San Diego Teacher Wins Top Honor for Excellence in Biotechnology Education

San Diego, CA (June 17, 2008) –The Biotechnology Institute announced that Jay Vavra, a teacher at High Tech High in San Diego, CA, as the recipient of the Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator Award, the nation’s top award for biotechnology education.

Sponsored by Genzyme Corporation and The Invitrogen Foundation, the award was presented June 16 during the Biotechnology Education Banquet at the Biotechnology Institute’s Conference on Biotechnology Education in San Diego, CA.

Established by the Biotechnology Institute, the national biotechnology education organization, the award recognizes premier high school level educators who provide an array of expertise to help improve the teaching and learning of biotechnology in their classrooms.

“These educators are nominated from among more than one thousand outstanding teachers in our National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Program,” says Paul A. Hanle, president of the Biotechnology Institute. “The nominees are at the forefront of the Institute’s mission to educate teachers and students about the promise and achievements of biotechnology.”

“Teachers provide the spark of learning that ignites the promise of biotechnology for their students,” stated Michael Wyzga, chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance for Genzyme Corporation. “Through this award, Genzyme is pleased to honor these educators for their important role in translating biotechnology into life-long investigative learning.”

“The Invitrogen Foundation was established to do exactly what these educators do each and every day…inspire students to embrace science. It is an honor to continue our support of the Biotechnology Institute’s Biotech Educator Award for the fourth consecutive year,” said Pete Leddy, senior vice president, human resources for Invitrogen and Institute board member. “These educators have a profound impact on the next generation of scientists. We applaud their innovative approach to teaching and passion for making a difference.”

Ten finalists were identified from a nationwide applicant pool from among more than one thousand educators in the Biotechnology Institute’s National Teacher-Leader Program. Vavra, who received an award of $10,000, was chosen by a panel of judges for his proven leadership and excellence as an educator, his commitment to furthering the teaching of biotechnology by outreach to other educators, and the development of innovative ways to teach biotechnology.

Also honored was the second place winner, Michael Dunn of Capuchino High School in San Bruno, CA. who received $5,000. The third-place winner, Simon Holdaway of The Loomis Chaffee School of Windsor, CT, received $2,500.

The other seven finalists, who received a $1,000 product credit from Invitrogen, were:

• Jennifer Albanese, Salesianum School, Wilmington, DE
• Myron Blosser, Eastern Mennonite School, Harrisonburg, VA
• Peggy Deichstetter, St. Edward High School, Elgin, IL
• Mario Godoy-Gonzalez, Royal High School, Royal City, WA
• Cheryl Powers, Cate School, Carpinteria, CA
• Tamica Stubbs, E.E. Waddell High School, Charlotte, NC
• John Taylor-Lehman, Tri-Valley High School, Dresden, OH

The Biotechnology Institute’s National Biotechnology Teacher–Leader Program is building a network of thousands of teachers committed to teaching biotechnology to students and serving as a resource for other teachers. Through professional development programs and resources, the Teacher-Leader Program provides educators with the skills and strategies to introduce biotechnology to their students and assist their peers to do the same.

PARTNERING TO INSPIRE STUDENTS ABOUT SCIENCE EDUCATION

Arlington, VA (May 12, 2008) – Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, the San Francisco Bay Area’s second-largest biotechnology employer, and the Biotechnology Institute, the national biotechnology education organization, will launch an intensive program this spring to teach and inspire local young people to consider careers in science and technology. The two-pronged program will focus on students from less advantaged communities. 

“We are taking a two-track approach to addressing critical pressure points, the high school and graduate level, where students must be inspired about science, particularly biotechnology, and its immense potential for solving human health, food and environmental problems,” says Paul A. Hanle, president of the Biotechnology Institute. 

“Bayer shares with the Biotechnology Institute a recognition that the biotechnology industry is a major force for the future—economically, and through improving people’s lives,” noted Joerg Heidrich, Bayer’s senior vice president and global head of biotech product supply. “As an industry leader Bayer is committed to forging new generations of talented, imaginative professionals—and to providing concrete encouragement to all students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, to train for jobs in this exciting field.” 

The partnership will establish the “Bayer Minority Fellows Program,” a mentoring program pairing Bayer scientists and executives with ten top-quality graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in life sciences disciplines, particularly those with an interest in research and development and manufacturing. Bayer Minority Fellows will be selected from universities with proximity to Bayer’s West Coast facilities including Washington State, northern California, and San Diego. 

With Bayer experts to guide them, Fellows will explore careers in the biotechnology industry, particularly research and development and biomanufacturing. Fellows will undergo rigorous professional development training in areas such as emerging technologies and industrial entrepreneurship. They will also receive coaching in career-building skills, including interviewing techniques and resume writing. 

The program, modeled after the Institute’s national Minority Fellows Program, will kick off with a two-day training session, to be held May 21-23, 2008, at Bayer’s global biotech headquarters in Berkeley, CA. The initial meeting will be followed with ongoing interactions facilitated over subsequent months in order to strengthen Mentor-Fellow relationships. 

The Bayer/Biotechnology Institute partnership also includes a two-day teacher professional development session on biotechnology for 20 middle and high school teachers from East Bay schools, particularly those in lower-income communities. The session, to be held at Bayer in November, will again tap the expertise of Bayer scientists, who will serve as subject matter experts and mentors. 

