIO Webinar: Developing, Sustaining & Utilizing an Alumni Network for Student Recruitment & Retention
Mar 1st Applications due for InnovATEBIO Undergraduate Research Experience Workshop
Mar 7-11 ABRF conference
Mar 11 AACC Webinar Strategies for Preparing YOUR Next ATE Project Proposal
Mar 19th Empowering Students to Recognize and Foster More Inclusive Workplaces
May 10-13 ARIS Summit 2021
Mar 15th Applications due for InnovATEBIO Leadership Institute
Jun 7th InnovATEBIO Leadership Institute - Hybrid (in person 2022)
Jun 9-16 BETA Skills Course
Jun 28-30th Cyberbiosecurity
Jun 29- Jul 1 ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators - Virtual
Funding for this project has been provided through the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technology Education Program, DUE 1901984.   Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, or its partners.
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