Transcript Biotechnology 101 & Why You Should Sign Up!

Biotechnology 101 & Why You
Should Sign Up!
Judith A. Kjelstrom, PhD
Acting Director
UC Davis Biotechnology Program
www.biotech.ucdavis.edu
September 24 , 2002
Welcome to the teachers and administrators
of the Solano County Office of Education,
SEDCORP members and other community
leaders:
• Let’s work together to
create educational and
business opportunities in
the areas of:
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Biotechnology
Medical Technology
Bioinformatics
Information Technology
Academic:Industrial
Partnerships are the Key!
Pass it On ……
Quotes from
2000:
“The two technologies that will shape the
next century are biotechnology and
information technology”
Bill Gates
Microsoft
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“The two technologies that will have the
greatest impact on each other in the new
millennium are biotechnology and
information technology”
Dr. Martina Newell-McGloughlin
UCBREP
(past director of UCD biotech Program)
What Path Should Students
Follow??
• The Hottest Jobs for the New Millennium are:
1. Computer and Information Science
2. Health Sciences
3. Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
• All of these careers require a strong background in
MATH, COMPUTER SKILLS & BASIC SCIENCES!!
• Also wanted: Strong Thinkers & Communicators (oral
and written)
But …….. Will the U.S. Keep Up with the
Demand for Scientists & Engineers??
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The Road to the AH HA!
The National Science Foundation (NSF) reports
that as of 1999, about 25% of all U.S. workers
with PhDs in science and engineering were
foreign born.
We must produce more American scientists and
engineers as well as increase general science
literacy.
Dr. Judith Ramaley, section of education and
human resources at NSF says, “It has to start
around the 4-5th grade. You must go into the
valley of the shadow, where pupils turn off to
science and math unless they’ve experienced:
good classroom material, chances to explore the
topic and teachers who love the subject.”
Full Report:
www.nsf.gov/sbe/src/seind02/start.htm
Undergraduate data show a shift, not a
decline in interest in Science
(Science, Dec 27, 2001, pg 2466-7)
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Paul Romer, an economist at Stanford thinks supplying more money will increase
the number of US scientists and engineers.
Technology Talent Bill (www.nber.org/papers/w7723)
Elaine Seymour, a sociologist at the Univ. of Colorado, Boulder cites “appalling
teaching” as a bigger reason for driving students away. She says that more money
won’t hurt, but it won’t fix the problem. “It requires the systematic reform of the
science curriculum at all levels and improved teacher training”.
But …. How do we account for the steady growth in the life sciences, when other
areas of science like physics are showing a decline?
– ~38,000 biology undergrads in 1990 to over 60,000 in 1998.
Even though about one third of the total bachelor degree pool is in the life sciences,
in today’s world of greater technological sophistication, we need to reach out to the
other two thirds (especially women and underrepresented minorities).
Biotech 101- What is it???
Biotech
• Biotechnology is the Ah HA!
• It is the KEY to the Future of
California’s Economy
• It is a Collection of Technologies
that uses cells and biological
molecules (DNA, RNA, proteins,
etc.) to create new products,
processes or services.
• It is involved in: medicine,
agriculture, engineering, law
enforcement, environmental cleanup, energy production, basic life
science research, etc.
Biotechnology or Bioengineering
is generally defined as:
The use of living organisms, or parts thereof, to
provide useful products, processes and services.
PRODUCT:
Golden Rice - insertion of genes for beta-carotene
(pro-vitamin A) production into white rice. (Ag Biotech)
PROCESS:
Microbes manufacturing human insulin for diabetes
therapy. (Pharmaceutical Biotech)
SERVICE:
Genetically engineered poplar trees for cleaning up
heavy metal contamination of land and water. (Bioremediation)
But….we have broadened our
definition of Biotech to include:
• Health Sciences & Medical Technology
– DNA & Protein biochips, biosensors, tissue & organ
cloning, etc.
• Bioinformatics/Proteomics/Genomics/
Metabolomics/Nutrigenomics [The “OMICS”]
• Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
– vaccines, cancer treatments, gene therapy, etc.
• Agricultural Biotechnology
– genetically enhanced crops & livestock
• Environmental Sciences/Bioremediation
• Neurobiology (understanding the Brain)
• Microbiology (esp. combating Bioterrorism)
• Biomedical Engineering, Nanotechnology, … & More!