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January 31, 2008: Montgomery County Community College (MCCC), the Big Pharma Hub, opened its Advanced Technology Center in September 2007. The 60,000 square foot facility integrates advanced technology into education and has become the signature building on campus. Along with "smart" classrooms, audio and video studios, computer labs and an astronomy observatory it is the home of our new biotechnology/biomanufacturing laboratory and tissue culture suite.
Kevin Lampe, Assistant Professor of Biotechnology, has been busy overseeing the move to the new lab and also with outreach to teachers and students at area high schools. We are planning to share lab supplies which have been recently donated to us by Centocor and BioRexis with area teachers. Kevin participated in the week-long MCCC Nanobiotechnology Camp for high school students which this June was filled to capacity at 20 students and also conducted a biotech activity with students in the MCCC Engineering Camp.
Also in June MCCC hosted our first Teachers' Biotechnology Workshop which was attended by faculty from technical high schools and community colleges. The workshop included didactic and hands-on laboratories using SOP's developed by our hub partners as part of our QC curriculum module. Melanie Lenahan, Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at Raritan Valley Community College led the session on Identification of Microorganisms which included hands on work with the API identification system. Laura Roselli, Biotechnology instructor, Burlington County College led the session on Detection of Mycoplasma which included hands-on work with gel electrophoresis and PCR. Sheila Byrne, MCCC grant project assistant, presented didactic material on the laser particle counter and Millipore air sampler along with a hands-on demonstration. The 2-day workshop concluded with participants touring Centocor's nearby biomanufacturing pilot plant.
Laura and Melanie accompanied Kevin, Sheila and hub director, Linda Rehfuss, in presenting our Quality Control Toolbox workshop at BIOMAN 2007. This workshop used the SOP's developed for Gram Stain, API System, Particle Counter, Millipore Air Sampler, LAL Gel Clot Method and Artel System for Pipette Calibration Check.
Linda Rehfuss and Tom Burkett also co-chaired a session on Bioprocess Science/Biomanufacture at the American Chemical Society's Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting in May. In the same month Linda presented Novel Approaches for Biotechnology Training at Community Colleges at a session at BIO in Boston.
We are continuing work on the QC curriculum model while looking forward to BIOMAN 2008 which for the first time will change location and be hosted here at MCCC. Lots of preparation is going into BIOMAN and we are hoping for an excellent turn-out.
- Sheila Byrne, Grant Project Assistant, Pennsylvania and New Jersy Hub, NBC2
Montgomery County Community College
February 7, 2007: At the Massachusetts Hub, we are busy with coordinating our four members in writing curriculum for a short (fifteen week) course in Biomanufacturing. Recent news is that several Biopharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis are planning on opening new facilities in the Cambridge and the Greater Boston area, making the Hub's efforts to train new biomanufacturing technicians all the more urgent.
Outreaching to communities in the surrounding area has been a focus for our faculty members. On January 26th, Crystal Auger went to Stow, and Patrick Rafter went to Needham on the January 30th to speak to middle schoolers about our biotechnology program. These trips involve over 200 students and will hopeful encourage them to come to the Biotechnology Program at Minuteman.
This summer, 17 high school students from the area attended a weeklong Workshop in Biotechnology at Minuteman Regional High School. Each day they came to learn about biotechnology and carry out related activities in the laboratory. As members of the Massachusetts BioTeach, both Crystal and Pat have been
outreaching to high school students at Minuteman as well, carrying out electrophoresis during the students' biology classes. These have been well received and serve to expose a broader audience of students to the biotechnology area.
The Minuteman Biotechnology Program will be represented at our first Science and Technology Exposition at Minuteman Regional High School, which will be held on March 15, 2007. This exposition will demonstrate the career pathway between high school and industry. The purpose of this exposition is to inform both parents and students of the exciting career opportunities in biotechnology as well as other technologies. There will be a featured speaker and industry advisory board members will also be present from Wyeth Corporation and Bectin-Dickenson to speak with parents and future students about the career potential for Biotechnology. Schools that articulate with our programs will also be present. In addition, we have produced a DVD focused the biotechnology area for distribution to eight grade students in our district of sixteen towns.