The partnership with the Biotechnology Institute is an important addition to Bayer’s portfolio of science education initiatives. On the West Coast Bayer founded the award-winning Biotechnology Partners program in 1992 as a way to train disadvantaged local high school and community college students for careers in the booming industry. Other initiatives include Making Science Make Sense, the company’s national program that brings scientists into public schools for hands-on science training, and programs ranging from elementary school science curriculum development to fellowships for minority graduate and post-doctoral students. 

About the Biotechnology Institute 

The Biotechnology Institute is an independent, national nonprofit organization dedicated to education about the present and future impact of biotechnology. Its mission is to engage, excite and educate the public, particularly students and teachers, about biotechnology and its immense potential for solving human health, food and environmental problems. For more information, visitwww.biotechinstitute.org. 

About Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals 

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals is the U.S.-based pharmaceuticals unit of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a division of Bayer AG. One of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry, Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care, and Pharmaceuticals divisions. In the U.S., Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals comprises the following business units: Women’s Healthcare, Diagnostic Imaging, Specialized Therapeutics, Hematology/Cardiology and Oncology. The company’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human health worldwide by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases. 

Biotechnology EDUCATION News

Biotechnology EDUCATION news

Parkinson's Research Sends Burlington, NC, Student to China. After spending last summer researching a protein that's significant in Parkinson's disease, writing a research paper about it and presenting it to educators, a Burlington teen is heading to China to share what she's learned. Melanie Wiley, 18, who currently attends the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, is one four students from the state representing the American delegation in Beijing, China this week at the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition. Wiley and the others in the delegation won't actually compete while in China, but they will present their research. On March 14, Wiley won third place for the research in the biotechnology section at the N.C. Student Academy of Science competition. On Monday, she attended the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium hosted by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she won second place for a poster presentation of the same research. (Burlington Times News, 3/21/08.)

Distance Learning About Biotech. A cake isn't just a tasty treat. It's also a science experiment full of chemical reactions and molecular structures. Through the ACCESS Distance Learning program, teachers across Alabama recently got to watch a lesson on the science of cooking, including a group at Bob Jones High School. From Montgomery, Dr. Daniel Adamek and Judy Brown prepared 14 cakes, with variations in each cake's ingredients, to show how teachers can talk about science in what can seem like just an everyday activity. Brown, a state education specialist and a former culinary arts teacher at Bob Jones, said she had been working on the Savory Science& lesson since September. It is the first in what she hopes will be a series of distance learning programs. Adamek, who is with AZ Technologies in Huntsville, worked with Brown to develop their cake experiments, write the script for the ACCESS broadcast and to write a lesson plan teachers can use in their classes. About 80 teachers took part in the first lesson, heading to Bob Jones and eight other ACCESS sites after school. Huntsville's HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology did the filming for Savory Science free of charge. (Huntsville Times, 3/17/08.)

Invitrogen Launches Philanthropic Foundation. Invitrogen Corporation, a provider of essential life science technologies for research, production and diagnostics, today announced the launch of the Invitrogen Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organization aimed at increasing participation in and understanding of the life sciences among students, teachers, scientific professionals and the public. Invitrogen has granted an initial $1 million to the Foundation and plans to provide additional funding in the future. (Business Wire, 2/22/08.)

DC-Area Schools Heed Science Industry's Warning. Universities in the Washington region are in the forefront of a movement to train more people to enter science and technology professions and meet what industry leaders call an urgent need to expand the workforce to keep the U.S. economy competitive. At least eight schools in the District and Maryland are offering or drawing up plans for a two-year professional science master's degree. The PSM program is designed to provide more advanced training in science or mathematics -- with a dose of business skills -- and entice more students who receive bachelor of science degrees to stay in the field without having to pursue a doctorate. The PSM degree, sometimes described as a science version of the MBA degree, is being hailed as one of the most promising innovations in graduate education in years. Last year, Congress provided funding for schools to establish or improve PSM programs through the America Competes Act. About 1,300 students are enrolled in PSM programs at more than 50 schools nationwide, officials say. (Washington Post, 1/28/08.)

Gwinnett, GA, Students Try to Answer Organic Questions. The lesson called on students to detect GM (genetically modified) foods by PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Basically, students run an experiment to see if any food had its DNA altered. The activity is one of several high-level lessons students work on in the biotechnology program. The course lets Gwinnett high-schoolers perform experiments most students don't work on until junior year of college. Think of the course as a classroom version of the television show "CSI." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/28/08.)

Maryland and Swedish Students Compare Marine Biotechnology Projects. The Maryland Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics program is meant to challenge students and prepare them for college. Students from Carroll County high schools sank disks into waterways around their homes and schools in recent months, pulling them out to photograph and identify the organisms living in different environments, and to compare their results with what students in Sweden discovered. (The DC Examiner, 1/16/08.)

New Jersey State Education Program Supports Biotechnology. Monmouth University was awarded a portion of a $5.1 million grant to be used to ignite a biotechnology education program in the state. The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor was awarded to the Central New Jersey BIO-1 regional partnership, which consists of key education and industry members in central New Jersey involved in supporting bioscience education and training programs necessary to support the pharmaceutical workforce. (Atlanticville News, 12/13/07.)

Amgen Scholars Program Accepting Applications. The Amgen Scholars Program, a partnership of the Amgen Foundation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and premier universities around the country, is now accepting applications for the summer of 2008. The annual Amgen Scholars Program provides undergraduates the opportunity for hands-on research at 10 of the nation's leading universities to explore an area of research under a faculty mentor beyond what they may be able to do as part of their regular undergraduate education. (Business Wire, 12/4/07.)