One of our students who is a senior in the Biotechnology Program is presently interning at Immunogen, Cambridge, MA. He is very excited about this opportunity to be working in a laboratory, where he is presently carrying out DNA analysis of transformed cells. We are beginning plans to have a select group of students participate in a co-op experience at Wyeth Corporation. The main obstacle for the students is age, since they need to be eighteen to work in the facility. Hopefully, a small but significant number of students will be able to work in this biomanufacturing facility and be able to discover first hand what it is all about. We are hopeful that this will encourage students to continue to pursue biotechnology as a career choice.
- Mary Jane Kurtz, Cambridge and Greater Boston Area Hub Director, NBC2
Minuteman High School Biotechnology Program Director
February 3, 2007: Montgomery County Community College (MCCC), which is the big pharma hub primarily serving PA and NJ, hosted the annual advisory board meeting on October 5-6, 2006 at the Blue Bell campus of the College. Early arriving hub members toured the Centocor biomanufacturing pilot plant in nearby Spring House, PA. The event continued on campus with a very interesting talk by Dr. Autumn Fiester from the University of Pennsylvania. Her presentation focused on the many aspects of animal bioethics. Following the lecture, MCCC's hospitality students prepared and served an excellent dinner to those in attendance from both MCCC and the NBC2. The advisory board meeting occurred on October 6 and included members from both the NBC2 advisory committee and MCCC's biotechnology advisory board. Each hub gave an overview of what they had done in the previous few months, particularly focusing on the details of the workshops they presented at the BIOMAN 2006 conference. From the big pharma hub, we presented on our endotoxin LAL endpoint assay at BIOMAN. A special feature of the meeting was a presentation by Laura Ginsburg from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), where she discussed the DOL's apprenticeship model and how it can be applied to biotechnology and biomanufacturing programs. This model integrates experiential learning with classroom didactic and laboratory components. Students become apprentices at a company following high school graduation and continue through their Associate Degree program at their community college. Sonia has worked successfully with Lonza in Portsmouth, NH to set up an apprenticeship program, and the other hubs are trying to do the same in each of their regions.
Since the advisory board meeting in October, the members of the big pharma hub have been working on the alternate kinetic LAL assay, as well as modules including: the PCR mycoplasma test, microbial identification, particle counting and microbiological detection. The big pharma hub is pleased to welcome its newest member, Kevin Lampe, Assistant Professor of Biotechnology, who joined MCCC in January. Kevin brings a wealth of expertise in molecular biology and biochemistry, as well as pharmaceutical industry experience and several years of community college teaching experience and curriculum development. Kevin has a particular interest in using plants in the biotechnology and biomanufacturing settings. Kevin joins Linda and Sheila at MCCC as part of the NBC2 project team.
Also since October, Tom Burkett and Linda Rehfuss have been working on and finalizing speakers for a session about biomanufacturing that they will co-chair at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) 39th Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting this year. This meeting, entitled Forging New Connections in Chemistry, will take place May 16-18, 2007 at Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA. This will be one of the first times a session on bioprocess science and biomanufacturing will be a focus at an ACS meeting. For more information about the meeting, visit www.marmacs.org.
MCCC's Advanced Technology Center (ATC), which is scheduled to be open fall 2007, will be the new home to the biotechnology and biomanufacturing programs. The facility will include a brand new laboratory and tissue culture suite. The hub members are very excited about moving into the ATC and being able to continue curriculum development for the NBC2 project in this new, state-of-the-art facility. For more information on the ATC at MCCC, visit the College's website www.mc3.edu.
- Linda Rehfuss, Director, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Hub, NBC2
Montgomery County Community College
January 30, 2007: At the RI Hub, we are continuing to deal with the change and challenges that come with development of a new Biotechnology program in the current fiscal climate. On a positive note, we've continued to strengthen our student body and have improved our networking and partnerships with industry and fellow educators. However, financial constraints have resulted in some modifications to our original plans. As we encounter these challenges, we continue to strive to take advantage of our strengths, while adjusting to accommodate limitations.
We have accomplished much in the way of recruiting and retention of highly capable, enthusiastic students. We currently have over 20 students who are pursuing the 18- credit Biotechnology Certificate at CCRI. Most of these students have significant prior work experience and many are simultaneously training in complementary fields such as the health occupations, chemical technology and engineering. We are taking advantage of this momentum as we recruit members for our newly formed CCRI Student ISPE chapter (International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers). We have already begun to reap the benefits of our ISPE connections, thanks to the generous encouragement and support of ISPE leaders, Peter Fox and Mark Sitcoske. Recently, several faculty, administrative staff, and students attended the BioPharma conference in Warwick, RI where we had an opportunity to network with representatives from a variety of different manufacturing-related industries in the region. Some of these connections have led to offers of donated process control equipment and guest speakers. We are also hopeful that some of these new connections will lead to jobs or internships for our students.
We continue to work with high schools in our Hub area as well. I continue to meet periodically with the steering committee that advises the Rhode Island Department of Education as it pursues its Bioscience Academy Initiative to implement a 3-year biotechnology curriculum to several high schools. We are also continuing to work with Dana Hopkins as he updates and brings new biomanufacturing technologies into his high school biotechnology curriculum at Davies Career and Technical High School. Last summer, Dana Hopkins, Wayne Suits, Richard Cardin, and I were workshop participants at Bioman 06. Richard Cardin presented a Process Control Workshop, and our NBC2 technician, Christina Befumo, provided technical assistance and learned new technologies at Bioman 06. The knowledge acquired there has had a strong impact on our interdepartmental cooperation in the area of biomanufacturing training. For example, we've identified several cross-over technologies that we will be able to use in a variety of classes.
Despite this progress, we've encountered some notable challenges this year. The biggest limitation we've encountered is financial. State funding has not met the increased needs of educational institutions and this has had a significant impact on our biotechnology initiative. One of our earliest goals was to develop and implement an Associate of Science curriculum that would enable us to implement the Global Biomanufacturing Curriculum that is being produced through the efforts of the NBC2 and collaborators. Over a year ago, we reached the former part of the goal: the curriculum is developed. Unfortunately, the implementation will not be achievable in the near future unless we are able to identify a significant, consistent source of financial support and adequate dedicated training space. As a result of these problems, we have decided to revise our curriculum implementation plan. Our new working goal is to identify curriculum modules that we are currently capable of implementing and match these to appropriate courses from our current training program. We are working cooperatively with several instructors and course leaders to pursue this goal of bringing the GBC into our classrooms in a modular form. We realize that this revised plan is worth sharing with other educators who find themselves with similar constraints, so we will continue to disseminate information about our process via www.biomanufacturing.org as we go forward.
- Josephine Pino, Director, Rhode Island Hub, NBC2
Community College of Rhode Island
February 14, 2006: Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) will be working to develop quality control curriculum for both microbiology and biochemistry. With the large number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the Delaware Valley (over 100 of them), there are many opportunities for our graduates to pursue careers in these 2 areas as well as the many other job functions represented in the NBC2 consortium. In fact, 2 of the 4 2005 graduates from the MCCC biotechnology program are currently employed in QC areas, one at National Medical Services and one at Centocor. Since this project was funded, I have met with the biotechnology advisory committee, and we reviewed the job categories and competencies for the QC jobs. The committee recommended that we prioritize the categories within each job to come up with a list of the 5-10 most relevant functions that an entry level QC microbiology or biochemistry technician would perform. With the help of the grant project assistant, Sheila Byrne, we have completed that priority list and have sent it out to the advisory committee for their review, to ensure that we are in agreement for the top job categories for each QC function. After all, the companies that the advisory board members represent will be the future employers of our graduates. We plan to discuss the prioritization list at the next advisory board committee meeting on 04/06/06.
Sheila and I have also met with and had numerous email and phone exchanges with our 2 key senior personnel from our hub, Laura Roselli from Burlington County College and Dr. Melanie Lenahan from Raritan Valley Community College, both in NJ. Another outcome of our last advisory board meeting was the idea that that the QC curriculum be built around a product. It was suggested that we take the Certificate of Authenticity (C. of A.) of a product (say insulin, for example), and, using the various modules we develop for the curriculum, validate the product's C. of A. For example, we can perform tests to determine the product's sterility (bioburden tests), endotoxin content (LAL test) and identity (gel electrophoresis, spectrophotometry, etc.). This way, the students will mimic the testing performed on a biotechnology product before its release, and they can also learn how their job function is integrated with functions within the rest of the company, since it takes the cooperation of many departments within a company to successfully release a product for use.
To get the curriculum started, the first module we are currently developing is the LAL chromogenic assay, which uses a colorimetric assay and a microtiter plate reader to determine endotoxin levels in a sample. We will field test this module at the Biomanufacturing workshop at the New Hampshire Community Technical College in July of this year. The chromogenic test will be performed later in the week at the workshop following the LAL gel clot method, which is another test for endotoxin contamination in a sample. Presenting the 2 methods at the workshop will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each method, including ease of performance, sensitivity and reproducibility. We look forward to participating in the workshop in July.
- Linda Rehfuss, Director, Pennsylvania Hub, NBC2
Montgomery County Community College
February 9, 2006: Our CCRI NBC2 Hub activities, focusing on upstream/downstream processing, are integrated with the growth of our relatively new Biotechnology Certificate Program and the development of a proposed A.S. curriculum. The certificate program was launched during the Spring of 2004 and has served mainly experienced students and transitioning workers. Two of our certificate recipients have recently accepted positions at Amgen's manufacturing plant (in manufacturing and Quality). Our certificate program has taken advantage of our preexisting strengths at CCRI in chemical and engineering technologies in addition to relevant areas of biology. With regard to the A.S. curriculum, our proposal has passed review at the level of our college and we are currently preparing documents and budgets to send forward for review by the RI board of higher education. The proposed A.S. curriculum has both career and a transfer tracks. Both will utilize curriculum materials that are being developed through the NBC2 project, with a strong emphasis on biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
One of the new courses that we've begun offering this semester is "Introductory Biotechnology Lab Skills". I am teaching and developing it with a very strong emphasis on quality systems and documentation. We are using Lisa Seidman's Basic Laboratory Methods for Biotechnology, with supplementary reading from primary sources such as FDA documents. The course emphasizes many competencies that were described by industry representatives in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Skills Standards (NSF Award #0303030). On another front, CCRI faculty members Dick Cardin (engineering) and Tom Whitfield (chemistry) are pursuing professional development opportunities with the goal of learning how to incorporate biotechnology issues and applications into the teaching of process control technology and chemical technology. We feel that their experience and expertise in teaching these subjects will bring a new and important dimension to biomanufacturing training. In fact, participants at the July workshop in NH will have an opportunity to learn introductory process control skills from Professor Cardin.
In addition to curricular development, we have "grown" our learning community in many ways, including the establishment of our Industry Advisory Board. We've had two formal meetings and I communicate frequently by email with several members. At both meetings we received much useful curriculum advice. Currently, we are working on expanding our ability to collaborate with manufacturing representatives from Amgen. (Our current liaisons are in Human Resources and Facilities Management). We have also begun a more directed relationship with the Rhode Island Department of Education as they embark on a new Biotechnology Initiative. I am currently serving on a subcommittee that is developing a high school bioscience academy curricular framework, which will likely include a module devoted to biomanufacturing, and we will continue to work with Dana Hopkins, the biotechnology instructor at the Davies Career and Technical High School.
Our partnership with the University of Rhode Island (URI) has focused mainly on identification of common goals and opportunities for articulation, particularly in the context of our A.S. program proposal which would prepare students for continued education at the URI. Also, we have been actively involved with the state-wide Rhode Island EPSCoR, which in addition to numerous statewide outcomes, will support outreach activities and equipment purchases that will improve our abilities to recruit and train biomanufacturing students. The network between RI industry and educators at all levels will also be strengthened by the EPSCoR initiatives. These networks and activities are overlapping and very compatible with many of the goals of NBC2 and will strengthen our learning community and overall infrastructure for biomanufacturing training.
As a new program, we have some additional issues to take care of, including organization of laboratory space in which we can pursue our NBC2 goals. Like most programs we have an ongoing need for additional equipment and supplies and would welcome donations of appropriate items. We look forward continued work within our Hub and broader community on all of the above issues and goals.
- Josephine Pino, Director, Rhode Island Hub, NBC2
Community College of Rhode Island
February 2, 2006: The Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston & Connecticut NBCC hub will have representation on the board of the Bio-Pharmaceutical Education & Training Association (BETA) with the appointment of a member of the NBCC Hub at Minuteman Regional HS. The Beta organization represents biomanufacturing trainers associated with the industry in the New England Area, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut . Other Beta board members include biomanufacturing trainers from Astra Zeneca, Genzyme, Wyeth and Abbott Laboratories and the greater membership includes workers from many other local industry members and educational institutions as well. This collaboration between industry and the NBCC Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston & Connecticut Hub offers an a great opportunity to exchange ideas and implement new approaches to training in concert with industries needs.
- Mary Jane Kurtz, Director, Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston Hub, NBC2
Minuteman Regional Technical High School
January 2, 2006: Northeast Biomanufacturing Collaborative and Center will be assisting Bunker Hill Community College, Charlestown, Massachusetts in planning its biotechnology program at the associate degree level. As a member of the Scientific Advisory Board, emphasis on the importance of including a biomanufacturing curriculum and including its career paths will further the goal of the NBCC Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston hub. This will serve to further its goal of further the creation of a sustainable learning community around community college hubs in the biomanufacturing area.
- Mary Jane Kurtz, Director, Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston Hub, NBC2
Minuteman Regional Technical High School
December 13, 2005: I met with Bristol Myers Squibb in Syracuse, NY on Tuesday December 13th to discuss collaboration with NBC2. The facility is Syracuse has become one of their core manufacturing facilities in North America, and their manufacturing technician jobs have grown from about 80 to over 400 individuals. This rapid growth was given as a primary example for why BMS is interested in collaborating with NBC2. The following individuals were in attendance:
John Tabor, Ph.D. - Vice President Global Biotechnology and Third Party
Manufacturing Strategy
Steven Lee, Ph.D. - Senior Director, Syracuse Biotechnology Development
and Operations
Kirk Leister, Ph.D. - Director Analytical Biochemistry
Michael Munster, Ph.D. - Director Biologics Quality Assurance and
Quality Control, Syracuse
Tom Vanden Boom, Ph.D. - Director, Biotechnology Development
Alan Berry, Ph.D. - Director, Bioprocess Development
Les Mintzmyer - Director Syracuse Biotechnology Manufacturing Operations
John Hickey - Group Leader, Syracuse Biologics Project Management
Evelyn Carter - Syracuse Human Resources Manager
Sallie Biittner - Director of Human Resources, Syracuse
Dave Lapinski - EHS Associate Director, Third Party Manufacturing/In-Licensing Programs.
After about a 45 minute presentation and discussion, we spent some time discussing the skills standards and the construction of the center and how it might deliver curriculum and services. There was some consensus that the job titles in the skills standards may actually be making the job sound too much like "technician" and not enough like a scientist. An example given was the QA Documentation Coordinator. BMS is getting away from this type of title, and their Quality Control folks are expected to take on much greater responsibilities. There was also a consensus that programs should strive to deliver curriculum for all ten jobs. They were delighted to hear that a student who they might hire for upstream or downstream would also have training in QA, QC, validation, EHS, etc…
Earlier in the day, I met with John Fieschko. John has taken on the role of Director of the Central New York Biotechnology Research Center. John has in interest in serving the Central New York industry, and BMS has an interest in having our curriculum delivered as close as possible to their industrial campus. John and I will be looking into how the CNY Biotech Research Center, NBC2, BMS, and other local entities such as Onondaga Community College and Onondaga County Economic Development could work together to deliver our programs at the CNY Biotech Research Center. The nature of this collaboration is just in the discussion stages.
- Jim Hewlett, Director, New York Hub, NBC2
Finger Lakes Community College
September 29, 2005: The first annual Northeast Biomanufacturing Center and Collaborative (NBC2) Advisory Board meeting was a huge success. The meeting was held September 26-28, 2005, at Finger Lakes Community College (Canandaigua, New York) in conjunction with a networking event hosted by the biocluster of Rochester's High Tech Business Council.
On Monday night, September 26th, over 170 people attended a lecture by Nobel Prize winning scientist Kary Mullis. The event was held at the Crowne Plaza in Rochester, New York. NBC2 was a sponsor of the event so that members of the advisory board and collaborators from the New York Hub could attend, network, and learn more about the biotechnology industry in Western New York. NBC2 had a booth at the event to highlight the new National Science Foundation Center. Unfortunately, inclement weather prevented Sonia's flight out of Manchester from leaving on time, so she missed the event (we missed you Sonia). I had the great honor of introducing Dr. Mullis at the event, and the exposure for NBC2 was fantastic. Dr. Mullis focused his talk on programmable immunity. The idea is to conjugate an antigen that is recognizable to the immune system with new foreign antigens. This antigenic "cassette" can then be recognized by the immune system. After his presentation, industry representatives and members of NBC2 joined Dr. Mullis for dinner.
The next day, I shuttled advisory board members from the Crowne Plaza in Rochester to Finger Lakes Community College for a day of meetings. Topics covered during our day included: Introductions and Overview of the NBC2 Regional Center Grant by Sonia Wallman, a review of the Industry Skill Standards and Instructional Materials by Sonia Wallman, a presentation on partnerships by Project Lead the Ways' Dick Blais, a presentation on the Biomanufacturing Appreniceship System, by Dick Grandmaison, and a formal discussion on the structure and function of the Advisory Board and National Visiting Committee. It was during this time that Michael Cicio of Lonza Biopharmaceuticals was formally elected as the industry chair of the Advisory Board.
In addition to the NBC2 hub directors, we were joined by: Michael Cicio (Director of Downstream, Lonza Biopharmaceuticals), Niall Carollan (Manufacturing Operations Training Manager, Human Genome Sciences Incorporated), Lisa Miller (Human Genome Sciences Incorporated), David Hosmer (Director of Central Training, Wyeth Biopharma), Thomas J. Cummins (Director New Product Research and Development, Nalgne Nunc International), Ray Watkins (VP of Operations, Vaccinex, Inc), Scott Winterton (COO, Winterton Associates), Dick Grandmaison (NH State Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training), Neil Tebbano (Director of Operations, Project Lead the Way), Maureen Leupold (Genesee Community College), Mike Stoll (Genesee Community College), Mary Jane Shonn (Genesee Community College) and James Jacob (Tomkins-Cortland Community College).
- Jim Hewlett, Director, New York Hub, NBC2
Finger Lakes Community College
September 1, 2005: An NSF Advanced Technological Education Regional Center grant, The Northeast Biomanufacturing Center and Collaborative (NBC2), was awarded to NHCTC on September 1, 2005. The Northeast Biomanufacturing Center is located at New Hampshire Community Technical College and the Collaborative is distributed throughout twelve states in the Northeast (NH, ME, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, and northern VA) and the District of Columbia. Hubs located at community colleges in six of the Northeast states will form learning communities consisting of biomanufacturing companies, all levels of education, and government agencies for the purpose of developing curriculum and instructional materials to support jobs in biomanufacturing and to develop the infrastructure for biomanufacturing education and training throughout the Northeast.
Click here for a summary of the grant.
Click here for a list of current members of the NBC2 Advisory Board.
- Sonia Wallman, Director, Northeast Biomanufacturing Center and Collaborative
New Hampshire Hub, NBC2
New Hampshire Community Technical College
May, 2005: The Minuteman Regional High School which is the center for the Hub of the Northeast Biomanufacturing Collaborative and Center (NBCC) is focused on introductory activities that encompass biomanufacturing jobs of all descriptions. NBCC Minuteman Hub was selected by the Massachusetts Biotech Council on Education as one of the recipients of the Golden Helix Award for Massachusetts public schools. This award will expand our ability to introduce biotechnology and biomanufacturing activities and career pathways to both teachers and high school students in this NBCC Hub area. This program will be developing hands-on laboratory experiences to engage students and attract them to biomanufacturing as a future career. As part of this award, the NBCC Hub will receive an additional $11,000 in support of the programs curriculum developed and introduced to area schools. Equipment and $3,000 dollars per year for laboratory supplies will serve to expand the Northeast Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston & Connecticuts Hub's ability to achieve its goals in encouraging students to enter the biomanufacturing area as a career.
As a Golden Helix Award school, future plans include outreach programs for high school teacher training in laboratory activities at the NBCC Hub. The curriculum is designed around the biology curriculum in order to include more students in the laboratory experiences. In addition, teachers will be introduced to a school-to -career pathway assistance through partnership with the workforce investment boards and colleges. For further information check out the web site massbio.org
- Mary Jane Kurtz, Director, Metropolitan Cambridge/Boston Hub, NBC2
Minuteman Regional Technical High School
January 31, 2005: Survey formats for the ten biomanufacturing jobs can be found at www.biomanufacturing.org/publications.php. These surveys can be used by educational institutions engaged in developing biomanufacturing programs, courses and modules to validate the findings for these ten biomanufacturing occupations in their locale.
January 31, 2005: Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry Skill Standards published in hard-copy format. Copies will be distributed free, to individuals who request them, from the project website at www.biomanufacturing.org/publications.php
January 30, 2005: Donation of equipment to the Northeast Biomanufacturing Collaborative from Lonza Biologics, Inc. in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
December 2004-January 30, 2005: Ready Biomanufacturing Industry Skill Standards for publication in hard-copy format.
June-December, 2004: Development of Templates and entering of data from Job Analysis Workshops to create a Survey formats for validating the skills, knowledge and attributes for ten biomanufacturing jobs; E-mailing of Validation Surveys to technicians, supervisors, and managers of companies in the Northeast Region.
May 17 and 18, 2004: Second Job Analysis Workshop to determine skills, knowledge and attributes for ten biomanufacturing jobs held at New Hampshire Community Technical College. The following five jobs were analyzed by technicians, supervisors and managers of these areas: Quality Control Chemistry, Quality Control Microbiology, Environmental Health and Safety, Quality Assurance, and Facilities.
May 6 and 7, 2004: First Job Analysis Workshop to determine skills, knowledge and attributes for ten biomanufacturing jobs held at the Education Development Center in Newton, Massachusetts. The following five jobs were analyzed by technicians, supervisors and managers of these areas: Process Development, Validation, Upstream Processing, Downstream Processing, and Instrumentation/Calibration.
November 4, 2003: New Hampshire Community Technical College (NHCTC) became the first community college to establish a Student Chapter within the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE). ISPE is a world-wide not-for-profit volunteer society of technical professionals who apply their practical knowledge in the life science industries. The officers of NHCTC's ISPE Student Chapter are Elizabeth Bergeron, President; Sharyn Porter, Vice President; Rena Gillis, Secretary; and Christian Linker, Treasurer. Eugene Lambert of Wunderlich-Malec is the Industry Advisor and Sonia Wallman of New Hampshire Community Technical College is the Faculty Advisor. ISPE is interested in setting up Student Chapters at other Community Colleges that have biotechnology pr. Eugene Lambert and Sonia Wallman will be working with ISPE, Bio-Link and the Northeast Biomanufacturing Collaborative to facilitate the development of ISPE chapters at Community Colleges around the nation.
October 22-24, 2003: Presentation of our current project at the NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principle Investigator (PI) conference in Washington, D.C.
October 15, 2003: NHCTC and EDC submit Regional
Manufacturing Center proposal, "The Northeast Regional
Biomanufacturing Center and Collaborative: Increasing
Biomanufacturing Human Resource Capacity to Meet
Workforce Needs", to the National Science Foundation's
Advanced Technological Education program.
September 19, 2003: At a meeting at NHCTC on September 19, Collaborative industry partners commit to working together to develop job competencies for ten targeted jobs for the current grant and to contribute, in many ways (equipment; training; curricular module development; hiring) to support the these targeted jobs. Industry partners are committed to the development of a Northeast Regional Equipment and Supplies Resource for Biomanufacturing Education and Training.
August 15, 2003: NSF notifies NHCTC that funding has been granted for a one year development grant entitled, Building Education/Industry Partnerships and Assessing Biomanufacturing Industry Competency Needs. NHCTC and EDC will work together to assemble and develop a Collaborative and conduct research on biomanufacturing industry competency needs for technical workers, in preparation for a Northeast Regional Biomanufacturing Center proposal to be submitted to NSF’s Advanced Technological Education program on October 15, 2003.
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